You can make a contribution to your fund at the Three Rivers Community Foundation using different techniques and types of assets. No matter how you arrange your planned gift, it will have distinct tax, financial and charitable benefits.

An Outright Gift is a donation of cash or other assets to the Three Rivers Community Foundation. Write a check, donate stock or give a piece of real estate, and the proceeds go to work in the community right away.

Bequests allow you to make a gift in your will and can result in estate tax deductions.

Gift annuities enable you to contribute to the Three Rivers Community Foundation, receive payments for life and realize immediate as well as future tax savings. At the end of your life or that of your last beneficiary, the Three Rivers Community Foundation uses the remaining assets of your annuity according to your philanthropic recommendations.

Charitable remainder trusts involve an irrevocable transfer of cash or other assets to a trustee who manages those assets and pays income to you or other beneficiaries for life or for a term of years. At the end of the trust term, the Three Rivers Community Foundation receives the remaining principal and uses it according to your philanthropic recommendations. 

Charitable lead trusts result in immediate funding for charitable work in the community while providing for the eventual transfer of wealth to your heirs at greatly reduced gift and estate tax rates. You irrevocably transfer assets to a trust that pays income to the Three Rivers Community Foundation, to be used according to your philanthropic recommendations. The duration is either for a specific number of years or for one or more lives. When the trust ends, its principal is usually distributed to your heirs, although it is also possible for it to be returned to you. 

IRA Accounts and Life Insurance can be used in a variety of ways when making a gift to the Three Rivers Community Foundation. You can, for example, name the Three Rivers Community Foundation as a beneficiary of a policy, thereby securing an estate tax deduction. Alternatively, you can contact your mutual fund company and change the beneficiary of your IRA to the Foundation. Either are good options for preserving the legacy passed on to your heirs by replacing other assets previously donated to charity. 

Once you have determined the arrangement that best meets your needs, simply choose to guide your giving from among several fund types that offer you or your designated heirs a broad range of involvement levels in grantmaking.

The Three Rivers Community Foundation staff will gladly work with you and your financial advisors to design an individual plan for you and your family that honors your charitable and financial goals.

NOTE: Please refer to your own advisors regarding your specific situation. The information contained on this website is not intended as advice on important legal matters. There is no substitute for the careful legal advice of an attorney or accountant retained by you to discuss your particular circumstances.

Giving Now

Donors may deduct outright cash gifts on their federal income tax returns -- up to 50 percent of adjusted gross income in one year, with any excess carried forward for up to five additional years

Donors may deduct the full fair market value of long-term appreciated property -- securities or real estate -- up to 30 percent of adjusted gross income, with any excess carried forward for up to five additional years. Donors also do not pay any tax on capital gains

For gifts of personal property, such as artwork or coin collections, the deductions may be either for full market value or the cost basis, depending on the Foundation's disposition of the property 

An outright gift is a donation of cash or other assets to the Three Rivers Community Foundation. Write a check, donate stock or give a piece of real estate, and the proceeds go to work in the community right away.

Bequests
Giving in the Future

Perhaps the easiest way to donate to the Three Rivers Community Foundation is through bequests. Bequests to the Foundation leave your assets in the community, where local needs are addressed and problems solved. An up-to-date will places assets exactly where you wish them. A gift by will to the Foundation also eliminates taxes on appreciated property for your heirs. The donor’s estate receives and estate tax deduction for the full value of the bequest. 

Endowments established with bequests leave a legacy of your values. Bequests can be added to existing funds or used to establish a new fund for causes dear to your heart.


Receiving Payments for Life While Giving to Charity

A gift annuity allows a donor to make a substantial gift to the Three Rivers Community Foundation and receive payments for life plus immediate tax benefits. 

With a gift annuity, the donor gives cash or other assets to the Three Rivers Community Foundation and, in exchange, receives fixed payments in annual installments. The size of the payments depends on the size of the contribution and the age of the person(s) receiving the annuity. The payments may be made to the donor, a spouse or someone else such as a parent, sibling or friend.

1. The donor receives an income tax deduction. The donor may use the deduction up to 50 percent of adjusted gross income for cash gifts, and up to 30 percent of adjusted gross income for gifts of other assets, in the first year; the excess may be carried forward for up to five additional years. (The exact amount of the deduction depends on the age(s) of the person(s) receiving payments, the annuity rate and the discount rate under the U.S. tax code.) 2. The annual payments are taxed favorably for a number of years, depending on the life expectancy of the person(s). A portion of payments from cash gifts will be tax-free. If a gift is made using appreciated property such as securities or real-estate, the donor avoids tax on a portion of the capital gain, and the capital gain that is taxed can be spread over the relevant life expectancy.

