By Kate Tkacik-Sweeney, our new Head of Partnerships here at Every.org.
On October 1, Every.org launched IRA giving. That is big news on its own. But it is also one more step toward something bigger: making noncash fundraising available to every nonprofit, not just the ones with a major gift team, gift processing staff, and brokerage accounts.
Your donors already have noncash assets
About 97% of household wealth in the U.S. is not held in cash. It's in retirement accounts, stocks, donor-advised funds, crypto, and more. This is true for the donor writing a $50 check to your food bank, not just the alumni board member giving to their alma mater.
Yet in 2023, only 14% of nonprofits received a noncash gift. The donors are there. Most nonprofits just haven't asked them, or haven't told them they're set up to receive these gifts.
For years, accepting stock, DAF, or IRA gifts has felt like something reserved for hospitals and universities with dedicated gift processing staff. It doesn't have to be.
Why IRA giving matters
More than $19.9 trillion sits in IRAs in the U.S. right now. Donors 70½ and older can give up to $111,000 in 2026 straight from their IRA through a qualified charitable distribution (QCD).
For donors giving from their IRA through Every.org, we guide them through starting the gift, so they never have to hunt for your mailing address or instructions. We receive and process the checks and handle receipting to the donor. Nonprofits receive a cash disbursement plus the donor's details, so they can keep stewarding the relationship. And, as with every gift type on Every.org, there are no platform fees or contracts.
Why I came to Every.org
I joined Every.org six months ago, and this work is a big part of why: we’re democratizing access to wealth for nonprofits of every size. I've worked on many nonprofit fundraising campaigns, including capital campaigns, and I've seen how much generosity goes untapped simply because a donor didn't know they could give a certain way or a nonprofit felt they didn’t have the back office support or knowledge to process those gifts.
When only the largest institutions can easily accept noncash gifts, the money follows them. Small nonprofits make up the majority of the sector. Small nonprofits are the bedrock of many of our communities. Every.org was built to make fundraising easier, so that donors can easily move capital and resources to the organizations working to improve our world. That means giving a neighborhood youth program or food pantry the same tools as a major university.
Getting started takes minutes
Want to use Every.org for all your fundraising? Even just for non-cash assets? Here's all it takes:
- Claim your profile. Find your nonprofit on Every.org and claim it. Your profile is free.
- Build your button. Create a donate button and add it to your website, emails, or social posts.
- Start fundraising. Let your donors know you accept cash, mobile wallets, stock, DAF, crypto, and now IRA gifts. Every.org handles the processing, with no platform fees.
Ask now, before year end
Your donors are ready to give more than cash. They just need you to ask, and to know you can receive it.
The timing couldn't be better. Year end is when donors make their biggest giving decisions, and QCDs need to be completed by December 31 to count for the 2026 tax year. Every.org's IRA giving is live today, so you can offer it in your year-end appeals right now.
Claim your Every.org profile, tell your donors you accept IRA gifts, and let's get more resources to the communities doing the work.