You may be able to provide significant support to the protection of civil liberties by making a gift to the ACLU of Ohio Foundation directly from your IRA account. Best of all—you will owe no federal taxes on your distribution!
To speak to someone about this very important philanthropic tool, please contact us at (614) 586-1959, or at contact@acluohio.org.
FAQs and Sample Documents:

Can anyone make a gift through their IRA? In order to qualify for the benefits put forth under the Tax Increase Prevention Act of 2014, you must be at least 70 1/2 years old and own a Traditional or Roth IRA.
Is there a minimum dollar amount to make a gift? The maximum dollar amount that you can give to the ACLU of Ohio Foundation through your IRA assets is $100,000 per calendar year (although married couples may each give $100,000 from the individual IRA accounts). Additionally, there is no minimum gift amount required by the ACLU of Ohio Foundation. You should, however, check with your IRA administrator to see whether or not they have policies regarding minimum transfer amounts.
Will my gift satisfy my Required Minimum Distribution? Yes. Direct transfers from you IRA to the ACLU of Ohio Foundation will be applied to your Required Minimum Distribution.
Are both the ACLU and the ACLU of Ohio Foundation eligible to receive a gift of IRA assets? Only the ACLU of Ohio Foundation is eligible to receive a gift through your IRA.
How do I make a gift? Once you decide to proceed with a gift, contact your IRA administrator, well in advance of the December 31st deadline, and tell them that you would like to make a direct “charitable IRA rollover” to the ACLU of Ohio Foundation. You may need to provide our Tax ID number/EIN: 23-7137105. Please let us know about your gift so we can let you know when we receive the check from your financial institution! If you do not inform the ACLU of Ohio of your gift, it could arrive from your administrator as a “mystery gift,” with no information telling us that you were the donor. Contact the ACLU of Ohio independently and let us know a gift is on the way.
Make sure to ask your IRA administrator about any additional procedures, policies, and fees that might have an effect on your gift.
For more information on IRA Rollovers, please contact us at (614) 586-1959, or at contact@acluohio.org. Sample Documents1. Sample Request from Plan Owner to Administrator for Charitable Distribution from Individual Retirement AccountRE: Request for Charitable Distribution from Individual Retirement AccountDear Sir or Madam: Please accept this letter as my request to make a direct charitable distribution from my Individual Retirement Account # (Account Number) as provided by the Sec. 1201 of the Pension Protection Act of 2006 and Sec. 408(d)(8) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended.Please issue a check in the amount of $___________ payable to the organization at address below:ACLU of Ohio 4506 Chester Avenue Cleveland, OH 44103-3621 Attn: Jason JafferyIn your transmittal to the ACLU of Ohio, please memorialize my name and address as the donor of record in connection with this transfer. Please copy me on your transmittal.(Optional paragraph for requests occurring close to year-end) It is my intention to have this transfer qualify for exclusion during the 2012/2013 tax year. Therefore, it is imperative this distribution be postmarked no later than January 31, 2013 [to qualify retroactively for tax year 2012]/December 31, 2013 2013 [to qualify retroactively for tax year 2013]. If you have any questions or need to contact me, I can be reached at (telephone). Thank you for your assistance in this matter.Sincerely, (Plan Owner)
2. Sample Letter from Donor Informing Charity of Forthcoming Qualified Charitable Distribution from Administrator
Dear Sir or Madam: It is my pleasure to inform you that I have requested a qualified charitable distribution from my Individual Retirement Account payable to the ACLU of Ohio in the amount of $____________ from my plan trustee/administrator, ( name of trustee/administrator).
It is my intent to comply with the requirements of Sec. 1201 of the Pension Protection Act of 2006 and Sec. 408(d)(8) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, in connection with this gift.
Accordingly, upon your receipt of payment from my trustee/administrator, please send me a contemporaneous written acknowledgement that states the amount of my gift, that no goods or services were transferred to me by your organization in consideration for this gift, and that my gift will not be placed in a donor advised fund or supporting organization.
If you have any questions or need to contact me, I can be reached at (telephone).
Sincerely, (Donor)