How can someone over 70½ support several Adams County nonprofits with a single charitable gift? That’s a question we hear more often at the Adams County Community Foundation, and there is a particularly useful answer for people who have an IRA: a qualified charitable distribution, or QCD.
If you are over 70½ and have an IRA, you can make a QCD directly from your IRA to a qualified charity. The QCD gift can count toward your required minimum distribution and is not included in your taxable income.
In 2026, eligible taxpayers can give up to $111,000 per person through a QCD.
But here’s where it gets especially interesting for people who want to support multiple local nonprofits at one time.
Rather than your IRA administrator writing separate checks to several qualified nonprofits, you can make one QCD gift to the Adams County Community Foundation and use that gift to support multiple participating nonprofits through the Community Foundation’s Giving Spree.
The Giving Spree, happening November 5, 2026, is Adams County’s annual day of giving. It brings local nonprofits and donors together for one day of communitywide generosity. A QCD can be used to make your Giving Spree gift, allowing you to support the nonprofits you care about while taking advantage of the tax benefits available through a QCD. Last year nearly 200 donors gave to the Giving Spree in this way.
Or, you can always use a QCD to establish or add to an endowment fund.
For example, you could make a QCD to the Fund for Adams County, the Community Foundation’s permanent community grantmaking endowment. Alternatively, if you have a particular area of interest, you can explore ways to establish or support an endowed charitable fund that will continue making a difference in Adams County long after your initial gift is made.
In other words, your QCD doesn’t have to be just about making a gift through the Giving Spree. It can be a way to create a lasting giving legacy wherever your charitable interests, across Pennsylvania or across the country.
If you are considering using a QCD for the Giving Spree, don’t wait until November 5. Contact your IRA administrator now and request that your QCD be made payable directly to the Adams County Community Foundation. Then let us know the amount of your gift and which participating nonprofits you would like to support by completing a Giving Spree Donation Form.
More information about QCDs and how to make one is available at www.adamscountycf.org/for-donors/what-and-how-to-give/.
I’m Heather Fadrowski, the Controller for the Adams County Community Foundation. Although I’m still a few years shy of 70½, I think QCDs are pretty cool. Do you? Let me know at he*****@***********cf.org or 717-337-0060.
This information is not a substitute for expert legal, tax, financial or other professional advice and is for informational and educational purposes only. You should consult your professional advisor to determine the impact of making a QCD based on your particular financial and tax situation. The Adams County Community Foundation is a qualified charitable organization (Tax ID #26-1404848).