Legacy Giving

Because Foundations are built to last, we can help you accomplish your charitable goals even after your time on earth.

Bequests by Will

Including a charitable bequest in your will is a simple way to make a lasting gift to your community. When you make this gift through your community foundation, we establish a special fund that benefits the community forever and becomes your personal legacy of giving. You can decide to do it at any age by adding to an existing will or drafting a new one. In doing so you leave a legacy to your community while enjoying the assets you need to maintain your current lifestyle. Plus, you are able to distribute some or all of your assets, tax-free.

You can give cash, appreciated stocks, or other assets. Some of the most tax-efficient asset types to give through your will come from retirement plan accounts since heirs would be taxed on the income in respect of the descendent (IRD). You can choose to give a stated dollar amount, a specific property, a percentage of your estate, the remainder after distributions to other beneficiaries, or you can make your gift contingent on certain events.

Charitable Gift Annuity

Giving through a Charitable Gift Annuity allows you to arrange a generous gift to your community while providing yourself a new income source you can count on for the rest of your life.

We set up a contract with you that combines immediate annuity payments with a deferred charitable gift. You receive a stream of income that is fixed, regardless of market conditions. Upon your death, we set up a charitable fund on your behalf.

Income from your Charitable Gift Annuity may add up to more than the interest and dividends you earned from holding the assets. You can use this income to supplement your own lifestyle, or that of someone else: a sibling, a dependent parent, a friend, or a former employee. You or a loved one can start receiving annuity payments immediately or defer them to increase your charitable income tax deduction. A portion of the income may be a tax-free return of principal, while some is taxed as ordinary income or capital gains. The amount of annuity paid and the tax deduction received depends on the age of the recipient and the current annuity rate (as established by the American Council of Gift Annuities).

A Charitable Gift Annuity reduces estate assets and may reduce estate taxes. Plus, it’s easier to set up than a charitable trust and is backed by the general assets of your community foundation.

Charitable Remainder Trust

Giving through a Charitable Remainder Trust allows you to receive income for the rest of your life, knowing that whatever remains will benefit your community.

You transfer assets into a trust, and the trust pays you or a beneficiary you designate regular income payments. Upon the beneficiary’s death or after a defined period of years, the remaining assets in the trust transfer to the community foundation.

You may choose to receive a fixed income or one that changes with market conditions—income from the Charitable Remainder Trust you establish may add up to more than interest and dividends you earned from holding the assets. You can use it to supplement your own lifestyle or that of someone other than yourself: a sibling, a dependent parent, a friend, or a former employee. You can start receiving annuity payments immediately or defer them to increase your charitable income tax deduction.

A portion of the income may be a tax-free return of principal, while some is taxed as ordinary income or capital gains. The amount of annuity paid and the tax deduction received depends on the age of the recipient and the current annuity rate (as established by the Internal Revenue Service).

You can pick one of these options for your Charitable Remainder Trust:

An annuity trust pays you a fixed dollar amount.
Standard unitrust pays you an amount equal to a fixed percentage of the net fair market of the trust and is recalculated annually.
Net income unitrust pays you the lesser of the fixed percentage specified by the trust agreement or actual trust income; some net income unitrusts allow you to make up deficiencies in past years.
Flip unitrust is a net income unitrust that converts to a standard unitrust upon a triggering event, such as the sale of an asset used to fund the trust.

Charitable Lead Trust

A Charitable Lead Trust helps you build a charitable fund with your community foundation during the trust’s term. When the trust terminates, the remaining assets are transferred to you or your heirs, often with significant transfer-tax savings.

You transfer assets into a trust, which pays the community foundation an annual amount to build a charitable fund. During its term, the trust can be managed expertly by experienced trust professionals, which may help your trust investments grow over time. When the trust terminates, either upon your death or after a specified number of years, its final assets are transferred to those you designate; any growth in the trust passes to recipients, often with significant transfer-tax savings.

A Charitable Lead Trust entitles you to a number of financial benefits. It shelters investment earnings from tax, and it offers gift, estate, and generation-skipping tax benefits. For example, trust assets are removed from your estate for estate tax purposes. You may also capture future gift tax deductions. However, at the time your trust is established, you may owe gift tax on the present value of your gift to the final beneficiary.

You have several options when establishing your trust. You can create a Charitable Lead Trust during your life or through your will. The trust contributes to charity through your community foundation—either for a number of years or for your lifetime. And, you select one of two types of Charitable Lead Trusts. A Charitable Lead Unitrust makes annual distributions of a fixed percentage of the trust assets to the charitable fund you establish. If you create a Charitable Lead Annuity Trust, the charitable fund you establish will receive a fixed dollar amount each year.

Find your giving path today!