Donations
The AACA Museum was built and established through a strong legacy of philanthropic support. It is only through the numerous contributions of many automotive enthusiasts that the Museum has reached its current level of excellence. To all donors, past, present and future – thank you.
Monetary Donations
January 31 Deadline to Transfer IRA Funds to Charities
and Have It Count for 2012
The American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 (the "Act") extends for two more years — 2012 and 2013 — a popular provision that enables an IRA owner to make gifts to charity directly from his or her IRA account without causing the distributions to be included in income. This provision was first created in 2006 but expired at the end of 2011.
As before, the rule applies only to IRA owners at least 70-1/2 years old, and permits transfers up to $100,000 per year in 2012 and 2013. Amounts transferred from the IRA to charity will count in satisfying the minimum required distribution for the applicable year. The transferee charity must be a publicly-supported charity such as the AACA Museum — it may not be a supporting organization, a private foundation or a donor-advised fund.
For a variety of reasons, this often benefits the donor more than if he or she withdrew the money from the IRA, included it in his or her income and then made the charitable contribution. But there's one problem: The Act didn't become law until January 2, 2013. How can it help you for 2012?
The answer is that the Act permits IRA owners age 70-1/2 or older to treat transfers to qualified charities made by January 31, 2013 as if they were made by December 31, 2012. The donor must be 70-1/2 as of December 2012 to qualify. Transfers will count in determining whether donors have met required minimum distribution rules for 2012.
Here's how you can benefit from this rule if you act by January 31 and follow the required procedures:
- If you waited until December 2012 to withdraw your RMD. Suppose you delayed taking your required minimum distribution ("RMD") from your IRA until late in 2012, hoping the rule would be extended. When December came and Congress still hadn't made a decision, you finally concluded it was necessary to withdraw your RMD amount to avoid a penalty. If the withdrawal took place in December 2012, you (assuming the other qualifications are met) may give that money to a qualifying charity in January 2013 and have it treated as if it were a direct transfer in 2012. You won't get a tax deduction for 2013 as a result of this contribution, but you will be able to exclude the amount from your 2012 income — which may be of more benefit to you. But if you took the RMD prior to December, this rule won't apply to you.
- If you somehow failed to withdraw your RMD during 2012. Suppose you did not, for some reason, take the RMD you were required to take from your IRA in 2012. You're in luck, because you can have your IRA custodian transfer that amount (up to the applicable limit) to a qualified charity in January 2013, and you will be deemed to have complied with the 2012 RMD requirement.
- If you want to maximize the benefits to your favorite charity in a tax-advantaged way. Suppose you took your RMD early in 2012 but are still interested in supporting your favorite qualifying charities as much as you can in a tax-advantaged way. If you direct your IRA custodian to make a transfer directly to the charity in January 2013, you can treat that as a 2012 transfer, and then you can repeat the process at any other time during 2013 and treat it as a 2013 transfer. This way, you can transfer a total of $200,000 from your IRA to the charity without taking any of it into income, by having $100,000 count for 2012 and a like amount for 2013. And, if a husband and wife (both age 70-1/2) have separate IRAs, each one may use this provision up to the full limit, so a couple could transfer as much as $400,000.
The Bottom Line
Given the higher tax rates that will apply in 2013 and the limitation on itemized deductions that will affect some higher-income donors, it is increasingly important to take maximum advantage of every provision that accomplishes your objectives. There is a brief window of time, until January 31, 2013, to claim a tax benefit that will help you for 2012 and help your favorite qualifying charity as well.
Please contact us if you need more information.
The Capital Fund is used to reduce the Museum’s remaining construction debt. It is funded primarily through the Home Stretch Campaign – the current initiative to retire the Museum’s remaining $1.25M of construction debt. Elimination of this debt will free up funds in the operating budget by removing debt service fees and also open the possibilities for future expansion and other new initiatives. Naming opportunities are still available for capital donations. Request a list of available naming opportunities to learn more.
The Operating Fund is the lifeblood of the Museum. As many loyal AACA Museum supporters know, ticket sales, gift shop revenue and special events do not completely cover the costs of operating a world-class automotive museum. Thankfully the Operating Fund closes this gap and ensures the sustainability of current programs. This funding maintains the Museum’s impressive vehicle collection, sustains its Education Program, provides necessary supplies and keeps the lights on.
