COTA Miracle Maker Profile: Bo Hannah...Business Owner, COTA Board Member, Advocate & Philanthropist

Mark “Bo” Hannah is the Managing Partner of Potts Hannah & Fischer in Indianapolis. He has served multiple terms on the Children’s Organ Transplant Association (COTA) Board of Directors beginning in 2005. Bo currently chairs COTA’s Finance and Audit Committee, and has served on both the Allocations Committee and the Compensation Committee throughout his years of service.

A CPA with a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Indiana University, Bo has worked in the accounting and finance profession since 1981. In addition to sharing his expertise with COTA, he has served on the board of directors for a variety of businesses, faith-based organizations and community-based charities. Bo is married to Beth Hannah, and they have four adult children and eight grandchildren.

When Bo joined COTA’s Board nearly 20 years ago, the organization helped more than 100 new transplant families annually, and had assisted approximately 1,500 families since its founding in 1986. Today, more than 4,500 children and young adults are counted as COTA patients - more than 220 of those began working with COTA within the past year.

Several years ago, Bo spoke with a new client family at his firm and learned their preschool daughter was in need of a kidney transplant. He took a moment to share how COTA might be able to help and highlighted his work, and Board tenure, with the organization. That young girl - Bella Cruz - is now a teenager; she is doing very well more than a decade after her life-saving transplant. And two years ago, Bo’s niece and her husband learned their son would also need a kidney transplant. Little Kiran Gorantla received his kidney from a living donor more than two years ago. Kiran is doing very well and “is a normal five-year-old enjoying life as he should,” according to Bo.

As a CPA, and a non-profit board member, Bo has a unique perspective on how to best support charities. One such way is a Donor Advised Fund (DAF). The Tax Cut and Jobs Act of 2017 created additional opportunities to utilize the trusted DAF vehicle to make donations that help charities and supporters alike. Most DAFs are established at a for-profit entity such as Vanguard or Fidelity, although some community foundations also offer them as options for donors. Taken together, Donor Advised Funds have become the largest recipients of charitable gifts in the United States for the past few years.

DAF Basics: A DAF allows a donor and/or family to establish a fund to receive an immediate deduction of their gift, and the ability to make gift decisions at a later time. It also allows the donor to do so anonymously. Once established, the funds are invested as a retirement account; proceeds are given to a charity upon the request of the donor.

Other key factors highlighted with the creation of DAFs are a simplified tax season, and that there are no additional fees to establish the fund or to distribute them. Additionally, donors are encouraged to involve their family to be part of their giving decision process.

Bo and Beth established their Donor Advised Fund in 2023 as they were making estate and financial planning decisions. He advises clients to use a DAF to save on taxes, and frequently suggests that annual contributions allow clients to take their tax situation into consideration as they annually fund the DAF. Bo explained, “Some years, my clients will have a higher than normal tax burden due to a business sale or some other financial windfall. This is an excellent opportunity to use a DAF to minimize their tax burden, while supporting organizations they love and are passionate about.”

In addition to his long tenure serving on COTA’s Board of Directors, Bo advises several not-for-profit organizations and regularly recommends DAFs as a way their supporters can contribute to a charitable organization.

“Serving on COTA’s Board and having experienced what COTA does at a high level is impactful, but seeing what it REALLY does on a daily basis with our families is eye-opening,” Bo said. “COTA is the trusted leader supporting families, and I have witnessed this twice in a very personal way. It is a pleasure to be part of an organization that truly puts transplant families’ needs first.”

If you would like more information about using a Donor Advised Fund in your estate planning, please contact Rick Lofgren at [email protected] or 800.366.2682. He will be happy to help you achieve your goals, and perhaps decrease your income taxes as well.