At the Omaha Community Foundation, we’re committed to providing timely updates on legal and policy developments to help you stay on top of the best practices in charitable planning. In that spirit, Donor Advised Funds and the rules governing these vehicles are topics that are popping up more frequently in the news. Our team is closely watching these regulatory developments.

As background, in November 2023, the Internal Revenue Service issued proposed regulations that would change the way Donor Advised Funds are defined and how they operate. Several groups representing the legal, accounting, and fundraising community provided feedback on how the proposed changes would negatively affect charitable giving. Community foundations across the county, including the Omaha Community, shared their concerns as well. You can read our written comments submitted to the IRS prior to the May 6, 2024 public hearings. We were pleased to receive support from a bipartisan group of 33 members of the House Ways and Means Committee, who sent a letter to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen. The letter lays out their concerns that “these regulations could have the unintended consequence of impeding charitable giving in our communities, particularly at our local community foundations.”

We will continue to monitor the proposed regulations and any revisions and keep you informed about how any changes might affect your clients’ charitable giving plans.

While the regulations focused on Donor Advised Funds, that is just one type of charitable giving fund offered at the Omaha Community Foundation. We can help your clients with a number of giving tools, including:

  • Charitable Checkbook – A Charitable Checkbook Fund allows an easy entry point with an initial contribution of $1,000 or more. The Fund offers you all the Foundation’s services, knowledge, and resources to help make your giving more impactful, with no annual fees or charges.
  • Donor Advised Fund – A Donor Advised Fund allows donors—and their successors—to engage in philanthropy, while pursuing larger, longer term philanthropic goals. The Fund offers you all the Foundation’s services, knowledge, and resources to help make your giving more impactful, with a $25,000 investment.
  • Field of Interest funds – With a Field of Interest Fund, you can create a lasting legacy by giving in your name, in honor of a loved one, or anonymously with an initial investment of $100,000. OCF can manage the annual selection of grant recipients (nonprofit organizations) using our staff, board, and/or local community experts who are knowledgeable about your cause or issue.
  • Designated funds – This allows your client to support a charitable cause or organization they love. Unrestricted funds help your clients support future needs in the community that can’t be predicted and can only be addressed through the community foundation’s perpetual structure and mission to serve the community as a whole.

A major advantage of field-of-interest funds, designated funds, and unrestricted funds is that they are eligible recipients of the popular and tax-savvy planning tool called the Qualified Charitable Distribution, or “QCD,” available to your clients who have reached age 70 ½.

We look forward to helping you serve your charitable clients regardless of where the proposed regulations ultimately land. And we’ll keep you posted!