Donate a gift from your IRA – Qualified Charitable Distribution

When you take a distribution from your Individual Retirement Account (IRA), you might owe taxes on it. If money from your IRA is donated directly to a qualified charity like Direct Relief, you might save on taxes, and you will help people who are vulnerable and at-risk get access to needed medical care.

This kind of donation is called a “qualified charitable distribution” (QCD) and can be used to satisfy all or part of your required minimum distribution (RMD) from your IRA. If you are required to take a distribution but don’t need the money for living expenses, consider reducing your taxes and helping improve the lives of people who rely on Direct Relief for access to medicine.

Even if you aren’t required to take an RMD yet you might still be able to use your IRA to contribute to Direct Relief. Talk to your IRA custodian, financial advisor, accountant, or lawyer to find our whether a QCD is right for you.

This information is offered to help you understand some of your options for making a charitable gift to Direct Relief. Only a lawyer or tax professional can give you tax advice.

Donate from your IRA

To make a QCD, contact your financial institution or go to their website for instructions on how to request the distribution.

You may have the option to instruct your financial institution either to send a check directly to Direct Relief or to your address. It is common for financial institutions to send a check without adequately identifying the donor, even if you explicitly instruct them to do so. So, please notify us that you will be making a QCD donation from your IRA so we can make sure we properly recognize your gift and send you a receipt in a timely manner.

If you choose to have the check sent to your address, it must be made payable to Direct Relief to get the tax benefit of the charitable distribution. Do not deposit the check—simply take the check they send you, and mail it in a new envelope with a note that includes your name, your address, and your email address if you wish to provide it. Mail it to:

Direct Relief
6100 Wallace Becknell Road
Santa Barbara, CA 93117

Direct Relief offers free access to online forms from Giving Docs to help you make charitable gifts from your IRA.

Is it time to update the beneficiaries on your IRA or retirement plan?

After enjoying your retirement, your retirement accounts might still have value that can help deliver needed health resources for vulnerable people who otherwise might not have access.

Consider making a charitable gift to Direct Relief when you pass away, by naming Direct Relief as a beneficiary of your retirement account. Doing so could reduce the taxes owed by your estate and simplify making a gift that avoids probate or other lengthy administration processes.

Contact your financial institution or retirement plan administrator for instructions on naming or updating account beneficiaries. If you choose to make Direct Relief a beneficiary, please let us know! Doing so will allow us to thank you for your generosity and help ensure your gift is properly recognized when received.

Direct Relief offers free access to online forms from Giving Docs to help you designate account beneficiaries and make charitable gifts from your IRA.

Direct Relief’s Employer Identification Number (EIN) for tax reporting is 95-1831116.