While many people are familiar with QCDs in general, fewer realize how impactful they can be when directed toward scholarship funds or designated funds at your community foundation.

What is a QCD—and Why Does It Matter?

A Qualified Charitable Distribution allows you to transfer funds directly from your IRA to a qualified charity.

This strategy offers several key benefits:

• Satisfies your Required Minimum Distribution (RMD)
• Reduces your taxable income
• Allows for direct, meaningful charitable impact 

Unlike traditional charitable gifts, QCDs are excluded from your income, which can be especially beneficial for managing taxes in retirement.

Important Rule: Where QCDs Can—and Cannot—Go

One key detail:
👉 QCDs cannot be used to fund Donor Advised Funds (DAFs).

However, they are an excellent fit for:

• Scholarship Funds
• Designated Funds (supporting specific nonprofits)
• Competitive Grantmaking or Community Impact Funds
• The THCF Sustainability Fund

This opens the door to some very intentional and legacy-driven giving strategies.

Support Students Through Scholarship Funds

If education is important to you, directing your QCD to a scholarship fund is one of the most meaningful ways to give.

Your IRA gift can:

• Help local students access higher education
• Create or grow a scholarship fund in your family
• Provide ongoing annual awards for years to come 

At Truman Heartland, scholarship funds have awarded millions of dollars to students, connecting donor generosity with real opportunity. A QCD allows you to be part of that impact—often immediately.

Strengthen the Causes You Care About with Designated Funds

If you already support a favorite nonprofit, a Designated Fund allows you to direct your QCD in a way that provides consistent, long-term support.

With a designated fund, your IRA gift can:

• Provide annual funding to a specific nonprofit to support their mission
• Help stabilize organizations you care about with a stream of contributions over time
• Ensure your support continues beyond a single gift 

This is especially powerful for nonprofits building sustainability through endowment and planned giving strategies—something we actively help organizations develop.

A Simple, Tax-Smart Giving Strategy

Here’s how it works:

1. Contact your IRA custodian and request a QCD to THCF
2. Call us and let us know your plans
3. Direct the gift to a scholarship fund, designated fund, or community fund
4. The funds are transferred directly to the Foundation
5. You meet your RMD requirement—without increasing taxable income 

For 2026, eligible donors can contribute up to $111,000 annually through QCDs (per individual), making this a significant giving tool. 

Why Work with Your Community Foundation?

A QCD is more than a transaction—it’s an opportunity to align your giving with your long-term goals.

At Truman Heartland Community Foundation, we help you:

• Choose or create the right type of fund for your priorities
• Connect your giving to local needs
• Build a strategy that supports both impact and tax efficiency
• Ensure your gifts are stewarded for long-term community benefit 

Make Your IRA Work for Good

If you’re already taking Required Minimum Distributions, a QCD is one of the simplest and most effective ways to give.

And when directed toward scholarships or designated funds, your gift does more than meet a requirement—it creates opportunity, stability, and lasting community impact.

Start the Conversation

Interested in using your IRA to support a scholarship fund or nonprofit you care about?

Reach out to Cole Eason at eason@thcf.org  or explore how a Qualified Charitable Distribution can fit into your charitable giving plan.