Turning an IRA into Opportunity

Richard and Rachel never imagined they would become philanthropists for UAF. After all, it had been more than 50 years since Richard returned from Army service, and he attended UAF for only a short stint before pursuing other opportunities.

Decades later, after retirement from the school district, Richard enjoyed working in the Lowe’s electrical department. There he met an exceptionally bright young coworker who was pursuing an electrical engineering degree at UAF while supporting himself.

Richard and Rachel admired the student's grit and intellect. So they were deeply disappointed to learn that the student’s financial strain drove him to abandon his studies. Desperately, Richard and Rachel offered to help, but he declined. That disappointment became an inspiration this fall. At an estate-planning seminar hosted by the University of Alaska Foundation through the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute, the couple learned about qualified charitable distributions (QCDs) from an IRA.

Around the same time, Richard inherited his sister's sizeable IRA. Inherited retirement accounts to someone other than a spouse must be completely withdrawn within ten years; the distributions would create income and taxes they did not need.

Through a QCD donors aged 70½ or older can direct their IRA custodian to transfer up to $111,000 annually (in 2026) directly to charity, avoiding taxable income. It dawned on them, “Instead of sending a big check to the IRS, we could help create well-educated humans.”

Richard and Rachel worked with their IRA custodian and the UA Foundation to endow a scholarship with their QCDs—forever supporting electrical engineering and computer science students at UAF facing financial hardship.

What began as disappointment became a source of joy and a lasting opportunity for UAF students.