Donating appreciated assets to a charity, such as Aleph, avoids federal capital gains taxes and provides a federal income tax deduction for the current market value of the gift. Similar state tax benefits are also offered in most of the United States.

You can often make a bigger impact by donating long-term appreciated securities—including stock, bonds and mutual funds—directed to Aleph, compared with donating cash or selling your appreciated securities and contributing the after-tax proceeds. By making a gift of appreciated securities, you may be able to increase your gift and your tax deduction automatically.

Contact your financial advisor for full benefits and details and be sure to let us know if you’ve made a gift. Contact us at development@aleph.org for more information about donating stocks or securities or for transfer instructions and account information.

Did you know that you can contribute gifts directly from your Individual Retirement Account (IRA) to Aleph and potentially avoid income and capital gains taxes while supporting the Jewish Renewal movement?

Why consider this kind of gift?

• Your gift will be put to use today, supporting the Jewish Renewal movement.

• You will pay no income taxes on the gift. The transfer generates neither taxable income nor a tax deduction, so you benefit even if you do not itemize your deductions.

• Since the gift does not count as income, it may reduce your annual income level. This may help lower your Medicare premiums and decrease the amount of Social Security that is subject to tax.

You can use a tax-free IRA Qualified Charitable Distribution to make any kind of outright charitable gift, including:

• Making an unrestricted gift to Aleph

• Making a gift to honor or recognize a friend or loved one

• Making a designated gift to a Scholarship Fund

Qualified Charitable Distributions can be employed in different ways, depending on your age:

At Any Age

No matter your age, you can designate Aleph as the beneficiary of all or a percentage of your IRA and it will pass to us tax-free after your lifetime. The process is simple and just requires you to contact your IRA administrator for a change-of-beneficiary form or download a form from your provider’s website. If you choose to designate Aleph as a beneficiary, you will become a member of our Legacy Society.

For Those 59½ Years Old or Older

If you are at least 59½ years old, you can take a distribution and then make a gift from your IRA without penalty. If you itemize your deductions, you can take a charitable deduction for the amount of your gift.

For Those 70½ Years Old or Older

You can give any amount (up to $111,000 in 2026; the IRS adjusts this limit each year) from your Individual Retirement Account (IRA) directly to a qualified charity, such as Aleph, without having to pay income taxes on the money. This popular gift option is commonly called a Qualified Charitable Distribution (QCD), but you may also see it referred to as an IRA Charitable Rollover.

The gift must be transferred directly from the IRA account by the IRA administrator to Aleph. Donors with check-writing ability for their IRAs may use this feature to complete their gift.

For Those 73 Years Old or Older

Beginning in the year you turn 73, you can use your gift to satisfy all or part of your Required Minimum Distribution (RMD). RMDs are minimum amounts that IRA and retirement plan account owners generally must withdraw annually after they turn 73.

If you have set up a QCD to benefit Aleph:

It is important to let us know at development@aleph.org of your gift because many retirement plan administrators assume no obligation to notify a charity of your designation. The administrator also will not monitor whether your gift designations are followed. We would love to talk to you about your goals and to make sure that your intentions are followed. Thank you for your generosity!

Please note: Information contained on this site was accurate at the time of posting. The information on this website is not intended as legal or tax advice. For such advice, please consult an attorney or tax advisor. Charitable giving options described here are offered only in areas where permitted by law. References to tax rates include federal taxes only and are subject to change. State law may further impact your individual results.