‘Tis the giving season and your local trout waters could use your tax-deductible gift. Your donation to the Southern Wisconsin Trout Unlimited Endowment Fund is a great way to make a difference to the waters you fish. The SWTU Endowment Fund has made significant contributions to major projects, including Gordon Creek and the Sugar River. To make a tax-deductible gift, please visit https://www.swtu.org/donate/ for details on how to give via check or online.

If you want to donate to SWTU’s Endowment, please send the donation directly to SWTU with the notation that you want it directed to the Endowment Fund. Our Treasurer will then deposit those monies in the SWTU’s endowment fund, managed by the Natural Resources Foundation (NRF), the custodian and manager of our endowment. NRF has been an excellent manager of our endowment. By directing donations to SWTU, and then SWTU conveying them to NRF, we ensure that principal and earnings are invested and reinvested within the guidelines established by the endowment fund.

Also, if you have an IRA and have to take a “required minimum distribution” (RMD) by year end, you may be eligible to make a “qualified charitable distribution” from your IRA directly to SWTU. Unlike most IRA RMDs, this type of distribution is not taxable to you provided you meet certain requirements. For example, your IRA custodian must transfer the money directly to SWTU. It cannot be paid first to you, then to SWTU. For 2024, the dollar limit on the charitable distribution is $105,000, and it must be made by December 31. You should contact your tax professional or IRA custodian if you think you might be interested in this.