AFP Virtual Lobby Week: Write Your Member of Congress on the IRA Legacy Act

AFP is celebrating April 26 – 30 as our Virtual Lobby Week, with chapters across the United States meeting with members of Congress and their staff to push forward our key legislative priorities for 2021.

One of our priorities is the IRA Legacy Act, which expands the IRA charitable rollover by allowing seniors starting at age 65 to make tax-free IRA rollovers of up to $400,000 annually to charities through a charitable gift annuity or a charitable remainder trust. You can learn all about the IRA rollover provision and the IRA Legacy Act here.

In addition to chapter meetings, we’re asking all U.S. members to send letters to their Representatives and Senators and urge them to support and cosponsor the IRA Legacy Act. Below are template letters that you can personalize and email to your U.S. Representative and two U.S. Senators.

We featured the universal charitable deduction on Monday, and tomorrow, Thursday, we’ll have sample letters about rising nonprofit postage rates.

Sending Your IRA Legacy Act Letter

The IRA Legacy Act has been introduced as a separate, stand-alone bill in the Senate: S. 243. However, in the House of Representatives, the legislation will likely NOT be introduced as a stand-alone bill, but will be part of a larger retirement package: the Securing a Strong Retirement Act of 2021. This bi-partisan bill is still being developed by the House Ways and Means Committee and hasn’t been introduced yet. That’s why we have two similar, but different letters below.

To find out whom your U.S. Representative and two U.S. Senators are, along with their contact information, click here and search on your zip code.

Feel free to personalize the template letters below and email it to your members of Congress today! Information in parentheses and brackets indicate where you need to personalize your letter.

Please send copies of your emails to paffairs@afpglobal.org, and you can use the same email address if you have any questions.

Sample Letter for U.S. Representatives

Dear Representative [NAME]:

As a constituent who works in the charitable sector focusing on meeting community needs, I urge you to support the IRA Legacy Act, which expands the current IRA rollover provision that allows donors to transfer funds tax-free from their IRA or other retirement fund to a charitable organization.

Many charities are still suffering from the impact of the pandemic, experiencing both an increased demand for services and a decrease in contributions. In addition, over the past 15 years, research has shown that the share of Americans donating to charity has dropped by 11 percentage points.

One way to reverse this trends and increase charitable giving is through the IRA Legacy Act. This bipartisan legislation builds on and expands the existing IRA charitable rollover provision by allowing seniors starting at age 65 to make tax-free IRA rollovers to charities while providing a guaranteed income for life. Since its enactment, the IRA charitable rollover has generated millions of dollars in new or increased contributions to local and national charities.

As a member of the Association of Fundraising Professionals and [TITLE] at the [ORGANIZATION NAME], I know first-hand how important charitable giving incentives are. People give because they want to give—and for many personal reasons—but how much they give and how often they give is affected by incentives like the IRA rollover.

[OPTIONAL: INSERT A SENTENCE OR TWO ABOUT GIVING AT YOUR OWN ORGANIZATION AND HOW THE CHARITABLE IRA ROLLOVER WOULD BENEFIT YOUR MISSION AND THE PEOPLE YOU SERVE.]

The IRA Legacy Act is expected to be part of a larger retirement bill called the Securing a Strong Retirement Act of 2021, which is scheduled to be introduced in May. Please support this important legislation and the charities who serve and help thousands of people every day across your district.

Sincerely,

Sample Letter for U.S. Senators

Dear Senator [NAME]:

As a constituent who works in the charitable sector focusing on meeting community needs, I urge you to support S. 243, the IRA Legacy Act, which expands the current IRA rollover provision that allows donors to transfer funds tax-free from their IRA or other retirement fund to a charitable organization.

Many charities are still suffering from the impact of the pandemic, experiencing both an increased demand for services and a decrease in contributions. In addition, over the past 15 years, research has shown that the share of Americans donating to charity has dropped by 11 percentage points.

One way to reverse this trend and increase charitable giving is through the IRA Legacy Act. This bipartisan legislation builds on and expands the existing IRA charitable rollover provision by allowing seniors starting at age 65 to make tax-free IRA rollovers to charities while providing a guaranteed income for life. Since its enactment, the IRA charitable rollover has generated millions of dollars in new or increased contributions to local and national charities.

As a member of the Association of Fundraising Professionals and [TITLE] at the [ORGANIZATION NAME], I know first-hand how important charitable giving incentives are. People give because they want to give—and for many personal reasons—but how much they give and how often they give is affected by incentives like the IRA rollover.

[OPTIONAL: INSERT A SENTENCE OR TWO ABOUT GIVING AT YOUR OWN ORGANIZATION AND HOW THE CHARITABLE IRA ROLLOVER WOULD BENEFIT YOUR MISSION AND THE PEOPLE YOU SERVE.]

Please support the charitable community by supporting S. 243 and the IRA charitable rollover. You’ll be helping charities to provide critically needed services to thousands of people across the state.

Sincerely,