The minimum amount to establish a gift annuity is $10,000, and the person receiving the annuity must be at least 60 years old when the payments begin. Because payments can also be deferred, gift annuities are ideal for supplementing retirement income. Unlike qualified retirement plans, gift annuities have no contribution limit, and the donor receives income and capital gains tax benefits on contributions.

 
Providing Favorably-Taxed Payments

You may transfer cash or other property to a trust, enjoy the income for life, and leave the remainder to the Three Rivers Community Foundation to establish a fund for your favorite charity or cause. Some of the benefits to the creator of a Charitable Remainder Trust:

1. Generous income tax savings up-front 2. Turning an asset into a stream of income 3. Avoiding capital gains on appreciated property placed in the trust 4. Removing the value of trust assets from your estate 5. Bequeathing a generous gift that will make a difference to people and places you care about

The donor may use the income tax deduction up to 50 percent of adjusted gross income for cash gifts, and up to 30 percent of adjusted gross income for gifts of long-term appreciated assets in the first year; the excess may be carried forward for up to five additional years.

The donor pays no tax on the capital gain at the time long-term appreciated property, such as stock or real estate, is contributed. The trust is thus an excellent way to convert low- or non-income-generating assets into increased cash flow or to supplement retirement.

Minimizing Estate and Gift Taxes

The Foundation receives the gift for a period of years and the remainder goes to heirs selected by the donor. No capital gains are due on appreciated assets transferred to the Lead Trust or at the time of distribution to family members. You may also avoid income tax on the trust income.  The gift goes to work right away (if trust is set up during donor’s lifetime).  

Unlike income gifts, a charitable lead trust provides immediate funding for charitable work in the community, under an arrangement that allows donors to transfer wealth to their heirs at greatly reduced gift and real estate tax rates.

Under the most common form of such a trust, the donor irrevocably transfers assets to a trustee and has income from the trust paid to the Three Rivers Community Foundation, either for a certain number of years or until the donor’s death. At the end of the trust term, the principal is distributed to heirs.

The trust arrangement minimizes gift and estate taxes in two ways:

1. Payments to the Three Rivers Community Foundation provide a charitable deduction, sheltering part of the original trust principal from gift and estate taxes. (How much depends on the annual pay-out arrangement and the length of the trust term, as well as the discount rate under the U.S. tax code.) 2. Any growth in principal over the trust term passes on to heirs without being subject to gift or estate tax.

Freeing Heirs from Tax-Cursed Assets

Gifting proceeds from IRAs and insurance is one of the easiest ways to benefit charitable causes. You simply contact your insurance company or mutual fund company to request a Change of Beneficiary Form. After naming the Three Rivers Community Foundation the secondary beneficiary after a spouse or other family member, mail the form back. That is all that is required.

Pre-tax IRAs make GREAT gifts to charity because children named as beneficiaries must pay tax on all that untaxed money within the IRA. IRA funds are also included in estates. It is possible to lose almost 90% of an IRA through estate and income taxes. The Three Rivers Community Foundation does not pay income taxes; therefore, a donation of an IRA creates a gift of the total amount remaining in the fund at death.

A life insurance policy can be used to make funds available to the Three Rivers Community Foundation in the future with a range of tax benefits. It can also be used to preserve the legacy passed on to heirs, by replacing other assets donated to charity.

Donors can make charitable gifts of life insurance policies in several ways:

1. They can name the Three Rivers Community Foundation as a beneficiary. This may be a good option for donors whose beneficiaries have preceded them in death, or whose beneficiaries are covered by other life insurance policies or assets. (The proceeds from group insurance as well as individually owned policies can be given to the Foundation.) Donors receive an estate tax deduction for the donated proceeds of the policy, but no tax benefit during their lifetimes, as the gift is revocable. 2. They can donate a policy that has been fully paid. In this case, the donor names the Three Rivers Community Foundation as a beneficiary, and also transfers ownership of the policy. Because the gift is irrevocable, the donor receives an immediate income tax deduction, reportable for up to 50 percent of adjusted gross income; any excess may be carried forward for up to five additional years.