Giving for Today

Most wealth is held in assets rather than checking accounts. Giving for Today allows you to support a mission you value with resources you already own, often producing greater charitable impact while preserving cash and creating meaningful tax advantages.

IRA Distribution Gifts

Let Your IRA Do More

If you are age 70½ or older, you may make a qualified charitable distribution, commonly called a QCD or IRA charitable rollover, directly from your traditional IRA to a qualified public charity. The gift is excluded from your taxable income and may satisfy all or part of your required minimum distribution.

A QCD can be especially valuable if you use the standard deduction, want to reduce the taxable income created by an RMD, or prefer to make charitable gifts from retirement assets rather than current cash flow. Because the tax benefit comes through excluding the distribution from income, a separate charitable income tax deduction is unavailable for the same gift.

In 2026, an eligible IRA owner may give up to $111,000 through QCDs. Married couples may each qualify for the limit when each spouse owns an IRA. IRS 2026 retirement and IRA limits

Benefits of an IRA Gift

Give directly from pretax retirement assets.
Satisfy all or part of your required minimum distribution.
Reduce the taxable income an IRA withdrawal would otherwise create.
Receive a tax benefit even when taking the standard deduction.
Preserve cash and other investments for personal needs.
Turn a mandatory distribution into meaningful charitable impact.

How It Works

Contact your IRA custodian and request a qualified charitable distribution payable directly to the charitable organization. The gift must be completed by December 31 to count for that tax year. Begin early, since some custodians may require several weeks to process a distribution.

Please notify the organization when your gift is on its way. IRA checks often arrive without the donor's name or instructions, and advance notice helps ensure your generosity is properly acknowledged.

Important to Know

QCDs generally cannot be directed to donor-advised funds, private foundations, or supporting organizations. A QCD must come from an eligible IRA and be transferred directly to a qualified charitable recipient.

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Donor Advised Funds

Your Charitable Giving Account

A donor-advised fund, or DAF, is a charitable account administered by a sponsoring financial institution or a community foundation. You contribute cash or other assets to the fund, receive the applicable charitable deduction in the year of contribution, and recommend grants to qualified charities over time.

Your DAF allows you to separate the timing of your tax planning from the timing of your charitable decisions. You can contribute during a high-income year, allow the assets to be invested, and recommend grants when meaningful opportunities arise.

Benefits of a Donor-Advised Fund

Make one contribution and support many charitable organizations.
Contribute cash, appreciated securities, and other accepted assets.
Potentially avoid capital gains tax when contributing appreciated property.
Combine several years of intended giving into one tax year through a strategy often called bunching.
Recommend grants on your own timetable.
Simplify charitable recordkeeping.
Involve children or grandchildren in family giving decisions.
Establish recurring grants or a lasting charitable tradition.
Recommend grants anonymously when desired.

How It Works

A sponsoring DAF organization establishes and administers your fund. Sponsors may include community foundations, the charitable divisions of financial institutions, and other qualified organizations.

Once your fund is established, you may recommend grants to eligible charities through your sponsor's website or grant request process. The sponsoring organization retains legal control of the assets and approves each grant recommendation.

Put Your DAF to Work

The tax benefit begins when assets enter the donor-advised fund. The charitable impact begins when grants leave it. If resources are already waiting in your DAF, recommending a grant allows those dollars to begin serving the people and purposes you intended to support.

A grant from your DAF does not create an additional charitable deduction because the deduction was associated with the original contribution. DAF grants also cannot provide goods, services, event tickets, or other personal benefits to the donor or the donor's family.

Create a Family Tradition

A donor-advised fund can invite the next generation into meaningful conversations about values, responsibility, and generosity. You may name successor advisors or leave instructions for future grants, allowing your charitable priorities to continue beyond your lifetime.

Gifts of Appreciated Stocks, Bonds, or Other Property

Give the Asset, Preserve the Value

An investment that has grown in value can become one of your most effective charitable gifts. When you give appreciated stocks, bonds, or mutual funds directly to charity, you may avoid the long-term capital gains tax that could apply if you sold the investment first. You may also qualify for a charitable income tax deduction based on the asset's fair market value, subject to applicable rules and limitations.