The Endowment Fund provides long-term sustainable income for the AACA Museum. Donations to this fund are invested for perpetuity and only the interest on these investements is spent. The interest becomes a part of the operating budget and therefore funds items similar to the Operating Fund. Making a donation to the Endowment Fund is a way of perpetuating your support for the Museum since the actual gift will never be spent. Due to this fact, all memorial, planned and deferred gifts are designated to the Endowment Fund.
Special Project Funds are occasionally created to seek additional funding for initiatives that will not be funded by the operating budget in the near future. These funds often focus on improvements to current exhibitions or the creation of new exhibits and displays.
Vehicle Donations
The AACA Museum has built its antique automobile collection entirely through the generous contributions of many thoughtful collectors. To date, the Museum has not purchased a single vehicle and has received over 175 vehicle donations.
The vehicle donation process typically begins with a review of photographs supplied by the donor and then progresses through an on-site inspection, appraisal and the arrangement of transportation. The Museum’s Curator and Director of Development work with donors during the entire process to ensure a seamless transaction. Furthermore, as an automotive museum, donors are typically permitted to deduct the full fair market value of the vehicle being donated (this is no longer true when donating a vehicle to a general charitable vehicle donation program – you are limited to deducting the resale value only for this type of donation). In addition, the AACA Museum accepts vehicles soley for resale purposes as well.
Request a copy of our Vehicle Donation Brochure
A Sample of Recent Vehicle Donations:
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| 1926 Wills St. Claire Roadster | 1956 Ford Thunderbird |
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| 1980 Rolls Royce Corniche | 1914 Garford Stake Bed Truck |
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| 1923 Ford Model T Roadster (8.9.06) |
1929 Ford Model A Pick Up (6.27.06) |
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| 1964 Studebaker GT Hawk (5.22.06) |
1981 Lincoln Mark VI (4.14.06) |
Artifact & Memorabilia Donations
The AACA Museum accepts small artificats (e.g. driving suits, car models, etc.) and pieces of automotive memorabilia (e.g. car badges, meet posters, etc.) on a case-by-case basis. These items are rotated through the Museum’s display cases. In addition, duplicate items are used as auction items for the Museum’s two annual auctions (at the AACA Annual Meeting in February and at the AACA Museum Fund Raising Dinner in October). Contact us to see if the Museum would be interested in your piece of automotive history.
Museum Wishlist
The “AACA Museum Wish List” contains some of the most pressing needs for the Museum. The Museum’s Curatorial department uses most of the “stuff” that is donated. This frequently includes period artifacts or close reproductions to create a context for the automobiles on display. Oftentimes we are also undertaking small repair tasks on the vehicles in the collection or adding something that was missing when a vehicle arrived. Finally, with a 71,000 square foot facility a lot of general building and office supplies are used as well. If you have any of these things lying around in your attic, basement or garage, we’d love to have them as a permanent donation.
- Basketball Pole & Backboard
- Book shelves
- Cargo Van
- Carting Carts
- Clocks (wooden and office styles – in working order)
- Enclosed trailer suitable for Motorcycle/Display Transport
- Flat bed utility cart
- Fluorescent lighting for older upright cases (need installer)
- Interactive displays for Education Zone
- Mannequins (full-size male and female along with child size)
- Meeting tables (8’ x 18” or 6’ x 18”)
- Old wheel covers/hub caps (must be and look old, to be used with kids games at events)
- Plasma/LCD television (any size)
- Popcorn maker
- Set of Go Jacks
- Shelving units (Expandable, wide and heavy duty)
- Step stool (3 foot – preferable folding-style)
- Table linens
- Tap & die set (metric & standard)
- Upright front loading display cases
- Wall mounted units to hang/display pedal cars (need someone to design & mount)
All donations are tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law. Please give us a call at 717 566-7100 for more information on donating any of these items and/or to inquire about the potential use (since we realize that it’s an odd list).
The AACA Museum prides itself on being a responsible and transparent nonprofit organization. We encourage all donors to fully research the charities that they support and to make educated decisions regarding their philanthropic support. Background and financial information on most charities can be found free of charge at Guidestar.
