After surviving a serious, complex injury, Kansas farmer Loren Koester, and his wife, Norine, are paying it forward to help other patients through generous annual IRA gifts.
Kansas farmer Loren Koester doesn’t remember much about the early days of his 2007 hospitalization after being broadsided by a semitruck a mile from his home. The accident left Loren with a cervical vertebrae fracture and a traumatic brain injury. After being life flighted to and treated at Bryan Health in Lincoln, Nebraska, Loren spent three weeks at Madonna Rehabilitation Hospital-Lincoln Campus where he gradually regained his ability to return home.
“My therapists worked me pretty hard. I feel like I gained just about everything back,” he said. “I never knew anything about Madonna before my accident, but since my stay, I have known three other people from the community who have been treated at Madonna.”
The 84-year-old is grateful to Madonna for returning him to Norine, his three children, six grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. He enjoys staying active on his farm southeast of Concordia, Kansas, with the help of his son and grandson. “I am thankful for the nurses, therapists, my family and my ability to walk and have a normal life for the last 12 years.”
The Koesters have been loyal donors since 2008. At first, Loren set up a fund for Madonna at the local grain elevator and donated grain that Madonna could sell. In 2015, Loren took advantage of the IRA Charitable Rollover which allows individuals who are age 70½ or older to make a gift at any time of the year directly from their traditional or Roth IRA to their charity of choice. In gratitude, Loren and Norine chose Madonna. “We are fortunate to be in a position where we don’t need the IRA mandatory distribution so we have been donating the funds to Madonna for the past few years,” he said.
“We feel pleased to be able to give back to a place that helped us so Madonna can continue to help a lot of other people into the future,” Loren added.
Through the IRA Charitable Rollover option, donors can:
• Avoid taxes on transfers of up to $100,000 from an IRA to Madonna
• Satisfy the yearly required minimum distribution
• Reduce taxable income
• Make a gift that is not subject to the 50 percent deduction limits on charitable gifts
For more information, please contact:
Suzanne Sughroue
Director of Development
402.413.4782
ssughroue@madonna.org
John C. Glenn
Vice President of Development
402.401.5051
jglenn@madonna.org
Remember to consult your financial advisor to ensure the gift you are considering is right for you.
Note: An IRA Rollover gift does not qualify for a charitable gift deduction but simply reduces your taxable income.
