When Dan from Wisconsin learned about St. Labre’s growing vocational technical program, he knew exactly where he wanted to direct his support.

Dan and his wife Sharon had been giving to St. Labre since 2019, starting with occasional gifts before deepening their commitment to giving regularly. After Sharon’s unexpected passing in the fall of 2024, Dan continued giving—and in 2025, he took a meaningful new step by making a gift through his Individual Retirement Account (IRA) for the first time.

Dan chose to help fund the expansion of St. Labre’s VoTech program, ensuring that students who may not be college-bound have access to alternative educational pathways to a career that provides self sufficiency.

His generosity is already making a difference. Ayasha, a shy high school sophomore, recently enrolled in a VoTech welding class. Thanks to donors like Dan, Ayasha now has access to updated equipment, tools, and safety gear. At parent-teacher conferences, her mom animatedly described her daughter’s excitement about the new skills and techniques she is discovering, and the passion and potential she is uncovering along the way.

Dan’s giving method — a Qualified Charitable Distribution (QCD) — is one more and more retirees are choosing. By transferring funds directly from an IRA to a qualifying charity like St. Labre, donors age 70½ or older can eliminate the income tax that would otherwise apply to that withdrawal. Distributions of any amount count toward your Required Minimum Distribution for that calendar year. An individual may contribute up to $111,000 annually.

It is one of the simplest and most powerful ways to change the lives of students like Ayasha — helping them receive not only knowledge and valuable skills, but also Catholic values, cultural affirmation, and a pathway to a brighter future.

When contacting your IRA administrator to make your QCD, you will need the following information:

St. Labre Indian School
 PO Box 79
 Ashland, MT 59003
 Tax ID#: 81-0244542

To learn more about making a gift from your IRA, feel free to contact our knowledgeable staff in St. Labre’s Planned Giving Department at 1-866-652-0959, or by email at plannedgiving@stlabre.org. All inquiries are held in strictest confidence.