Good news!

Recently, Congress passed and the President signed a package of legislation that includes a limited-time provision for qualified charitable contributions from Individual Retirement Accounts to charity, sometimes referred to as “Charitable IRA Rollovers.”  Between now and December 31, 2007, you have an unprecedented opportunity to help Millikin University.  Here’s how:

--Individuals aged 70½ and older may transfer up to $100,000 per year directly from an IRA to charity.

--The charitable distribution counts toward Minimum Required Distribution requirements.

--Please note that, since the funds in IRA accounts were deductible from taxable income at the time they were deposited, the distribution to charity cannot generate an additional charitable tax deduction.  However, because the distribution from the IRA to charity avoids the income taxation that would ordinarily occur, even taxpayers who don’t itemize their deductions can benefit from making such a gift.

The provision does include some limitations.  For instance, distributions may not be used to fund Charitable Remainder Trusts or Charitable Gift Annuities, and state tax treatments may differ.

Despite the obvious benefits of this provision, there may be more tax-efficient ways for you to make a gift.  As always, we recommend you seek the advice of your tax and/or legal counsel before deciding on a course of action.

If you are interested in discussing your options under this unique provision, please feel free to call me at (217) 424-3953 or toll-free at (877) 568-2586; or you may email me at aberk@mail.millikin.edu.

Many thanks for your interest and support.

Sincerely,

Anne-Marie Berk, Director of Major Gifts.