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VGPC Newsletter | Issue 2, April 2026 |
Building a Stronger Future Through Planned Giving
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Greetings from the Virginia Gift Planning Council!As we move further into 2026, I continue to be energized by the Virginia Gift Planning Council’s membership and work. We last gathered in February for an exceptionally engaging Signature Series with Ligia Peña, CFRE, focused on legacy giving with Gen X donors. While it is certainly a notable milestone when your generation becomes active in legacy giving, I found the program to be rich with strategies and insights that are immediately applicable across generations. I remain grateful to the many of you who joined us for this and our other programs this year. It is truly rewarding to see colleagues come together to collaborate and strengthen our shared commitment to planned giving, as well as to the donors and institutions we serve.I am also deeply appreciative of our Program Chair, Cathy Boe, and her committee for assembling such a thoughtful and informative slate of programs this year. Special thanks as well to Robert Patterson for his leadership in developing the Signature Series. The goal is straightforward: to ensure that every program you attend leaves you better equipped and more confident in your practice. I hope you will be able to join us for our next program on April 23 at 10:30 to learn from Tara Adams, Ed.M., JD, and Anthony Pomonis on working with donors who have, or may be developing, cognitive impairment. This is an important and increasingly relevant topic, particularly as we seek to support our institutions while maintaining the highest ethical standards and respect for some of our most dedicated supporters. VGPC programs are most impactful when the room is filled with engaged peers, and your participation plays an important role in that dynamic. Your presence strengthens not only your own practice, but the collective expertise of the group. As we look ahead to next year, I also encourage you to explore a role on the VGPC Board. The Council benefits from a steady infusion of new perspectives and ideas, and we are always seeking thoughtful and committed professionals who are interested in helping to shape its future. If you have been considering becoming more involved, this may be the right time to raise your hand. If you are interested, I encourage you to reach out to me, Jason Chestnutt, or any member of the Board. We would welcome the opportunity to speak with you. Thank you for your membership and for your continued service to the field. We look forward to seeing you on April 23. R. Scott Dodson ____________________________________ Board Member Spotlight: Meet Kevin Napier
What is your
current role, and what does your work involve?
What do you
value most about your VGPC membership, and how has it benefited you
professionally?
What VGPC
programs or events have been most valuable to you?
If you were
encouraging someone to join VGPC, what would you say?
If you could
describe VGPC in one sentence, what would it be?
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Employer:
Children’s Hospital Foundation
How did you
first become involved with VGPC, and what led to your board service?Program RecapAt our recent Signature Series, From Grunge to Generosity: Winning Gen X for Legacy Giving, Ligia Peña, CFRE, delivered a focused, practical session on why Generation X must be a priority for today’s gift planning strategies. Attendees gained actionable insights into engaging this often-overlooked cohort—now entering peak earning and decision-making years—by aligning messaging with their values, financial realities, and preference for authenticity and impact. The session offered clear takeaways for fundraisers and advisors alike seeking to build long-term, sustainable pipelines for legacy giving. The presentation and handouts from this program are located in the member resources section of our website. You must be an active VGPC member and logged in to access them. | Register Today!Join Tara Adams, Ed.M., JD, and Anthony Pomonis for our next program on April 23, a timely discussion on cognitive impairment and its implications for donor engagement and gift planning. Cognitive Impairment in Donors: Best Practices and Organizational Implementation will offer practical guidance on identifying concerns, addressing ethical considerations, and working collaboratively across disciplines to protect both donors and institutions. Please join us for this important topic—one that is essential for gift officers, advisors, and legal and financial professionals at every level. Email info@vagiftplanning.org to register and order your lunch.
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____________________________________ Expand Your Knowledge - Alphabet Soup: The ABCs of QCDsby Susanna Brailsford Jones In my estate planning law practice, I often joke with clients about the alphabet soup of acronyms we discuss in retirement planning: SSA (Social Security Administration), COLA (Cost of Living Adjustment), LTC (Long-Term Care), 401(k)s, 403(b)s, and, last but not least, IRAs (Individual Retirement Arrangements), with their Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs) and Qualified Charitable Deductions (QCDs). Although QCDs are not a new technique, they are often news to fresh or prospective retirees. While the basics are simple—the IRA trustee or custodian makes a distribution directly to an eligible charitable organization, thereby excluding the otherwise taxable income from the donor’s gross income—some statutory requirements and recent developments in this area warrant a close look to ensure that your current practices are appropriate. The governing rules for QCDs can be found in §408(d)(8) of the Internal Revenue Code. QCDs are generally available from traditional IRAs, Roth IRAs, and inactive SEP/SIMPLE IRAs, but not from ongoing SEP/SIMPLE IRAs and employer plans such as 401(k) and 403(b) accounts. The recipient must be a qualifying charitable organization, not supporting organizations and Donor Advised Funds (another acronym! DAFs). The amount of the QCD may count toward satisfying the RMD for a given year, but the QCD amount is excluded from the donor’s income and does not generate a separate charitable income tax deduction. Several provisions in the original 2019 SECURE Act impacted QCDs. The SECURE Act increased the age at which many taxpayers were required to begin taking RMDs from 70½ to 72 and the recent Secure Act 2.0 increased the age twice more as follows:
Of note, this increase did not raise the QCD eligibility age, which remains 70½. In addition, the SECURE Act repealed the age limit on deductible contributions to traditional IRAs and spawned a related anti-abuse coordination rule under IRC §408(d)(8). This rule applies to donors who continued making deductible IRA contributions after reaching age 70 ½ and may reduce the amount otherwise available to that donor as a QCD. Congress revisited QCDs in 2024 with SECURE 2.0. SECURE 2.0 indexed the annual QCD limit for inflation beginning in 2024. It also created a one-time election permitting a QCD to fund certain split-interest chartable arrangements, including (still more acronyms!) charitable gift annuities (CGAs), charitable remainder annuity trusts (CRATs) or charitable remainder unitrusts (CRUTs), subject to a separate, indexed cap. SECURE 2.0 did not impact the age threshold for QCD eligibility, leaving it at 70 ½. For 2026, the annual limit for a QCD is $111,000 and the one-time, split-interest election is $55,000. Before this year, tax preparers would report the QCD by deducting the amount of the QCD amount from the total distribution reported on the donor’s Form 1099-R and make a manual notation of the reason (“QCD”). Beginning with QCDs taken in 2025 and reported on 2026 income tax returns, Form 1099-R should include a new Code “Y” to denote the QCD, rather than relying on the manual adjustments made by tax preparers in prior years. Of course, this new Code did not eliminate the need for good documentation to substantiate the transfer was made directly to the charity and the charity’s contemporaneous acknowledgement. Of note, new limitations on itemized charitable deductions beginning in 2026 may increase the tactical value of QCDs since QCDs are simply excluded from income rather than being reported as deductions on Schedule A. Susanna Brailsford Jones is a Partner and member of Florance Gordon Brown’s Estate Planning and Administration Practice Group and its Business Law Practice Group. ____________________________________ |