Greetings from the community foundation!
The end of 2026 is nearly upon us! The team at the community foundation is happy to share practical ideas to help you make the most of year-end fundraising while also strengthening donor relationships that can benefit your mission for years to come.
Year-end punchlist: Start checking it twice
You’re making a list! Before year-end gets any closer, check it twice with seven practical reminders—from reaching new donors and highlighting different ways to give to starting more personal conversations with the supporters who deserve extra attention.
IRAs, charitable giving, and two distinct opportunities
IRA giving can be confusing, but every nonprofit should understand one distinction: Retirement assets can create charitable opportunities both during a donor’s lifetime and at death. Learn the difference between QCDs and retirement-account beneficiary designations—and discover how knowing just enough to start the conversation can help you spot opportunities with donors.
Cultivating the “big bequest”: Paving the way for a bright future
That transformational bequest that seems to come out of nowhere? Chances are, those seeds were planted over many, many years. Our team shares tips to help you engage donors at every level, make endowment giving feel accessible, and keep legacy giving visible—all of which can make that “big bequest” less elusive for your organization.
As always, please reach out anytime. We are honored to work alongside your organization and so many other nonprofits serving our community. Thank you for your partnership.
—Your community foundation
THIS MONTH’S
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Year-end punchlist: Start checking it twice
You’re making a list! Maybe even more than one! The final months of the year are critical for fundraising, but year-end success involves more than sending an appeal in December and crossing your fingers that donors respond. Now is the time to engage the full spectrum of your supporters: longtime donors, occasional donors, first-time givers, and loyal supporters who may be ready to think beyond annual giving toward an endowment or legacy gift.
Before year-end gets any closer, use this seven-point checklist to make sure you are covering the bases.
Give donors a reason to give right now.
Your donors will receive a lot of year-end appeals. Make yours meaningful by connecting the gift directly to your mission and explaining what donor support makes possible. Specificity helps. Rather than simply asking donors to “support our work,” remind them of a need you are addressing, a goal you hope to accomplish, or a story that demonstrates why your work matters. Above all, make sure your communications emphasize impact—not simply your organization’s need for money.
Reach beyond your usual donors.
In 2026, there's a new reason to expand your year-end audience. Beginning this year, taxpayers who do not itemize may deduct up to $1,000 in qualifying cash contributions to eligible charities, or $2,000 for married couples filing jointly. Certain contributions, including gifts to donor-advised funds, do not qualify. That creates a timely conversation starter with people who may not traditionally think of charitable giving as part of their tax planning—including younger donors and people who make smaller gifts.
Consider incorporating a simple message into your year-end communications: “New for 2026: Even if you don't itemize deductions on your tax return, qualifying cash gifts to charity may provide a tax benefit.” Of course, taxes are rarely the primary reason someone supports a cause. Lead with your mission. But this new deduction gives you one more reason to invite new and prospective donors into the conversation.
Make it easy to give in more than one way.
Your website and year-end communications should make it easy for donors to understand their options. Online donations aren't the only way to give. Remind donors that your organization may also be able to receive gifts of appreciated stock, grants from donor-advised funds, and qualified charitable distributions from IRAs for eligible donors. Depending on your organization's capabilities, your community foundation may be able to help you accept and process gifts of complex assets as well.
Here’s an important tip: Don't assume donors know these options exist. A short “Ways to give” section in your year-end communications can prompt a conversation that might otherwise never happen.
Put legacy giving on the year-end menu.
Not every year-end conversation needs to result in a gift by December 31. Your most loyal donors may be thinking about a different question: How can I make sure this work continues after I'm gone? Include a gentle legacy message in your year-end communications. It can be as simple as reminding supporters that they can include your organization in a will or trust or name it as a beneficiary of an IRA, life insurance policy, or other eligible account.
You don't need a sophisticated planned giving department to start these conversations. In fact, successful legacy giving often begins with relationships rather than technical expertise. Ask loyal donors what your organization has meant to them, listen for comments about the future, and make sure they know that a legacy gift is an option.
Connect your endowment to the future.
If your organization has an endowment fund at the community foundation, year-end is a good time to talk about it—but resist the temptation to explain it primarily as an investment account.
Instead, explain what permanence means for your mission. An endowment gift can help ensure that the work a donor cares about today continues for future generations. Consider sharing a concrete example of what a strong endowment could mean 10, 20, or 50 years from now.
And remember that endowment and legacy giving naturally reinforce each other. A donor who cannot make a significant endowment gift today may be able to make a transformational one through an estate plan.
Make a list of people who deserve a conversation, not just an appeal.
Immediately after you press “send” on your next donor email newsletter, identify 10 or 20 donors who warrant personal attention. Who has supported you consistently for years? Who recently increased a gift? Who volunteers, attends events, or regularly responds to your communications? Who has told you why your mission matters personally? Then, forward your newsletter directly to them with a personal note that says something like:
“Hi Sam!
