Giving with your IRA

The opportunity of a lifetime to give the gift of a lifetime.

If you are age 70 1/2 and older, you can use your individual retirement account (IRA) to support your charitable giving through the Community Foundation. This simple, tax-wise giving tool provides a way for you to take your required minimum distribution, save on taxes, and make meaningful gifts to support the causes you care about.

How it Works

IRS rules require adults who are 73 years or older to take minimum distributions (RMDs) each year from their tax deferred retirement accounts. Although withdrawals for personal spending are subject to income tax, qualified charitable distributions are not. Individuals can direct up to $100,000 per year from their IRA to a qualified charity, including the Community Foundation.*


This popular gift option is commonly called the IRA charitable rollover, but it’s also referred to as a qualified charitable distribution, or QCD for short. The SECURE Act preserved the ability to make a QCD at the age of 70 ½ even though the RMD requirement was increased to age 73. Of course, donors should seek the advice of their financial advisors.


To learn more, view our IRA Charitable Giving Handout.

*QCDs cannot be directed to a Donor Advised Fund.

Alton Vannice
Now in their 80s, Ken and Julia have accumulated wealth in their IRAs. At this age, they must receive distributions. Their estate planning attorney recognized an opportunity. By transferring $100,000  
from each of their IRAs to the Community Foundation, they could establish a Designated Fund to support the museum without paying tax and do so during their lifetimes. 

“We were so happy to find out that we could give a portion of our IRAs to the Community Foundation without losing anything to taxes,” says Julia. “Plus, because we can do so right now, the museum doesn’t have to wait until we’re gone to get a steady stream of income from our fund.” 

Frequently Asked Questions

  • Why might donors give IRA assets to their Community Foundation?

    After decades of deliberate saving, some of today’s retirees have more money in their IRAs than they need for daily living expenses and long-term care. For larger estates, a good portion of IRA wealth goes to estate taxes and income taxes of non-spousal beneficiaries; heirs may receive less than 50 percent of IRA assets passed on to them through estates. Instead, IRA holders may choose to leave their IRAs to qualified charitable organizations such as the Community Foundation —choosing charity over taxes.

  • To what charities can an IRA charitable rollover be made to?

    IRA charitable rollovers must be made directly to a 501(c)(3) organization such as the Community Foundation. However, QCDs cannot be directed to a Donor Advised Fund.

  • Are there any IRA transfers to the Community Foundation that DO NOT qualify for preferred tax treatment?

    Yes. Transfers to supporting organizations and donor advised funds do not qualify. Also, IRA charitable rollover transfers cannot be made to charitable annuities, charitable lead trusts and charitable remainder trusts. Because such transfers do not count as qualified distributions under these special rules, the donor will have to first recognize those distributions as income. The donor’s charitable deduction must then be calculated as a regular itemized deduction.

  • How can an IRA gift be made?

    Typically, IRAs are held by a financial service or trust company. Please contact your IRA administrator directly to initiate the transfer to the Community Foundation.

  • Is a donor limited to one IRA charitable distribution per year, or can a donor request multiple transfers?

    Donors aged 70 ½ or older are limited to a maximum of $100,000 in any one year as an IRA charitable distribution, however there is no requirement that the entire amount be made in one transfer or that the entire amount go to a single qualified charitable organization. Donors can request multiple direct transfers from their IRA to qualified charities in a year, but only $100,000 will be excluded from income as an IRA qualified charitable distribution.

  • What can I achieve with an IRA gift to the Community Foundation?

    Your IRA gift can be leveraged in multiple ways. First, you can give to an existing fund. We hold more than 230 funds for specific nonprofit organizations, for certain communities, and for a wide range of needs and opportunities.


    You can also establish your own named fund for a cause that matters most to you. 


    Please contact us to discuss how we can best meet your own unique charitable goals.