How To Ask Donors To Make Contributions Through Their IRA

By Laurence A. Pagnoni, MPA

You may recall a recent article I wrote regarding donors contributing through their IRA and how it can help your year-end drive.

Here is an example of one charitable organization, The Fellowship of Reconciliation, putting this advice to practice by sending their donors a short, simple e-mail:

Ways to Give Smarter:

Making A Contribution From Your IRA

[Donor Name],

Did you know that you can make a charitable contribution through your Roth IRA or traditional IRA?

That’s right, and if you’re 70.5 or older, there are some added tax benefits to making your “Qualified Charitable Distribution” in this way.

Specifically, current tax law allows you to fulfill your required minimum distribution while bypassing your gross income. That’s even better than the benefits of making a standard charitable contribution.

There are some other advantages too:

  • It allows you to support FOR’s expanded work for peace and justice.
  • It minimizes your tax obligation at the federal and state level (remember that 47% of your tax dollars are spent on war)
  • It may keep you in a lower tax bracket.

How To Make A Contribution Through Your IRA

Contact your financial adviser today and request that a “Qualified Charitable Distribution be made directly to the charity of your choice.

  • Make sure that your gift is identified with your name, address, and intention to use it as a 2018 IRA Qualified Charitable Distribution.
  • Make sure to list our name as “Fellowship of Reconciliation, Inc.,” our address as P.O Box 271, Nyack, New York 10960, and our EIN number as 13-3792144

If You Have Questions:

Please give me a call at (917) – 555- 5555 or send me an e-mail.

In Peace & Justice,

Michael Taylor

Development Counsel

Fellowship of Reconciliation

We welcome your comments about this post on the LAPA blog.

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