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Every day, people of all ages use services provided by the Visiting Nurse Association of the Treasure Coast (VNA). Last year, with philanthropic support they were able to provide $3,423,854 in support of our many programs and services including VNA Hospice and the VNA Mobile Health Clinic. How can you help?

Did you know that at the age of 70 ½ or older you can take advantage of what is known as a Qualified Charitable Distribution (QCD) or IRA Charitable Rollover AND help the VNA to continue providing quality care in our communities?

While you can start taking distributions from your Individual Retirement Accounts (IRA) as early as age 59 ½, by law you are required to do so beginning at age 73. Normally, these distributions are subject to income taxes. In 2015 Congress made permanent, the IRA Charitable Rollover provision which allows you to donate up to $100,000 ($200,000 per couple) per calendar year from your IRA directly to the VNA once you have reached 70 ½. Bonus, these QCDs, are not considered taxable income when made directly from your IRA to the VNA.

There are some rules to remember when considering a gift from your IRA.

• You must be 70 ½ at the time of distribution for this to qualify as a tax-exempt gift.
• You must make the gift directly to the VNA from the IRA account, if you transfer the funds to your personal account and then send it to the VNA this will be considered taxable income.
• With the recent passing of the Legacy IRA Act, you may now take a one-time election for a qualified charitable distribution of up to $50,000 (without being taxed) from your IRA to fund a Charitable Gift Annuity (CGA). Some limits apply, so contact Maurika Reed for more details at Mreed@vnatc.com or 772-978-5574.

Potential Benefits

• A QCD may reduce your Adjusted Gross Income (AGI), which can impact Social Security and Medicare premiums.
• A QCD may benefit you if you use the “standard deduction” because you do not itemize, and therefore, do not claim a charitable tax deduction when you give to charities.
• A QCD may be beneficial if you do not need any or all of your Required Minimum Distribution (RMD).

How to make a Qualified Charitable Distribution: If making a Qualified Charitable Distribution is right for you, first contact your IRA administrator to initiate the request. VNA & Hospice Foundation is a 501(c) (3) charitable organization categorized as a supporting organization under section 509(a)(3) of the tax code. All QCD gifts must be made payable to the VNA of the Treasure Coast (59-2664912), a qualified charitable organization. QCD gifts should be mailed to:

VNA & Hospice Foundation
920 37^th Place, Suite 101
Vero Beach, Florida 32960

If you have any questions on how you can help support the VNA, please contact Maurika Reed at 772-978-5574 or mreed@vnatc.com.

For the past 32 years, the VNA & Hospice Foundation has organized our annual Golf-A-Thon, bringing together local golf clubs to help support the VNA’s Charitable Care Program. In 1991, four local golf pros participated in the inaugural VNA Golf-A-Thon at Orchid Island Golf Club. This unique event continued to grow and 32 years later, in 2022, 13 pros from our local clubs played at The Moorings Yacht & Country Club, helping us raise over $484,000! Funding from that year’s event allowed the VNA to provide over $533,000 in home health and hospice services for patients through our Charitable Care Program.

Our Golf-A-Thon is a unique event in Vero Beach. Golf club members donate in support of their golf pro’s participation in the event while supporting the VNA’s mission of providing the highest quality home health, hospice and community health services to those who cannot afford their care.

On Monday, May 1^st, our 13 golf pros will be teeing off at 7 a.m. at Indian River Club in an attempt to play 135 holes of golf. The golf pros for our 33^rd annual event are:

Matthew Challenor – Windsor Club

David Champagne – Orchid Island Golf Club

Drew DiSesa – Riomar Country Club

Randy Hedgecock – Vero Beach Country Club

Steve Hudson – John’s Island Club

Ian Killen – Indian River Club

Don Meadows – Quail Valley Golf Club

Frank Mentzer – Oak Harbor Golf Club

Bela Nagy – Sandridge Golf Club

Troy Pare – Grand Harbor Club

A.J. Petrulak – The Moorings Yacht & Country Club

Eddie Suchora – Bent Pine Golf Club

Ryan Zug – Pointe West Country Club

Along with our loyal golf pros, we have a dedicated group of Golf-A-Thon Committee members who work with us for five months out of the year to help plan this event. Each of the participating clubs has committee members who attend monthly meetings and serve as VNA ambassadors in their respective clubs. These volunteers give so much of their time to the VNA, this year stuffing more than 10,000 envelopes for our mailing, recruiting volunteers for the event day and promoting the event at their clubs to ensure a successful day.

Our loyal and generous donors to this event make a huge impact on the lives of those individuals in our community who need our care! If you’d like more information about this year’s Golf-A-Thon, including how you can support your golf pro, please visit: https://vnatc.org/golf-a-thon/.

Every day, people of all ages use the services provided by the VNA. When you give a gift to the VNA & Hospice Foundation, you are helping us provide compassionate, innovative care of the highest quality, setting the standard for patients and caregivers needing home health, hospice, and community health services. The VNA extends this care to the uninsured and underinsured in our community, ensuring healthcare equity for all.

A donation of appreciated stock may offer you significant tax benefits. Contributions of appreciated securities held for more than one year are generally tax-deductible at market value, regardless of what you paid for the securities. This may provide you with capital gains savings as well as a charitable income tax deduction. It is important to transfer the stock directly to the VNA & Hospice Foundation to take advantage of the tax incentives associated with making this type of gift.

Consider this strategy: Let’s say you were originally going to donate $10,000 from your personal account; instead, you choose to donate $10,000 in appreciated stock directly to the VNA & Hospice Foundation. Then you reinvest the $10,000 from your personal account back into your portfolio to maintain the same level of investment, but in doing so you were able to increase your stock basis, avoid capital gains tax AND support the VNA & Hospice Foundation for a win, win, win!

Donating appreciated stock is one of many options that can help reduce tax liabilities while supporting the wonderful programs the VNA has to offer; click here to learn more about these programs. We encourage you to talk with your financial/tax advisors to see what the best strategy for you would be.

Donating Appreciated Securities: Executing a gift of stock is simple. The transfer of securities from your brokerage account to the VNA & Hospice Foundation is accomplished via the Depository Trust Company (DTC).

For more information about transferring stock, including account information to initiate a transfer, please contact Maurika Reed, Charitable Gift Planner, at mreed@vnatc.com or at (772) 978-5574.

If you would like to electronically begin a stock transfer to the VNA without going through a broker, you can do so through our donatestock.com page. Click here to learn more.