Giving the asset directly allows its full value to be used to serve the mission. It can also preserve your cash flow and make a larger gift possible without drawing from current income. The IRS generally permits fair market value deductions for qualifying gifts of long-term capital gain property, although specific limits and adjustments may apply. IRS Publication 526

Benefits of Giving Appreciated Investments

Potentially avoid long-term capital gains tax.
Qualify for a charitable income tax deduction.
Preserve cash for other priorities.
Reduce an overconcentrated investment position.
Rebalance a portfolio through charitable giving.
Make a larger gift from wealth rather than disposable income.

A Simple Comparison

Selling appreciated stock first may create capital gains tax before the remaining proceeds are donated. Giving the shares directly allows the charity to receive and sell the entire asset, directing more of its value toward charitable work.

How It Works

Securities held in a brokerage account can usually be transferred electronically. Request the organization's transfer instructions, then ask your broker or financial advisor to transfer the shares directly.

Before initiating the gift, provide the organization with the name of the security, number of shares, expected transfer date, and intended purpose. Brokerage transfers frequently arrive without the donor's identity attached.

Gifts of Privately Held Stock

Turn Business Success into Charitable Impact

For many business owners, the company they built represents one of their largest assets. A gift of privately held stock can transform part of that value into charitable impact while potentially reducing capital gains exposure and creating a charitable income tax deduction.

This strategy may be particularly valuable when you are considering a business sale, ownership transition, or succession plan. By contributing shares before a sale becomes legally binding, you may be able to give more effectively while retaining the proceeds from the shares you continue to own.

Potential Benefits

Receive a charitable deduction based on the appraised value of the donated interest, subject to applicable limitations.
Reduce capital gains exposure associated with the donated shares.
Preserve personal liquidity by giving an ownership interest rather than cash.
Include philanthropy in a business sale or succession strategy.
Turn years of business growth into a gift that reflects your values.

How It Works

Contact the charitable organization before beginning the transfer. The organization will need to review the company, ownership restrictions, governing documents, potential liabilities, and marketability of the shares.

Privately held stock gifts generally require a qualified appraisal and additional tax reporting. Timing is essential, particularly when a sale is being discussed. Your legal, tax, and financial advisors should participate early so the gift is completed before any binding obligation to sell exists.

Gifts of Real Estate

Give Property New Purpose

Real estate can hold substantial value while also carrying taxes, maintenance, insurance, management responsibilities, and selling costs. A charitable gift can release that value, simplify ownership, and turn a property into a source of support for a mission you care about.

Real estate gifts may include a residence, second home, rental property, commercial building, farmland, or undeveloped land. When qualifying appreciated property is given directly, you may avoid capital gains tax associated with the donated interest and receive a charitable income tax deduction based on its appraised fair market value, subject to applicable limitations.

Ways to Give Real Estate

Outright gift: Transfer the entire property to charity and potentially receive a charitable deduction while gaining relief from future ownership responsibilities.

Partial interest: Give an undivided percentage of the property while retaining the remaining interest.

Bargain sale: Sell the property to charity for less than its fair market value. You receive cash from the sale and may qualify for a charitable deduction based on the donated portion.

Charitable remainder unitrust: Transfer the property to a charitable remainder trust. The trustee may sell the property and reinvest the proceeds to create payments for you or other beneficiaries. The remaining trust assets eventually support charity.

Retained life estate: Give a personal residence or farm while retaining the right to live in and use the property for life. You may receive a current charitable deduction for the remainder interest.

Especially Valuable for Property Owners Seeking Income

Former landlords and second-home owners may discover that a property producing limited income can become the foundation of a diversified, income-producing portfolio through a charitable remainder unitrust. This approach can provide payments, relieve management responsibilities, and create a future charitable gift.

How It Works

Contact the charitable organization before listing, selling, or transferring the property. The organization will review the title, debt, condition, marketability, environmental considerations, and proposed gift structure. A qualified appraisal is generally required to establish the charitable deduction. IRS Publication 561

Ready to Explore Your Giving Options?

The right asset can make generosity more rewarding for you and more powerful for the mission. Contact us to explore which Giving for Today strategy may align with your charitable, financial, and family goals.

This information is educational and should not be considered legal, tax, or financial advice. Please consult your professional advisors before completing a charitable gift.