Two ladies looking at the girlhood exhibit.

Planned Giving

Preserve the Past and Inspire the Future

You can help keep Minnesota’s history alive for generations to come through planned giving.

By including a gift to the Minnesota Historical Society in your will, trust, or beneficiary designation on your retirement account or life insurance, you ensure that the stories, people, artifacts, and traditions that have shaped our past and our shared heritage will continue to live on, educate, and inspire.

With life-income gifts such as charitable gift annuity or charitable remainder trust, you can provide financial security both for you or your loved ones and for MNHS, while receiving a charitable income tax deduction at the same time. Learn more and make your story part of Minnesota’s history today.

Already included us in your estate plan?

Giving options

Making a gift to the Minnesota Historical Society through your estate ensures MNHS remains strong for future generations.

Sometimes called an IRA “charitable rollover” gift, an IRA qualified charitable distribution (QCD) allows individuals 70-1/2 years or older to give up to $108,000 per year (as of 2025) directly from their IRAs to qualified charitable organizations without paying federal income tax on the distribution. Here are some helpful things to know about making QCD gifts to MNHS:

The gift must be from an IRA (not from a 401(k), 403(b), or other qualified plan account)
The distribution must be made directly from the IRA administrator to MNHS (checks should be made payable to “Minnesota Historical Society”).
Donors must be at least age 70-1/2 at the time of the distribution.
Individuals can donate up to $108,000 per year per person ($216,000 per married couple) in 2025 without including the QCD in gross income. Originally a $100,000 limit, the amount now is indexed for inflation each year.
Because the QCD is excluded from gross income, there is no additional charitable deduction for these gifts. QCD donors may enjoy a tax benefit from these gifts whether or not they itemize deductions!
For donors age 73 or over, QCDs can count toward and satisfy annual required minimum distributions (RMDs) if made before other retirement account withdrawals each year.
With a limited exception for certain life-income gifts (for example, a Charitable Gift Annuity of no more than $54,000 in a single tax year), generally no quid pro quo is allowed for QCDs. Nothing of substantial value should be received in exchange for a QCD. For example, these gifts cannot be used to receive tickets to a dinner or other event for which others are charged to attend.
A QCD cannot be made to a Donor Advised Fund, a private foundation, or a supporting organization, but must be made to a qualified public charity (like MNHS).
Did you know you can add MNHS as a designated beneficiary of your IRA to receive a percentage of your account after your lifetime? See “Beneficiary Designations” section on this page for more information.

When making a QCD gift to MNHS, please ask your IRA administrator to include your name and contact information along with the distribution, so we can send you a proper acknowledgment and credit your giving history appropriately. Here is a sample letter template for requesting a QCD from your IRA administrator:

Planned Giving Sample Letter (PDF 29KB)

Note: To qualify for the current tax year, your QCD must be completed by December 31st. If the check is coming from the IRA administrator, it must be dated and postmarked by December 31st, and the processing lead time needed varies by administrator. Contact your administrator well in advance to ensure timely completion.

If you are using an IRA checkbook, your administrator will consider the transfer to occur when the check is processed and the funds transfer after the charity deposits the check, rather than the check date, postmark date, or delivery date. If you’re using an IRA checkbook to make any intended QCDs for the calendar year, we recommend sending the check no later than the first week of December. Thank you!

Many people haven’t realized something simple but powerful: You can avoid more taxes and provide MNHS and other favorite charities greater benefit from your generosity by giving appreciated long-term capital gain property—like stocks or mutual fund shares that have been held for at least a year and have increased in value since purchase—instead of cash. How?

While many people know that you get a charitable income tax deduction for charitable gifts (subject to the usual limitations), it is less well-understood that you also get to bypass capital gains tax on most gifts of appreciated property when you give them to a qualified charity like MNHS after having held them for more than one year. The after-tax cost of the gift is lower (often significantly lower) with appreciated stock and other capital gain property compared with gifts of cash, because with a gift of stock, not only are you allowed a full fair-market value deduction, you avoid paying the capital gains tax on the difference between the value at the time of the gift and your purchase price (again, all subject to certain limitations).

When you give MNHS appreciated property such as stock, mutual funds, or real estate, and MNHS later sells the property, our 501(c)(3) tax exemption means MNHS doesn’t have to pay tax on any gain, unlike individuals who sell property and recognize gain. While everyone should consult with their own professional tax advisors about their specific circumstances, with few exceptions it is better to use appreciated marketable securities for charitable giving in lieu of cash.

How to give stock to MNHS

To make a gift of stock to Minnesota Historical Society, your broker will need some or all of the following information:

Account Name: Minnesota Historical Society
Firm: [MNHS’s Brokerage Firm]
Account Number: [MNHS’s Account Number]
DTC #: [DTC # for Brokerage]
Primary Contact: [MNHS’s Primary Contact at Brokerage]
Address: [Brokerage Firm/Primary Contact Address]
Phone #: [Primary Contact Phone #]
Contact at MNHS: [MNHS Stock Gift Contact Name] at [MNHS Stock Gift Contact Email Address] or MNHS Stock Gift Contact Phone Number]

A red barn with a silo in the background.

The donation of appreciated real estate, such as a home, undeveloped land, vacation home, farmland, or commercial property, is a great way to support MNHS projects and programs. In most instances, the Minnesota Historical Society will sell the property and the proceeds will be used to support the donor’s preferred area of the society such as education, collections, exhibits, or the library.

MNHS may accept various types of real estate as a charitable gift, including:

Residences (primary or secondary homes)
Cabin or vacation property
Undeveloped land
Farmland
Commercial real estate
Oil and mineral rights

MNHS does not accept time share property.

Gifts of real estate may be made in several ways:

Outright gift of some or all of property (current gift or gift in a Will or Revocable Trust Agreement)
Transfer on Death Deed
- Varies by state, but available in most states, including Minnesota
- Allows donors to name a charity or individual as a beneficiary upon the donor’s death, but may be changed up until death
- Requires a properly executed deed recorded in the county where the property is located
Gift with Retained Life Estate (giving a home or secondary residence to MNHS but retaining the right to use the property for life)
As a Bargain Sale
- Donor sells real estate to MNHS for less than fair market value
- MNHS sells real estate on the market and keeps the difference between the purchase and sale prices, or keeps and uses the real estate as part of its mission
- Donor receives a charitable deduction for the difference between the appraised value at the time of sale to charity and the charity’s purchase price (donor must obtain a qualified appraisal to substantiate any deduction
- Donor may bypass some capital gains on the charitable gift portion of the transaction
In exchange for income for life
- Real estate may in some circumstances be contributed to fund a charitable gift annuity, subject to certain conditions
- Most often, charitable gifts of real estate in exchange for income are accomplished with a charitable remainder unitrust in a form known as a “Flip CRUT”

Disclaimer

Minnesota Historical Society provides this information as an educational service to our donors, and it is not legal, tax, or financial advice. Please consult with your own independent professional legal, tax, or financial advisors regarding your specific circumstances and how any charitable gift may affect your situation.