Eyeworld

14 | EYEWORLD | WINTER 2026 ASCRS NEWS ASCRS FOUNDATION UPDATE Contact info@ascrsfoundation.org by Bruce Maller Treasurer, ASCRS Foundation Board of Directors A personal approach to charitable giving A t the end of 2021, I retired from a long career in healthcare consulting. Most of my time and energy was dedicated to working with ophthal- mologists across the U.S. Several years ago, I was invited to join the ASCRS Foundation Board of Directors. My time serving the ASCRS Foundation has enabled me to give back to a community that provided me with years of joy, amazing friendships, and great life experiences. Although charitable giving has always been an important part of my life, in retirement I developed a greater focus on how I could spend my time and financial resources supporting or- ganizations whose values aligned with my own. I evaluated several innovative tax plan- ning and giving options. I sought the advice of my Certified Public Accountant who has been actively involved with me for many years. He guided me to consider a Donor Advised Fund (DAF). In my case, I used my existing invest- ment account infrastructure to establish a DAF. It took me less than 30 minutes to set up the DAF account. I funded my DAF with stocks I owned personally that had unrealized gains. Within the context of my unique circumstances, I was able to take a tax deduction in the year of the transfer based on the fair market value of the securities on the date of transfer. It is important to note that the IRS has strict rules that govern the deductibility of assets transferred to a DAF. (You are advised to seek advice from your tax professionals and investment advisors to make sure you follow the rules.) When contributing assets to a DAF, it is also important to point out that the asset transfers are irrevocable. This means that once you transfer the assets to a DAF, you no longer have access to the funds for personal use. In my case, the stocks contributed were liquidated by the DAF administrator the day following the trans- fer. From that point forward, I had the right to direct the funds to be donated to charitable organizations of my choosing. I have about six organizations I support through my DAF, includ- ing Operation Sight. When completing my research on various tax advantage strategies related to charitable giving, I also discovered that Qualified Charita- ble Distributions (QCD) are another attractive way for individuals to support their giving ob- jectives. In 2026, a QCD allows individuals aged 70.5 or older to transfer up to $111,000 per year directly from an IRA to a qualified charity without paying income tax on the withdraw- al. For married couples filing jointly, each can give up to $111,000 from their own IRAs. The amount transferred is excluded from taxable income. One cannot claim a separate charitable tax deduction for it. For those of you approaching the age (73) where one is required to commence distribu- tions from a qualified retirement account, a QCD may count toward your annual Required Minimum Distributions (RMD). As is the case for DAFs, there are many IRS rules that govern how the donors as well as the receiving charity must handle QCDs and RMDs. You are strongly encouraged to seek advice from your tax advisors before imple- menting a QCD or any other related financial or tax strategy. Editors' note: The opinions in this article convey Mr. Maller's personal experience. As noted in the article, readers should seek advice from their tax advisors and other professionals when considering individual decisions and best options for using the approaches discussed. As the year draws to a close, the ASCRS Foundation would like to thank those who have already donated in 2026. We hope this article encourages you to get in the spirit of giv- ing. Donate to the ASCRS Foundation today!

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