We appreciated the opportunity to work with so many of you at the end of 2023! Your work with philanthropic clients is inspiring. It is our team’s honor to serve as your behind-the-scenes partner to help execute your clients’ charitable giving plans in the most tax-savvy, community-minded way possible. 

Sincerely,  

Ryan Douglas  

Senior Charitable Giving Advisor 

For nearly 20 years, the Endow Iowa Tax Credit program has been a valuable tool for your clients to maximize support of Iowa causes they care about. If your client gave Endow Iowa qualified gifts in 2023 that has not yet received credits, they were issued a 2024 Endow Iowa Tax Credit application in January to receive 2024 credits. 

Endow Iowa Tax Credits are awarded on a first-come, first-served basis, subject to the annual appropriation limit. If your client has received an application and wishes to receive tax credits, please

remind them to return their application as soon as possible. Applications submitted more than 12 months after the date of donation will be denied credits. Learn more about the Endow Iowa Tax Credit and contact us with questions.  

The rising popularity of the Qualified Charitable Deduction (QCD) seems to be inspiring more retirees to re-evaluate their charitable giving plans. As you begin your next round of annual reviews with your clients, be sure you’re familiar with the various charitable giving techniques that are most appealing to retirees and the various ways the community foundation can help. 

Here are three characteristics of retirees and their charitable giving situations that will help you serve your retired clients. 

Less likely to itemize deductions

Many retirees apply the standard deduction on their income tax returns because they don’t have many expenses that qualify for itemization, such as business expenses and mortgage interest deductions. Help your retired clients evaluate whether itemizing deductions in certain years could be beneficial. Through a donor-advised fund at the Community Foundation, your clients may be able to concentrate charitable contributions into particular tax years and benefit from the deductions above and beyond the standard deduction. This is called “bunching,” and a donor-advised fund can help your client take advantage of itemizing tax deductions while still allowing them to provide steady support to nonprofits in years that follow the itemizing year.   

More interested in involving children and grandchildren in their philanthropy

The Community Foundation is happy to help your retired clients fulfill their desire to stay connected with their children and grandchildren, including formalizing roles for these family members as advisors and successor advisors of the retiree’s donor-advised fund at the Community Foundation. This is often an excellent and easy way to structure philanthropic priorities for generational wealth and create positive, authentic communication channels across an extended family. 

Excellent candidates for Qualified Charitable Distributions

Your clients who are at least age 70½ can direct a tax-free distribution (up to $105,000 per spouse in 2024) from an IRA to a qualified nonprofit through the Community Foundation. For your clients who must take Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs), the QCD is especially beneficial. This is because the distribution to charity counts toward the RMDs and therefore never lands in the client’s taxable income. 

The Community Foundation works with professional advisors to help you enhance your relationships with clients by offering local, personalized charitable giving services. Whether serving as a local charitable giving resource or maximizing tax savings, our team works as part of your team to offer giving opportunities to meet clients’ financial and charitable goals. By connecting with the Community Foundation, you are providing clients with the resources to make meaningful impact in tax-wise ways.