Donor Stories

Tom is a retired CPA. With good investments, his IRA had grown to become over 80% of his total estate. Tom was looking for a way to rebalance his estate. He wanted to augment his planning by making a major gift to charity. As a part of good planning Tom needed to protect his home and personal savings. After considering the options, Tom decided to begin making gifts of $100,000 annually from his IRA to The Salvation Army for programs in the Southern California Division.

Tom: Like many business professionals, my IRA had become the largest part of my estate. My estate planning attorney said that I needed to do some "asset balancing" to avoid future tax problems.

Tom had been involved in many charitable causes and had thought about making a gift to The Salvation Army. Tom met with our gift planner to discuss his estate planning and charitable goals.

Our gift planner said that Tom could achieve his tax objectives by making annual charitable gifts from his IRA. The benefit of the plan was that these gifts could be made tax-free and would help to rebalance Tom's overall estate. Because of Tom's income level, there would be additional income tax benefits as well.

Tom: The IRA gift turned out to be a good decision. It helped me achieve my estate planning goals and enabled me to make a major gift that qualified for my required distribution.

Please note: The name and image above is representative of a typical donor and may or may not be an actual donor to our organization. Since your IRA gift benefits under federal rules may be different from this person, you may want to contact us to discuss an IRA gift.

The 2010 IRA charitable rollover passed the House and awaits Senate approval. It is not currently available. Because it is very likely to pass this year, we ask you to continue to plan for a potential IRA charitable rollover in the fall of 2010. To learn more click here.

For more information please select one of the following options:

1. If you would like to receive more information on the benefits of an IRA gift click here.

2. To learn more about making an IRA gift, you may print a brochure. Click Here.

About us

For more than 120 years The Salvation Army has been delivering services and hope to the less fortunate on the streets of Los Angeles and to those in shelters, schools, and daycare centers across the Southland. Internationally, it is an organization with a lineage of public service that dates back to 1865, and has evolved over the decades into a social service provider with an unmatched scope and breadth. The Salvation Army currently has representation in 114 different countries worldwide, in addition to nearly 8,000 centers of operation across the United States.

Get The Newsletter

Receive the latest information on how The Salvation Army is serving the Southern California community. You can update and unsubscribe at any time.

Newsletter Sign-Up

Salvation Army Websites:
International
United States
Western Territory