Leave a Legacy

Looking for a way to get involved in charitable giving? The tools for charitable giving come in all sizes and shapes and one can be tailored to work for you. Some are one-step plans; others involve careful planning and qualified, expert advice.

Your first step is to consult a financial or tax advisor before making the gift. Some assets are better for gifting during your lifetime; others are better for gifting as a portion of your estate. A tax or financial planning expert will work with you to explain the range of options available. Following is a list of some tools for charitable giving:

Write a Check or Give Appreciated Stock
Making a cash contribution is a favored way of supporting charitable organizations. When you fund your gift by giving long-term appreciated stock, you receive a charitable deduction for the full value of the stock without incurring capital gains tax. To receive the benefit, you must give the stock directly to the organization. The charity then sells the stock.

Include a Charitable Bequest in Your Will
Your bequest might be an outright gift of money or property, a percentage of your estate, the balance of your estate after gifts to your family, or a contingency gift—giving your estate to the charity if your family does not survive you. Examples of planned giving through one's will can found by viewing the following link.

Retirement or Pension Plans
You can name a charity as a beneficiary of your tax-deferred IRA or 401(k) retirement plan. The money is yours to live on after retirement; what is left at the time of your death is given to the charity. Pension plan assets may be subject to significant taxation (federal estate, federal income and state death taxes) which can virtually eliminate any benefit to individual heirs. Since charities are tax-exempt, the charity will get more from the gift than would an individual.

Gift a Life Insurance Policy
Another simple way to leave a legacy is to name a charity as the beneficiary of your life insurance policy. Another strategy—with tax benefits—is to give the policy to the charitable organization, as well as naming it as beneficiary. Your payment of the annual premium will then be considered an annual gift to the charity, eligible for the income tax deduction.

Charitable Remainder Trust
Donors and their family members can benefit through this planned giving tool. The donor selects the rate of return and chooses a fixed or fluctuating annual payment to be made to the designated beneficiaries during their life-time(s). While trusts are most often set up to provide income to the donor and spouse, they can also benefit children or non-family members.

Charitable Lead Trust
In a charitable lead trust, assets are transferred to a trust that pays income from the fund to a charity for the number of years you select. At the end of that term, the trust terminates and the remaining assets are given to the beneficiary you name. This form of trust can help to lower estate and gift taxes.