Thanks so much for your support over the years!
The second article in our newsletter below might interest you. We’re getting lots of questions from donors about this topic as year-end approaches. I am always happy to jump on a quick call!
Sally”
This type of personal interaction may lead to a year-end gift, but more importantly, it may also lead to something much more significant: a deeper relationship, a future major gift, an endowment gift, or an estate commitment.
Follow up in January.
Your year-end strategy shouldn't end on December 31. The calendar keeps rolling! Be sure to thank donors promptly and personally. Tell them what their support will help accomplish. Pay attention to new donors and donors who increased their giving. And make notes about people who expressed interest in other ways of supporting your organization. No substitute exists for proactive, outbound, personal communication.
The big takeaway here is that the strongest year-end fundraising strategy isn't really about year-end at all. It's about using a moment when generosity is top of mind to strengthen relationships that can support your mission next year—and for generations to come.
Please reach out to the team at the community foundation anytime! We are honored to partner with so many amazing nonprofit organizations that are making our community better every single day.
IRAs, charitable giving, and two distinct opportunities
IRAs may not be the very first thing that comes to mind when you and your colleagues implement fundraising strategies. But they probably rank in the top three! That’s because Americans who have spent decades in the workforce have watched their 401(k)s, IRAs, and other retirement accounts grow, making retirement accounts a significant part of many donors’ wealth and, in turn, their charitable plans.
Retirement accounts also create plenty of confusion around charitable giving. Here is the most important point: Donors’ retirement assets can play a role in charitable giving in two very different ways. One happens during a donor’s lifetime. The other happens at death.
You don't need to become a tax expert on either technique. But knowing the difference can help you recognize an opportunity and encourage a donor to talk with tax, financial, and estate planning advisors.
Opportunity #1: Giving from an IRA during life
A donor who has reached age 70½ may be eligible to make a Qualified Charitable Distribution (QCD) directly from an IRA to an eligible charitable organization. The opportunity begins at 70½ even though Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs) generally begin at age 73 or later, depending on the donor's birth year. (The different IRS age thresholds for QCDs and RMDs are, understandably, a common point of confusion.) For 2026, the annual QCD limit is $111,000 per taxpayer. And for donors who are already subject to RMDs, a qualifying QCD can count toward the RMD.
So why should your donors care? Unlike a conventional charitable contribution, a qualifying QCD generally is excluded from taxable income rather than claimed as a charitable income tax deduction. That can make a QCD an attractive way for eligible donors to use IRA assets to support your organization, and it’s important for donors to follow the steps carefully and be aware that the process is complex.
So what’s your organization's role when you’d like to spark a donor’s interest in supporting your mission through a QCD? First and foremost, don't give the donor tax advice. Simply recognize the opportunity. If a donor over age 70½ mentions an IRA, an RMD, or interest in exploring a tax-efficient way to make a gift, consider saying something like: “We’re working with other donors who are using their IRAs to make charitable gifts. It would be worthwhile to ask your tax advisor whether a Qualified Charitable Distribution from your IRA to support our organization could make sense for you. I’ll forward a link to information on our website that you can pass along to your attorney, CPA, or wealth advisor.”
Opportunity #2: Leaving retirement assets to a charitable organization at death
Legacy gifts of retirement accounts are sometimes confused with QCDs. A donor absolutely can use retirement assets to fulfill a charitable gift through an estate plan, but the mechanics and rules are quite different from the mechanics and rules for a QCD.
The way this works in a legacy situation is that a donor names your organization as the beneficiary of all or a percentage of an IRA or other retirement account. This is not a QCD. There is no age-70½ requirement, and the gift does not occur during the donor's lifetime. Instead, your organization receives the assets after the donor's death. What’s more, these legacy gifts via a beneficiary designation are not limited to IRAs. Other retirement accounts, such as 401(k)s and 403(b)s, can be left to a charitable organization upon the owner’s death via beneficiary designation.
Retirement accounts can be particularly attractive assets for charitable estate planning. That’s because traditional retirement assets left to individual beneficiaries may carry income tax consequences, while a tax-exempt charitable organization generally does not pay federal income tax on retirement assets it receives for its charitable purposes.
The mechanics of a legacy gift are relatively straightforward. A donor typically can name your organization as a beneficiary by updating the retirement account's beneficiary designation rather than changing a will or revocable trust. Of course, beneficiary designations should be fully coordinated with the donor's overall estate plan and reviewed carefully by the donor alongside legal, tax, and financial advisors.
For your purposes, opening the conversation with a donor might be as simple as: “If you're thinking about including our organization in your estate plan, it would be a great idea to ask your advisors whether retirement assets are an appropriate way to accomplish that goal.”
Don't mix the two
This is the distinction we hope you'll remember:
During life: An eligible donor age 70½ or older makes a QCD directly from an IRA to a charitable organization.
