Legacy Giving
| What is legacy giving?
When you write a check or give stock to Aspen Community Foundation, you are making a current gift. In addition to making current gifts, many donors arrange to make future gifts to ACF. These structured future transfers to ACF are often referred to as legacy gifts or planned gifts.
Legacy gifts help ACF build its endowment and ensure that our mission stays strong for generations to come. You can leave a legacy gift to ACF through a bequest in your estate plan.
| Popular types of legacy gifts
Will or trust
Include a bequest to ACF in your will or revocable living trust. You can leave a specific dollar amount or a portion of the “remainder” of your estate or trust after distribution to family and other beneficiaries. Your will or trust can be updated any time prior to your death.
Sample language for your will:
“I give Aspen Community Foundation, the rest and residue of my estate for its unrestricted use. The name of that endowment fund is [XXX].”
“I give to Aspen Community Foundation, _% of my estate for its unrestricted use. The name of that fund is [XXX].”
“I give to Aspen Community Foundation, the sum of $_ for it’s unrestricted use. The name of that fund is [XXX].”
Beneficiary Designation
You can leave a bequest through a beneficiary designation on your IRA, retirement plan, or life insurance policy. Beneficiary designations can be updated throughout your lifetime.
Donor-Advised Fund
You can leave a bequest to ACF’s endowment fund as part of the terms of your donor-advised fund. You can update your donor-advised fund during your lifetime to accommodate evolving estate planning and charitable goals.
Charitable Remainder Trust
Sometimes referred to as a CRT, this legacy giving technique allows you to make a future gift to ACF’s endowment fund and be eligible for up-front income tax deduction and retain an income stream for life or a period of years.
ACF will work with you and your attorney to establish your CRT. Your tax advisor will help you determine whether you could benefit from this sort of bequest.
Charitable Gift Annuity
A charitable gift annuity can be easier to establish than a CRT, especially if you plan to set up a legacy gift to ACF’s endowment fund with $50,000 or less.
Gifts of Stock
Giving closely-held stock or real estate to ACF’s endowment fund requires careful planning. These gifts of “complex assets” frequently result in strong tax benefits to you, as well as providing strong support to ACF’s endowment fund and other organizations you care about.
ACF can work with you and your advisors to ensure that your charitable intentions – as well as your tax intentions – are met with your gifts of closely-held stock.
Gifts of Real Estate
Your gift of highly-appreciated real estate can help you avoid capital gains taxes and generate more money for ACF’s endowment fund and other favorite charitable causes than you would have by selling the property first and donating the proceeds.
Qualified Charitable Distributions
Giving a life insurance policy to a charitable organization through a beneficiary designation is useful because the proceeds of that policy will not be included in your taxable estate for Federal estate tax purposes if that is a concern in your situation. We can work with you to determine if a gift of a life insurance policy is right for you.
| Learn More
Legacy Society (coming soon)
Stephanie Gianneschi
Director of Philanthropic Services
