Intentional Generosity: Giving From Your IRA
How a Qualified Charitable Distribution can support the places you love
Sometimes generosity begins with a simple question: What can I do with what I already have?
For people who have reached the age when required minimum distributions begin, an IRA can offer one meaningful way to support the causes and places they care about.
A Qualified Charitable Distribution, or QCD, allows an eligible IRA owner to make a charitable gift directly from an IRA to a qualified organization. A qualifying QCD can be excluded from taxable income and can count toward an individual's required minimum distribution for the year.
You don't have to wait until required minimum distributions begin to make a QCD. Under current IRS rules, eligible IRA owners can make QCDs beginning at age 70½, while required minimum distributions generally begin at age 73 under current federal rules.
Why does this matter for conservation?
For someone who cares about protecting land, water, and wildlife, a QCD can be one way to turn resources they've already set aside into support for the places they love.
That's the heart of Intentional Generosity.
It isn't necessarily about giving more. It's about recognizing the resources we have and the opportunities that come with different seasons of life. Sometimes that opportunity is an annual gift. Sometimes it's an estate plan. Sometimes it's the sale of a property that has been part of a family's story.
And sometimes, it's an IRA.
A few things to know
A QCD has specific IRS requirements. The gift must be made directly from the IRA to an eligible charitable organization, rather than being distributed to the IRA owner first and then donated. The donor must also meet the applicable age and other requirements.
For 2026, the amount of QCDs that may be excluded from income is generally limited to $111,000 per individual. Because everyone's financial circumstances are different, a QCD is something to discuss with your tax or financial advisor before making a gift. They can help you determine whether a QCD is appropriate for your situation and how to complete it correctly.
Giving Where Your Values Are Rooted
At Blue Heron Headwaters Conservancy, we see generosity as part of stewardship.
A QCD can help turn resources someone has already set aside for retirement into support for forests, wetlands, streams, and wildlife habitat.
And that's really what Intentional Generosity is about.
It isn't about telling people how they should give. It's about recognizing that different seasons of life can create different opportunities to support the people, places, and causes that matter most.
Sometimes, all it takes is a question:
What do I want what I have to help protect?
If conservation is part of that answer, a gift from your IRA may be one opportunity worth exploring.
Considering a QCD?
If you're 70½ or older and have an IRA, a Qualified Charitable Distribution may be an option worth discussing with your tax or financial advisor. If you're considering a charitable gift to Blue Heron Headwaters Conservancy, we're happy to answer questions about the charitable side of the process and help you understand how to direct a gift to BHHC.
There is no one right way to give. Sometimes it begins with a question.
IRS Resources
IRS: Publication 590-B, Distributions from Individual Retirement Arrangements (IRAs) — Includes the IRS guidance on QCDs and required minimum distributions.
IRS: Retirement Plans FAQs Regarding IRAs — Additional IRS information about IRA distributions and withdrawals.
IRS: 2026 QCD limit information — Official IRS guidance establishing the 2026 inflation-adjusted QCD limit.
Educational note: This article is intended for general educational purposes and is not tax, legal, or financial advice. Please consult your own professional advisor regarding your individual circumstances.
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