At death: As a part of a legacy plan, a donor names a charitable organization as a beneficiary of an IRA or other retirement account.
A donor might use one strategy, both strategies, or neither. For instance, a donor could make QCD gifts to your organization for years and also name your organization as an IRA beneficiary. Or a younger donor who is nowhere near “QCD age” could include your organization in a 401(k) account beneficiary designation right now.
One more thing to keep on your radar: Congress is considering bipartisan legislation that could expand QCD opportunities. The Charity Parity Act would allow eligible donors to make QCDs directly from certain employer-sponsored retirement plans, such as 401(k)s and 403(b)s, rather than limiting QCDs to eligible IRAs. Stay tuned!
As always, the community foundation is happy to be a sounding board! We are honored to work with many organizations in our region, whether through endowment funds established at the community foundation or other ways we work together to help transform donors’ charitable intentions into thoughtful plans for impact.
Cultivating the “big bequest”: Paving the way for a bright future
Every organization dreams of that game-changing, multi-million-dollar bequest that seems to come completely out of the blue. We’ve all heard stories about a nonprofit learning that a longtime supporter has left a major endowment gift through a will, trust, IRA beneficiary designation, or other legacy planning arrangement. “When is our big gift coming?” you wonder.
Of course, sometimes a big gift really is a surprise. But most of the time, the seeds for that gift—a lot of seeds—were planted years earlier: the donor gave modestly but consistently; the organization stayed in touch; a staff member at the organization took the time to learn why the mission mattered to the donor; the donor also learned about the organization’s endowment and was intrigued. Over time, the relationship deepened. And eventually, the donor decided to include an endowment gift to the organization in the donor’s estate plan.
How can you increase the likelihood that this sequence of events happens for your organization? Here are three suggestions.
Don't underestimate the donor who gives $100.
It's easy to focus fundraising attention on donors who can make large gifts today. But today's $100 donor could be tomorrow's loyal annual donor—and someday, that donor could leave your organization a significant portion of an estate.
2026 gives nonprofits an especially timely reason to engage donors at all levels. Beginning this year, taxpayers who do not itemize deductions may deduct up to $1,000 in qualifying cash charitable contributions, or $2,000 for married couples filing jointly.
Even with the new deduction, taxes should not become the centerpiece of your fundraising message. Your mission should always lead. Still, the new deduction gives you one more reason to reach out to people who give at modest levels—or who haven't yet become donors at all.
Consider a simple message:
New for 2026! Taxpayers who don't itemize deductions may be able to deduct up to $1,000 in qualifying cash charitable contributions, or $2,000 for married couples filing jointly. If you're considering gifts to charity this year, [ABC Charity] would be honored to be included. Thank you!
This is just the beginning, though. A $100, $250, or $500 gift matters today. But the person making it may matter to your organization for decades. So keep in touch!
Make endowment giving feel accessible—not exclusive.
If every message about your endowment features six- and seven-figure gifts, don't be surprised if donors conclude that endowment giving isn't for them. Instead, help donors understand that an endowment is something everyone can help build. A $250 gift, a $2,500 gift, a gift of appreciated stock, and a future gift through a will, trust, or IRA beneficiary designation can all be ways for donors to support your endowment and contribute to your organization's long-term strength.
You might craft a message such as:
We invite you to support [ABC Charity]’s endowment fund at whatever level fits your charitable giving plans. Every gift helps build resources to support our mission for years to come. Whether your gift is a $250 online donation, a $2,500 check, $25,000 of appreciated stock, or a much larger future gift through your will, trust, or IRA beneficiary designation, you are helping strengthen our organization for the future—and we are grateful!
The point isn't that every donor needs to make an endowment gift today. Rather, the point is to help every donor understand that supporting your endowment isn't an opportunity available only to “someone else.”
Plant more than one legacy seed—a lot more.
Communicating endowment and legacy giving opportunities is not a one-and-done effort. Keep repeating it in different ways and through different channels. A donor may hear you mention a legacy gift today and barely notice. Six months from now, that same donor might read a story about what your endowment makes possible. Next year, the donor may attend an event where someone talks about supporting your organization for future generations. Two years from now, that donor may be updating an estate plan and pass along your website URL to an estate planning attorney.
Of course, you don't need to include an outright endowment or legacy ask in every donor communication. Just make sure that you mention legacy and other types of planned giving often enough that plenty of seeds get planted. You simply want donors to understand that your organization is focused on today's needs and tomorrow's mission—and that there are ways they can support both.
Please reach out to the community foundation team to learn more about planned giving, legacy giving, and how the community foundation can help administer and manage your endowment or reserve fund as you strive to build a brighter future for our community. Thank you for your partnership.
This newsletter is provided for informational purposes only. It is not intended as legal, accounting, or financial planning advice.