The new year is approaching, marking now as an important time for Southern Nevadans to focus on end-of-the-year financial planning – especially if they’re exploring charitable giving for the holidays.
It might interest some to learn that nonprofits like The Smith Center for the Performing Arts, as well as many institutions like hospitals and universities, depend on planned giving to sustain their operations for future generations.
Planned giving – a flexible donation option that involves some form of financial planning – can include gifts in the form of stocks and real estate, and donations left in a will, estate plan or life insurance policy.
If you’re considering planned giving this year, check out a few tips below on how to best tailor this for your financial needs.
Planned Gifts That Make You Income
Some forms of planned giving can both provide revenue to a deserving nonprofit, while also making income for the donor. This can be helpful for retirement and estate planning.
A few of these options include a charitable gift annuity, a charitable remainder trust, and a charitable lead trust.
Defer Gifts After Your Lifetime
Many Southern Nevadans want to make a community impact, but they might not have enough assets or resources to make charitable gifts immediately.
Various planned giving options, such as designating donations in a will or trust, or listing a nonprofit as a beneficiary for a life insurance policy, allow individuals to pledge a gift so they don’t have to give right now, but at a future date.
If an individual pledges a planned gift this way, the recipient organization can count on that gift coming in at a certain time, and can plan accordingly.
Some donors consider this an opportunity to leave a legacy.
Tax Breaks
Older community members might be interested in a change in federal law that has made one form of planned giving easier.
It’s now possible every year for individuals 70 and a half or older to make tax-free, charitable gifts up to $100,000 per year directly from their Individual Retirement Accounts to eligible charities.
This allowance used to be dependent on an annual extension by the federal government, but was recently made permanent.
This allows donors to reduce the gift amount from their gross yearly income, earning a potentially significant tax deduction.
Learn More
To learn more, get a free planned giving guide at thesmithcenter.planningyourlegacy.org.
