Back to Individual Donations While you are planning for your family's future financial well-being, we are planning for WOMENS WAY's as well. We have established the WOMENS WAY Legacy Society to recognize our supporters who have made a commitment to help perpetuate the values of WOMENS WAY for future generations by planning to leave us a gift (or a "legacy") upon their deaths through bequests, retirement plan beneficiary designations, life insurance gifts, or trust arrangements. Throughout the past 25 years, many of our loyal supporters have had the foresight and generosity to benefit WOMENS WAY through their estate plans. These gifts strengthen our efforts to mobilize community resources to enhance the lives of women and their families. Most significantly, they help ensure that we will be able to continue this beneficial role for future generations. We are very pleased to establish a new tradition of honoring those individuals who are committed to helping us secure our future in this important way. We hope you will join us in this vital initiative. If you have already planned to leave us a legacy society or would like to consider planning to do so, please join the WOMENS WAY Legacy Society by completing our Declaration of Intent form and returning it to WOMENS WAY. WOMENS WAY'S Legacy Society Declaration of Intent Form. You will need Adobe Acrobat to open this form. If you do not Adobe Acrobat you can download it here. Let WOMENS WAY know of your selected donation. If you have made a donation through this selected method, please click here to let us know. PLANNED GIVING There are many ways that you can make financial contributions to WOMENS WAY besides just writing a check or leaving a bequest in your will. Below are several techniques you may want to consider. IRAs or Other Retirement Accounts Gifts of Appreciated Securities Life Insurance Charitable Remainder Trusts Donor Advised Funds and Private Foundations IRAs or Other Retirement Accounts Sad News You don't really own all of your IRAs or other retirement plans that you have. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) owns approximately one-third; you only own the balance. While you were enjoying a tax deduction each year that you made a contribution and tax deferrals every following year, the IRS was patiently biding its time. As you (or your heirs) use this money, EVERY PENNY will be taxed. The higher your tax bracket, the more the government will take. Solution Do you want to disinherit the IRS (legally, of course) while leaving a legacy to WOMENS WAY? Just name WOMENS WAY as one of the beneficiaries of your IRA (or retirement plan), and that gift will NEVER be taxed. Examples If WOMENS WAY is your beneficiary for $100,000 of your IRA, then WOMENS WAY will receive the entire $100,000. There will be absolutely no tax of any kind. If your spouse is your IRA beneficiary, he/she will receive only approximately $70,000 or less, depending on his or her tax bracket. If your four children are your beneficiaries, they would each receive only approximately $18,000 or less, depending on their tax brackets. Conclusion Look how easy and tax efficient it is to make a significant bequest to WOMENS WAY, while potentially costing your heirs a lot less than the value of your gift. Back to Top Gifts of Appreciated Securities It is generally better to gift appreciated securities instead of writing a check because you will permanently avoid paying capital gains tax on the securities. Here’s an example: GIFT CHARITABLE DEDUCTION CAPITAL GAINS TAX NET COST TO YOU $2,000 Cash $2,000 -0- ($2,000) 20 shs XYZ Corp. @$100 per share, Your Cost Basis = $10 per share. $2,000 $360 ($1,640) CAVEATS: Appreciated Securities must be “marketable” securities - the type that you could easily sell at a moment’s notice to a stranger. An example of a security that is not a “marketable” security would be stock in a closely-held corporation that is not traded on a public stock exchange. The Appreciated Securities must be a “long-term” capital gain asset. What this means is that you must have owned the securities long enough that if you were to sell them, the gain (i.e., excess of your sale price over your cost) would have qualified for long-term capital gains treatment. Your deduction each year may not exceed 30% of your adjusted gross income (“AGI”) for total marketable securities gifted during the year (to all charities) and 50% of AGI for such gifts of cash. However, excess contributions may generally be carried forward to be used as deductions for up to 5 future tax years. 1. This is your cost before you take into account your reduced income tax resulting from the charitable tax deduction you will receive (assuming that you itemize your deductions). For example, if you are in the 28% tax bracket and you itemize your deductions, your tax benefit for making a $2000 contribution would be $560 (28% x $2000). Thus, if you contributed cash, your net “post-tax” cost would be $1440, and if you contributed the XYZ Corp. stock in this example it would be $1,080. 