January 30, 2009

When President Bush signed the recent $700 billion economic bailout bill (H.R. 1424, The Financial Rescue Package), he authorized a two-year extension of the IRA Rollover provision. This act permits an IRA owner age 70½ or older to make a direct transfer to charity, such as the LSU Foundation, which could be used to benefit LSU academics. The transfer may be up to $100,000 in one year. The provision will be made retroactive to January 1, 2008, and will apply to gifts made from that date through December 31, 2009. The $100,000 IRA charitable gifts provision opens up excellent gift opportunities. The provision exempts from taxable income any funds transferred (“rolled over”) from an Individual Retirement Account (IRA) to a charitable organization. The following limitations apply: · The donor must be age 70½ or older· The cap on annual IRA rollovers is $100,000· The contribution must be a direct gift to a charity (no planned gifts)

The previous provision expired at the end of 2007, but two more years have been added with the passage of H.R. 1424. During the last two years, the LSU Foundation received over $933,000 in IRS rollover donations. “The IRA Rollover provision is ideal for certain donors to LSU,” said Jeffery McLain, Vice President for Development for the LSU Foundation. “Despite the economy, I encourage donors to speak with their financial advisors to learn if the rollover is beneficial to their support of LSU.”For extensive details on the IRA Rollover Provisions, including a sample letter a donor may use to transfer funds, click here.

Gifts made to LSU via the IRA rollover provision will be counted toward the goals of the Forever LSU campaign, a special fundraising effort with the mission of attaining $750 million in support for LSU by the end of the year 2010. Already, great progress has been made toward this goal, and all LSU friends and alumni are encouraged to get involved. To find out how you can become LSU’s next hero, visit www.foreverlsu.org.

Article excerpted from LSU Foundation, 225-578-5706, mlavall@lsu.edu

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