President's Letter

Last week, our North Idaho Philanthropic Advisor Peter Faucher and I traveled through the region visiting with ICF fundholders, grantees, board and past board directors, and Regional Council members. 

Our first stop was in Plummer to spend some time at Marimn Health, which is the health center of the Coeur d’Alene Tribe. In the language of the Tribe, Marimn means “to heal.”  We met with Janice Jordan, the CEO of Marimn Health, who has been in her current role for 6 months.

One of her first accomplishments was to help everyone realize that Marimn Health has expanded beyond the medical center to include a behavioral health center, recreation center, a Boys & Girls Club and more. In order to reflect all of the parts of Marimn Health, Janice worked with many members of the community to craft a very powerful new mission statement: “To preserve the future of the Coeur d’Alene Tribe.”  

In St. Maries, we had dinner with North Regional Council Member Peg Carver and her husband Tom, who is the mayor.  It is always so wonderful to spend time with people who are so passionate about their town. Regional Council members like Peg are our eyes and ears in communities of all sizes throughout Idaho. They help us understand the needs where they live and which community organizations are making an impact.  

Our next stop was Lewiston where we met with John McCabe, the Treasurer of Stepping Stones, an ICF fundholder. Stepping Stones was started by former ICF Board Director Gerard Connelly with a goal to promote the health, security, happiness and independence of people with disabling conditions. They have given more than $300,000 in grants from their ICF fund to organizations that serve people with disabilities in Latah County and Whitman County, Washington.

While in Lewiston, we had the privilege of spending time with ICF Board Member and Idaho State Representative Lori McCann and her husband, former ICF Board Member Bill McCann, two pillars of the community. 

In Coeur d’Alene, we visited ICF fundholder and grantee, the Museum of North Idaho, and also saw the great progress being made on the construction of Rotary Park in downtown Coeur d’Alene. The Coeur d’Alene Rotary Club is an ICF fundholder. 

We met with Dr. Nick Swayne, the new President of North Idaho College, an ICF grantee.  Dr. Swayne is a proud U of I grad and is thrilled to be back in Idaho after a long tenure at James Madison University in Virginia. 

As I reflected on my visit, I realized I have now had ICF meetings in 24 of the 44 counties. If you’ve got a story to share from your Idaho community, please reach out to me. Thank you to Peter for all his work in putting together a great week!

Best wishes,
Steve

We’re looking for an experienced leader to join our team who loves Idaho and wants to make a difference for the people who live here. The Vice President of Philanthropy and Impact is responsible for developing and implementing strategies to support the Idaho Community Foundation’s goals to Grow Assets, Increase Impact and Raise Visibility.

The VPPI will weave together a comprehensive plan to integrate development initiatives, donor services, grantmaking, communications and marketing. This position will be based in the Boise office.

More information about the VPPI position.

If you or someone you know recently inherited an IRA, there might be some confusion over the updated distribution rules, which changed a few years ago. 

What’s the back story?
Until the law changed a few years ago, if you were named as the beneficiary of a parent’s IRA, for example, you could count on a relatively straightforward and tax-savvy method of withdrawals called the “stretch IRA.” With the passage of the SECURE Act, that changed for anyone who inherited an IRA after December 31, 2019. Instead of taking distributions over your lifetime, you now need to withdraw the entire inherited IRA account within a 10-year period as calculated under the law. 

What’s the problem now?
We’ve all had time to adjust to the new IRS rules, right? Wrong. Unfortunately, the IRS rules are, at the moment, clear as mud. Concern escalated when the IRS issued proposed (but not yet final) regulations earlier this year.

Specifically, some non-spouse beneficiaries of an inherited IRA may not be able to wait until the 10-year post-inheritance mark to fully withdraw the funds in a lump sum, but instead, according to the proposed regulations, must begin taking annual distributions immediately following the inheritance and throughout the 10-year period during which all funds must be withdrawn. This is a hard pill to swallow for people who were counting on years of additional tax-free growth and who hoped to defer an income tax hit until a lower-income year.

A charitable giving opportunity?
Fortunately, an inherited IRA presents a golden opportunity to donate to a qualified charity, including certain types of funds at the Idaho Community Foundation.

The IRS permits taxpayers to take Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs) from inherited IRAs and use them to make Qualified Charitable Distributions (QCDs). The QCD is not reported as taxable income because it goes straight to charity. This option could be a welcome relief if you are facing the more stringent proposed IRS regulations governing the payout requirements for inherited IRAs.

Please contact us if you have questions about how you can use your IRA or an inherited IRA to support your favorite charitable causes. We’d be glad to help.

Celebrating philanthropy with the Women's Gift Alliance

We had a great time at the Women’s Gift Alliance Fall Dinner last month in Coeur d’Alene. Safe Passage Violence Prevention Center, Safety Net Inland NW and Tesh, Inc., each provided updates about how their $25,000 grant from the WGA has supported their efforts in the community this year.

Spokane-based Innovia Foundation gave a terrific keynote about the significant difference that can be made in communities by designating a small percentage of a will or estate plan to create a charitable giving fund through a community foundation.

The WGA is a women’s giving circle that was founded in 2004 and has provided more than $1.5 million in grants to community organizations. The Idaho Community Foundation assists the WGA’s philanthropy by collecting members’ dues, investing endowed funds and distributing grants.

We also assist the Wood River Women’s Foundation in Blaine County and the Women’s Giving Connection of Southern Idaho in the Magic Valley.

The concept of women’s giving circles is simple, but powerful. Each woman in the group pays an annual membership fee, most of which goes toward a pooled grant. The group gathers to select which organizations in their community should receive grants. As more members join, the grants grow larger.

We are proud of our partnership with Idaho’s women’s giving circles!

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