2. This is calculated by first determining the amount of gain in the XYZ, Corp. stock ($2000-$200 = $1,800), and then multiplying the gain ($1,800) by the 20% capital gains tax rate. 3. Under present law, this is the case if you purchased the asset more than one year ago. Back to Top Life Insurance Leveraging your gift for the future As a donor, one of the greatest advantages to gifting a life insurance policy is the potential to bequeath a much larger donation to WOMENS WAY. Your gift does not need to be limited by how much money you currently have. Instead of making large contributions now, you can purchase a life insurance policy, making smaller, monthly premium payments today. These premiums will result in a much larger financial gift to WOMENS WAY when the policy matures. In many cases those premiums will be tax deductible. Charity owned tax advantages Donating an existing paid-up policy – the donor may receive an income tax deduction equal to the lesser of the policy’s cost basis or fair market value. Donating an existing policy with additional premiums payable – again, the donor may receive an income tax deduction. Though, in subsequent years, the donor may receive additional deductions by transferring cash to WOMENS WAY to pay the additional premiums. More immediate needs If WOMENS WAY has more immediate funding needs, it can take advantage of the accumulated cash value of your donated life insurance policy. A gift that is so easy to give Simply determine the size of the gift and name your beneficiary, or change the beneficiary of a current life insurance policy. Upon your death, WOMENS WAY will receive a substantial gift in your name. Neither your estate, nor WOMENS WAY, will pay taxes on the donation. When you consider a gift of charitable life insurance, you have the freedom to ask yourself how much you want to give, not how much you can afford. A gift of life insurance is both a substantial and reliable source of funding for WOMENS WAY. Back to Top Charitable Remainder Trusts A donor transfers property to an irrevocable trust and retains either an annuity interest – a fixed percentage of the initial value of the trust (CRAT) – or a unitrust interest, in which the percentage is applied to the value of the trust, redetermined annually (CRUT). At the end of the trust term, the remaining property is paid to designated charities. Tax Advantages and Other Benefits Increased income Spouse can receive successor interest Benefits charity, while maintaining financial security Flexibility to change charitable interests during retained interest period Immediate income tax deduction for present value of remainder interest Tax deferred diversification Considerations Gift eventually passes outside family Possible annual valuation issues for CRUT Donor can be Trustee Back to Top Donor Advised Funds and Private Foundations If a donor wishes to make a sizeable charitable contribution and receive an immediate income tax charitable deduction, but does not want to give the designated charity immediate unrestricted access to the funds, the donor should consider giving to a Donor Advised Fund (“DAF”) or a Private Foundation (“PF”). Donor Advised Fund In order to contribute to a DAF, a donor must Choose a DAF operated by (a) a community foundation serving a particular geographic area; (b) a tax exempt charitable organization with a DAF; or (c) a mutual fund company with a DAF. Establish an account with an initial irrevocable contribution and name the fund (if available). Designate an advisor (usually the donor). Make grant recommendations to support selected public charities, and recommend an investment strategy (if available). Advantages: Donor can claim an income tax deduction of up to 50% of his or her adjusted gross income. DAF handles all tax and other filings, taking the administrative burdens off the donor. The administrative costs are usually lower than a private foundation due to the economies of scale. If the donor may name the fund, the donor may use the DAF to highlight the donor’s philanthropy to gain recognition. Disadvantages: Although a donor can make recommendations, legally the donor no longer has control over the funds donated. The donor has no control over the investment policy of the funds donated, although sometimes the donor may make recommendations. Private Foundation In order to contribute to a PF, a donor must: Create the PF either through a trust document or a corporate structure. The trustees/directors of the PF must file with the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) to gain tax exempt status. The trustees/directors of the PF must operate the PF in accordance with the organizing document, state law and federal tax laws. Because the PF has a separate legal existence, the trustees/directors of the PF must maintain separate bank and investment accounts for the PF. Advantages: Any income from PF will be exempt from income tax provided IRS requirements are satisfied. The trustees or directors have control over the operation, investments and charitable activities of the PF. The donor’s family is brought together for philanthropic reasons, and the family keeps control over the private foundation’s changing charitable purposes. A donor may use the PF to highlight the donor’s philanthropy to gain recognition. Disadvantages: The PF must distribute approximately 5% of its value each year. A donor is allowed a charitable deduction of up to only 30% of the donor’s adjusted gross income for a donation to a PF. The PF will need to file a tax return and state tax forms each year. The start-up costs may be high. The laws governing the PF are complex. Back to Top The descriptions of these planned giving techniques are only intended to provide an overview and should not, in any event, be relied upon in lieu of professional advice. If you are interested in learning more about any of these techniques or determining which method will provide you with the best overall tax benefits, please contact your financial planner, accountant, lawyer or other tax advisor, or contact WOMENS WAY to be placed in touch with a member of our Planned Giving Committee who may be able to assist you. Let WOMENS WAY know of your selected donation. If you have made a donation through this selected method, please click here to let us know.

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