By Maegan Vallejo, Individual Giving Coordinator
With the permanent passage of IRA Charitable Rollover legislation, donors can make significant gifts during their lifetime to support the causes that they love. Specifically, thanks to the recently extended charitable giving legislation, donors age 70½ and older can transfer up to $100,000 from their IRAs to The Community Foundation as a tax-free lifetime gift.
Put another way, you can choose to transfer all or a portion of your IRA to a fund at The Community Foundation to benefit Boulder County, now and forever.
For example, Ella Dickinson had been annually supporting local arts organizations, even naming a few of them as beneficiaries in her will. Now that the IRA Charitable Rollover is permanent, Ella decided to establish the Dickinson Fund for the Arts, which allows her to give to arts organizations now – while also establishing her legacy in the community as the fund will continue to support her favorite arts organizations beyond her lifetime. Every time The Community Foundation makes a grant from her fund, it will bear Ella’s name and include a letter explaining who she is and her family’s generations-long commitment to the arts. This letter is something that Ella chose to include with the grant checks, and grantees appreciate knowing the connection she has to the arts.
Who’s eligible to participate in the IRA Charitable Rollover?
Annually, people age 70½ and older can transfer up to $100,000 of IRA assets to public charities, including The Community Foundation, without triggering federal income taxes today or estate tax in the future. If you’re married, your spouse is also eligible for the tax-free IRA transfer.
Is the IRA Charitable Rollover Extension permanent?
Yes. The Pension Protection Act of 2006 (PPA) permitted individuals to roll over up to $100,000 from an individual retirement account (IRA) directly to a qualifying charity without recognizing the assets transferred to the qualifying charity as income. While this initial provision expired on December 31, 2007, it has been extended several times. On December 18, 2015, the President signed the PATH Act making this special provision permanent.
What funds at The Community Foundation are eligible for qualified charitable distributions?
IRA donors may choose from several types of funds available at The Community Foundation. Chief among these are:
- Unrestricted Fund: Donors use this fund to meet ever-changing community needs—including future needs that often cannot be anticipated at the time a gift is made. Our local expertise helps us evaluate all aspects of community well-being and make informed decision thereto. Disbursements from this fund are then used to make a difference where the need is greatest.
- Field of Interest Funds allow donors to target gifts to causes important to them: animals and environment, the arts and culture, basic needs, children and youth, civic engagement, education, or health and human services. These funds provide permanent resources to nonprofits in Boulder County.
- Designated Funds provide ongoing funding for a specific nonprofit organization or organizations—a senior center, museum or any qualifying nonprofit organization. The designated nonprofit beneficiaries are identified when the fund is established.
For more information about how to get started on your gift of a lifetime, contact our Philanthropic Services Team at 303-442-0436.
