Trends in philanthropy show that more and more contributors are opting to help shape the future today through planned giving donations. Through planned gifts, Boys & Girls Clubs of Harrisonburg and Rockingham County will ensure realized benefit for our members in the future.
A contributor to BGCHR may find that planned giving offers attractive benefits such as:
Planned gifts follow a variety of blueprints, including:
At BGCHR, donors who have included the organization in their estates are recognized as a distinguished group of benefactors.
Gifts associated with a donor's will and final distribution of an estate offer the donor and the organization great potential. A bequest is an attractive option when a donor is currently unable to make an outright cash gift, but wishes to make a contribution to BGCHR in a meaningful way. A specific bequest will involve donating a set amount or a percentage of assets from an estate to the organization.
Residual bequests are left to the organization after all the donor's debts, expenses, and taxes have been paid from the estate.
A trust is a legal agreement that specifies how the assets placed under the trust will be managed. A living trust can be established to take effect during a donor's lifetime. Benefits include possible savings in estate taxes if a charity is the beneficiary of the trust remainder. Also, the terms of the trust can be changed at any time.
Giving through a life insurance policy is simple and is a popular way to give with little expenditure. Whole life insurance can be offered by naming BGCHR as the irrevocable owner and beneficiary.
Charitable contributions from the donor to the organization in the amount of any premiums may be required with gifts of life insurance policies.
These trusts enable a donor to achieve a variety of financial goals while making a significant gift to BGCHR. Through a charitable remainder trust, a donor can contribute assets to the trust and receive a life income. The remaining principal is earmarked for the organization. There are two types of charitable remainder trusts:
Allows for a fixed percentage of the fair market value of the assets to be paid to the donor.
Allows the donor to receive the annual income as a fixed payment equaling at least 5% of the value of the asset at the time the deferred-giving agreement is signed.
Advantages of a charitable remainder trust include an income stream for life, avoidance of taxes on capital gains for appreciated securities or real estate, a reduction of estate taxes, and a charitable contribution income tax deduction based on life expectancy.
This trust is the exact opposite of the charitable remainder trust. It, too, is a deferred gift, but it offers the organization an income for a period of time, after which individual beneficiaries receive the remainder of the trust. This type of gift allows the donor to share surplus income with the organization, then pass on the principal to family with greatly reduced gift and estate taxes. The donor may also opt to retain the asset after the term of the income stream is completed.
A popular way of establishing an immediate or deferred gift annuity is to make a gift of cash or appreciated securities to the organization. BGCHR then pays the donor a guaranteed fixed percentage of the value of the gift on either a monthly, quarterly, semi-annual, or annual basis throughout the lives of one or two annuitants.
For each gift annuity agreement, BGCHR is responsible for the management of all contributed assets. The donor's return is backed by the full-faith credit of the organization and is guaranteed for life.
The BGCHR charitable gift annuity offers several advantages, including guaranteed fixed income for life and a charitable tax deduction for the gift. Also, if funded with appreciated securities, capital gains taxes are reportable over the donor's lifetime. Gifts made are permanently removed from the donor's estate for estate calculation purposes.
A home can be another way to give to BGCHR and benefit personally from the tax deduction for the property's discounted value. With a retained life estate, a donor can give a residence to the organization and continue to reside in or rent the property. Also, money spent on property maintenance can be a charitable contribution to the organization.
Besides giving rise to an income tax deduction, most gifts of appreciated stocks offer a further tax advantage - the capital gain tax on your profit is completely avoided.
When you sell stock that has gone up in value, your full gain is, of course, taxable. So you keep only a part of your profit. The rest goes to the tax collector. But a gift for our use is not treated as though you had sold the property. In short, there is generally no capital gain tax when you give us the appreciated stock.
Planned giving opportunities are versatile, convenient and establish a win/win scenario for both the donor and BGCHR. To learn more about how you can leave a legacy through planned giving, contact Judy Williams, Director of Communications, at 540.434.6060 ext. 105 or jwilliams@bgchr.org.