Couple Discovers Tax-Savvy Way to Make an Impact
Kathy Vincent started donating when St. Henry Church closed due to consolidation after Katrina. Kathy asked the leader of the church, Father Henry, who she should be donating to and he recommended Second Harvest. Shortly after, her husband, Gary, followed her lead when she encouraged him to make donations during Second Harvest's matching gift campaigns, when gifts can have twice the impact.
Since then, Kathy and Gary have made gifts to Second Harvest every month. However, they recently discovered a way to support Second Harvest and save on taxes by making charitable gifts directly from their IRA, which counts toward their required minimum distribution (RMD).
"Setting up the IRA distribution was pretty easy," Gary says. "We contacted Second Harvest to ensure they could accept a qualified charitable distribution. After that, we simply had to call our IRA account manager, give him Second Harvest's tax ID number and the amount we wanted to give. It was as easy as two phone calls.
"This has saved us on income tax. If you are donating to an organization and you are taking a required minimum distribution from your IRA or 401(k), more money will go to the organization. Now, our broker knows to make an annual gift and we don't need to remember to send in our check every month...we also save on stamps!
"I wish we started doing this as soon as we had to take our required minimum distribution. We give to Second Harvest because they help so many people and we have confidence in the mission and strong reputation in the community. We love this easy way to give."
If you would like to learn more about giving from your IRA, like the Vincents, please contact Heather Sweeney at 504-729-2839 or hsweeney@no-hunger.org.