WHAT IS PLANNED GIVING?

Planned gifts are charitable donations made during a donor's lifetime, but benefit the recipient organization at a later time, often after the donor's passing or after the agreed upon years have passed.

These planned giving options provide flexibility for donors to support causes they care about while also potentially receiving tax benefits and ensuring their legacy continues beyond their lifetime.

Here are ways you can give:

Outright Gifts

Outright gifts are the simpler ways for your donation to go directly to supporting your community.

• Bequest: This is one of the most common forms of planned giving, where individuals include charitable gifts in their wills or living trusts. Bequests can be for a specific dollar amount, a percentage of the estate, or the residuals after other distributions.

• Life Insurance: Donors name a charity as the beneficiary of their life insurance policy, either by transferring ownership of an existing policy or by purchasing a new policy.

• Real Estate or Tangible Personal Property: Donors can gift real estate, artwork, antiques, or other valuable property to a charity, either during their lifetime or through their will.

• Retirement Plans: Donors can designate a charity as a beneficiary of their retirement accounts, such as 401(k)s, IRAs, or pension plans, either partially or entirely.

• Donor-Advised Funds (DAF): Donors contribute to a donor-advised fund, which is then distributed to charities over time. While not strictly planned giving, it can be a strategic way to manage charitable giving over the long term.

Gifts that pay you back or protect your assets

Your donation can either generate annual income for you or enable you to preserve your assets, all while providing vital support to our nonprofit.

• Charitable Gift Annuity (CGA): Donors contribute assets to a charity in exchange for a fixed stream of income for life. After the donor's passing, the remaining assets go to the designated charitable organization.

• Charitable Remainder Trust: Donors transfer assets into a trust, which then pays them or their designated beneficiaries income for a specified term or for life. Afterward, the remaining assets are distributed to the designated charity or charities.

• Charitable Lead Trust: These trusts provide income to the designated charity for a specified period, after which the remaining assets go to the donor's beneficiaries.