Planned giving makes every dollar go farther! To maximize your charitable giving, as well as fulfill your own financial needs, you can fund the future of the Humane Society of Charlotte through your estate planning. Making a gift through your estate is one of the most effective ways to ensure that we can carry on our mission to save animals' lives far into the future
The Humane Society of Charlotte invites you to join other supporters who have already taken the steps necessary to ensure the future of our organization. We look forward to working with you to design a gift that meets your charitable and financial goals. The Humane Society of Charlotte offers the following gift arrangements:
Gifts Through Your Will or Living Trust
A gift to the Humane Society of Charlotte through your will or living trust is a powerful statement of your support for our mission: to provide love and hope to all animals by ensuring the humane treatment of companion animals through adoption, spay/neuter and eduction. It may also provide a reduction in your taxable estate.
The most common planned gift is a bequest through your will or living trust. You can arrange a gift of a specific amount, a percentage of your estate, or even all or part of the residuary of your estate. If you would like to make such a gift to the Humane Society of Charlotte, your attorney may wish to include language similar to the following:
"I give, devise, and bequeath to the Humane Society of Charlotte, now or formerly in the City of Charlotte, 2700 Toomey Avenue, in the State of North Carolina, (dollar amount or __ percent of the rest, residue, and remainder of my estate), to be used for its general purposes."
Gifts Through Life Insurance or Retirement Plan Beneficiary Designations
Naming the Humane Society of Charlotte as the beneficiary of your life insurance policy or retirement plan is a simple and smart way to provide for our organization. It may also benefit your heirs through avoidance of substantial income and estate taxes.
To create a legacy for through a beneficiary designation, you may:
- Name the Humane Society of Charlotte as beneficiary of a retirement fund
- Name the Humane Society of Charlotte as beneficiary of an insurance policy
Retirement Plans
Retirement plan assets are among the best assets to use for charitable gifts. You can create a legacy by naming the Humane Society of Charlotte as beneficiary or contingent beneficiary of an IRA, 401 (k), 403 (b), Keogh account, or other qualified retirement plan. Upon your death, all or a portion of the unused balance in your account is transferred to the Society as a charitable gift.
When a retirement account is left to a charity, the organization does not pay the income tax otherwise due if left to a friend or non-spouse family member. To make such a gift requires merely completing a change of beneficiary form, which may be obtained from the plan administrator.
Insurance Policies
If you no longer need their life insurance that was purchased years ago to provide for children or other family members, please consider donating the policy to the Humane Society of Charlotte. You may claim a charitable deduction for approximately the policy's cash surrender value, and the proceeds are completely removed from your estate
Life insurance may also be used to create a legacy by naming the Humane Society of Charlotte as beneficiary or contingent beneficiary of the policy. This requires that you complete a change of beneficiary form with the insurance company. If you name the Society as beneficiary, you can change your mind at any time by updating the change of beneficiary form.
Life Income Plans: Gifts That Give You Income for Life
Life income plans allow you to support the Society and, in return, receive income for the rest of your life. Life income plans may also provide significant income tax savings and favorable capital gains tax treatment on gifts of appreciated property.
Our staff works with donors and their advisors on many special ways of giving. A life income gift is particularly suitable if you want:
- payments for the rest of your life
- an income tax deduction, and
- a reduction in capital gains tax.
- Charitable Gift Annuities
A charitable gift annuity is a special giving arrangement in which, in return for a gift of at least $5,000 (or $10,000 for two annuitants), the Humane Society of Charlotte provides guaranteed, fixed payments to you and/or another person for the rest of your lives. The rate of your payments is based on your age when the gift is made and will not change. A portion of your annuity payments may be tax-free, depending on the specifics of the gift. A charitable gift annuity also entitles you to partial income tax charitable deduction and may provide capital gains and estate tax benefits. After your lifetime, the remainder of your gift will support the work of the Humane Society of Charlotte.
Charitable Remainder Trusts
To set up a trust that will ultimately benefits the Humane Society of Charlotte while providing you with continuing income, you would make an irrevocable gift of $100,000 or more to establish a distinct trust fund in your name. All donors qualify for an income tax charitable deduction. If you make your gift with appreciated securities, you avoid the capital gains tax on long-term appreciation. With a charitable remainder unitrust, your payment rate is fixed at 5% or more, but the amount fluctuates based on the value of the trust each year. With a charitable remainder annuity trust, your payment amount is fixed at 5% or more and does not fluctuate through time. In both trusts, the income is taxed as ordinary income to you. But most importantly, you have established a legacy for the Humane Society of Charlotte.
Gifts of Real Estate
A residence, a vacation home, acreage (even a farm) or an unimproved parcel of land may have appreciated so significantly in value that its sale by you would generate a substantial income tax burden. By making a gift of a full or partial interest in real estate to the Society, you will avoid tax on the long-term capital gain and generate an income tax charitable deduction for the full fair market value of the property. It is also possible to make a gift of your primary residence or second home while retaining an exclusive life estate so that you (and your spouse) can continue to use it for the rest of your lives while obtaining significant tax and estate planning benefits.
Contact Us
Our staff can prepare personalized, confidential gift examples for you. If you would like more information, or would like to let us know that you have already included the Humane Society of Charlotte in your estate plans, please contact Donna Canzano, at 704-377-0534, ext. 229, or via email at dcanzano@humanesocietyofcharlotte.org. We look forward to speaking with you!
Legal Information
We are a 501-c-3, not-for-profit organization as determined by the U.S. Department of Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service. Our federal tax id number is 58-1342479.
