Nonprofit Resources

The Qualified Charitable Distribution (QCD) is creating quite the buzz in the nonprofit sector! Through a QCD, a donor who has reached the age of 70 ½ may be eligible to make annual distributions of up to $100,000 from IRAs directly to a qualifying public charity. As you no doubt are aware, in December 2022, Congress passed new laws that codified the much-anticipated Legacy IRA. The Legacy IRA expands the QCD to allow a [...]

The gold standard for many nonprofits whose missions are critical to our society is the ability to provide reliable services to the people who are counting on them, regardless of economic ups and downs. This is especially true in the wake of weather-related and other natural disasters, and even man-made tragedies, that create community upheaval. In the face of the sheer unpredictability of when community needs might escalate, it’s often hard for a nonprofit [...]

On December 29, 2022, President Biden signed into law the long-awaited legislation known as SECURE 2.0 as part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023 (“CAA”), a $1.65 trillion-dollar omnibus spending bill. The nonprofit sector in particular has rallied around a component of this legislation addressing a planning tool called the Qualified Charitable Distribution (QCD). You’re likely already familiar with the QCD and perhaps your organization even has received these distributions. As a reminder, [...]

Encourage donors to review their stock holdings Even though 2022’s rough stock market may still be a concern, late-year rallies may help. Chances are not all of your donors’ holdings have had an unusually down year. Gifts of appreciated stock is still one of the most tax-savvy ways for donors to support your organization because capital gains tax can be avoided on the appreciated stock. Donors over 70 ½ should consider a Qualified Charitable [...]

The Winona Community Foundation is committed to helping nonprofit organizations in our community identify savvy ways to inspire donors to make endowment gifts, especially in challenging economic times. Indeed, helping you facilitate gifts of unusual assets is a service the community foundation loves to provide. When you (and your donors) think about “unusual assets,” real estate and closely-held stock may come to mind first. Those assets can make excellent gifts to charity. But don’t [...]

Rising interest rates and charitable gift annuities–a winning combination? Clearly, your donors’ charitable giving priorities are impacted by interest rates. Charitable components of your donors’ estate and financial plans are no exception. For example, charitable gift annuities are becoming more attractive to donors. Thanks to the recent increase in rate of return assumptions for charitable gift annuities, this planned giving vehicle is now more attractive to people who like the idea of a higher [...]

Frequently, an organization’s board of directors is at a loss when it comes to growing an endowment, structuring and accepting gifts of real estate and other hard-to-value assets, and following best practices for establishing and following an investment policy. Happily, by establishing a fund at the Winona Community foundation, the Foundation can step in as your behind-the-scenes back office, giving your board and staff more time to focus on your programs and donors. An [...]

During periods of economic uncertainty, a charitable organization’s board of directors may ask more questions about the most effective ways to grow the organization’s endowment, how to structure and accept gifts of real estate and other hard-to-value assets, and how to follow best practices for establishing and following an investment policy. Sometimes even the most well-planned board meetings wind up as a venue for surprising discussions! If conversations about your endowment, gift acceptance standards, [...]