National Estate Planning Awareness Week, October 19–25, 2026
A longtime Delco resident spent decades here raising a family, volunteering, and watching the county change. A few years ago, a simple question came up: What will I leave behind for the place that gave me so much?
The answer was sitting in an IRA.
After turning 70½, this donor made qualified charitable distributions (QCDs) from their IRA. Those gifts created a Fund for Delaware County, which puts money where Delaware County needs it most, whenever the need arises.
Unlike funds tied to a single cause, this donor directed their dollars to a permanent endowment held by the Foundation, allowing us to respond to whatever our community needs, whenever those needs arise.
That flexibility matters because community needs can arise unexpectedly. In recent years, Delaware County has faced a pandemic that shuttered businesses and stretched nonprofits thin. More than 77,000 residents who rely on SNAP saw their food benefits disrupted. The closing of the county’s largest healthcare provider left a critical shortage of treatment beds and services. None of these challenges came with advance notice.
Because the gifts go directly from the IRA to the Foundation, the donor generally does not pay income tax on them. Once required minimum distributions begin, QCDs can also count toward the amount that must be withdrawn each year.
Another option is to name the fund at the Foundation as the beneficiary of the IRA. No new will. No lawyer’s bill. When the time comes, whatever remains in the account will flow into the same fund and keep working for Delaware County year after year.
Because the fund is permanent, it can keep growing. We invest gifts together at a scale no single donor could reach on their own, so a gift made today can keep working for generations.
Why an IRA Can Be a Taxable Inheritance for Your Children
It sounds unlikely, but a traditional IRA can be one of the most heavily taxed assets you leave to your family.
Most dollars in a traditional IRA have never been taxed. When heirs withdraw those assets, the distributions are generally subject to ordinary income tax. Under current law, most adult children must empty an inherited IRA within ten years, and those withdrawals generally count as ordinary income. For many heirs, those ten years fall during their highest-earning years. The inheritance can push them into a higher tax bracket, and a meaningful share of what you saved goes to taxes instead of to them.
A charitable organization generally does not pay income tax on an IRA distribution. When the Foundation receives a gift from your IRA, every dollar can go to work for the community.
That is why some families choose to divide their estate this way:
Those other assets may offer more favorable tax treatment for heirs, depending on the type of asset and the family’s circumstances. Your family is not necessarily shortchanged. More of what you built can go where you want it to go, with less lost to taxes.
What It Takes
Naming the Foundation as a beneficiary is one of the simplest planned gifts there is:
You can name the Foundation as the beneficiary of a percentage of the account and leave the rest to family. You can direct your gift to The Fund for Delaware County, to a cause you care about, or to a fund that carries your name. You can change your designation at any time.
Your Legacy, Your Community
Your gift can support the Delaware County we cherish, now and forever. A hundred years from now, Delaware County may not remember our names, but it will remember what we did in this moment.
This National Estate Planning Awareness Week, take ten minutes to look at your beneficiary forms. If Delaware County belongs in your plans, we are here to help you make it happen.
As always, we encourage you to consult your legal, tax, or financial advisors regarding your individual circumstances.
To learn more, contact Monika Collins at mcollins@delcofoundation.org or 610-744-1015.
