Plan Your Gifts

There are many ways a planned gift can help you accomplish your financial goals while providing important support for our efforts to protect feral cats and kittens.

Planned gifts allow you to leave a powerful legacy of feral cat protection. These types of gifts can also help you to reduce capital gain tax, provide income tax deductions and even generate a stream of income for life.

A planned gift may allow you to make a donation that you initially thought was beyond your means. And, depending on your individual circumstances, a planned gift may provide state and federal tax advantages.

In addition to tax benefits, life income gifts offer you a fixed or variable income (such as the charitable gift annuity, charitable remainder annuity trust or charitable remainder unitrust) for life.

A charitable lead trust can be an excellent way to pass assets to your heirs, while providing gifts to Alley Cat Allies for a term of many years.

Using your IRA or Qualified Retirement Plan
Life Insurance Policy
Gift Annuities
Charitable Remainder Trusts
Charitable Lead Trusts

Using Your IRA or Qualified Retirement Plan

Retirement plans are exceptionally attractive gift planning vehicles because they are subject to both estate tax and income tax if they are left to an individual, thus greatly reducing the value of the asset. If they are left to a charity, such taxes are usually avoided.

Some individuals, with retirement accounts that are over-funded, roll the money in their retirement plans into gift annuities.

To learn more about using your IRA or retirement plan as a gift opportunity, please contact Elise Ravenscroft, Development Director, at 240-482-1983, or eravenscroft@alleycat.org.

Using Your Life Insurance Policy

You can name Alley Cat Allies as the sole or partial beneficiary of a life insurance policy. Or, you can purchase a small life insurance policy that can produce a large death benefit for your charity. If Alley Cat Allies or another charity is the sole beneficiary, then the premiums are tax deductible.

To learn more about using your life insurance policy as a gift opportunity, please contact Elise Ravenscroft, Development Director, at 240-482-1983, or eravenscroft@alleycat.org.

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Establishing a Gift Annuity, “Save A Feral Cat” Charitable Gift Annuity

Charitable gift annuities are the most popular life-income gift plan available to donors today. They provide the donor with a fixed income for life, an immediate tax deduction, and partial avoidance of capital gain tax (when funded with appreciated securities).

Annuity rates are locked in on the date of your gift and are dependent on your age.

• Gift annuities are easy to do through a simple, two-page contract.
• There are no fees involved with setting up a charitable gift annuity.
• Gift annuities are safe; your rate is locked in on the date of your gift and backed by all of our assets, not just the annuity reserve.

Example:
If, at age 65, you were to donate $10,000 of appreciated securities, with a cost basis of $4,000 to establish a charitable gift annuity, you would:

• Receive $630 a year, for life (6.3% annuity rate);
• Be able to take an immediate income tax deduction of more than $2,700;
• Avoid capital gain tax on over $1,600 of the appreciation amount;
• Part of your annuity payment will be tax-free during for your actuarial life expectancy

Sample Gift Annuity Rates:

Deferred Gift Annuities

A gift annuity can also be established at a future point of your choice. These are called deferred gift annuities. A deferred gift annuity is useful because it allows donors to build their assets, take a tax deduction, and provide a lasting gift to Alley Cat Allies. Deferred annuities offer higher rates and income tax deductions, as compared to regular gift annuities.

• Deferred annuities are easy to establish through a simple two-page contract.
• There are no fees involved with setting up a deferred gift annuity.
• Deferred annuities are safe; your rate is locked in on the date of your gift and backed by all of our assets, not just the annuity reserve.

Example:
If, at age 60, you were to donate $10,000 of appreciated securities, with a cost basis of $4,000, to establish a deferred gift annuity that would begin payments when you reached age 65, you would:

• Receive $810 a year, for life (8.1% annuity rate)
• Be able to take an immediate income tax deduction of almost $3,000
• Avoid capital gain tax on over $1,700 of the appreciation
• Receive part of your annuity tax-free for your actuarial life expectancy

To learn more about charitable gift annuities and deferred annuities, please contact Elise Ravenscroft, Development Director, at 240-482-1983, or eravenscroft@alleycat.org.

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Establishing a Charitable Remainder Trust

Charitable Remainder Trusts allow you to make a substantial donation to Alley Cat Allies and still have a guaranteed income for life. They offer great flexibility:

• They can be tailored to your needs and assets;
• They can be set up to offer income to you or your designated beneficiary;
• You can designate that the income be paid for a set number of years (the maximum is 20) or for the beneficiary’s’ lifetime;
• You can designate the percentage of the trust to be paid out (minimum is 5%).

There are two basic kinds of Charitable Remainder Trusts, the unitrust, which provides variable income and the annuity trust, which provides fixed income.

The Charitable Remainder Annuity Trust pays a set dollar amount each year, which is equal to your chosen percentage of the original fair market value of the trust.

The Charitable Remainder Unitrust pays a variable amount each year, equal to the chosen percentage of the changing value of the trust. As the value of your unitrust changes each year, so will the income. Charitable Remainder Unitrusts are often set up for gifts of real estate, closely held stock, collectibles or cash.

Both types of remainder trusts offer significant tax advantages.

First, the trust itself is tax-exempt. Therefore, appreciated assets donated to the trust can be sold without incurring capital gains tax, allowing the full sale proceeds to be reinvested.

Second, no income tax is paid for the duration of the trust on undistributed income or capital gain.

Finally, you will be entitled to an immediate income tax deduction for a portion of the value of your gift. The lower percentage payout you choose, the larger the deduction.

Examples:

Charitable Remainder Annuity Trust

If you were to establish an annuity trust at age 65, paying 6%, with $250,000 of appreciated property with a cost basis of $180,000, you would receive:

• An immediate income tax deduction of over $110,000
• $15,000 a year for life, or a term of years, your choice

Unitrust

If you were to establish a Unitrust at age 65, paying 6%, with $250,000 of appreciated property with a cost basis of $180,000, you would receive:

• An immediate income tax deduction of over $100,000
• Income for life, or a term of years, whichever you choose
• The first year's income would be $15,000
• Each year after that you would receive 6% of the revalued amount in the trust

To learn more about charitable remainder trusts, please contact Elise Ravenscroft, Development Director, at 240-482-1983, or eravenscroft@alleycat.org.

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Establishing a Charitable Lead Trust

Lead Trusts allow you to pass assets to your heirs at reduced gift and estate taxes while providing an income stream to Alley Cat Allies for a set number of years.

For Example if, at age 65, you were to establish a charitable lead annuity trust with $300,000 of appreciated property (with a cost basis of $200,000) designed to pay 7% to Alley Cat Allies for 10 years and then pass the assets in the trust to your heirs, you would receive:

• An immediate income tax deduction of more than $125,000
• Reduced gift and estate tax levels when the assets are passed to your heirs.

Lead trusts can be set up in many different ways and can be very flexible.

To learn more about charitable lead trusts, please contact Elise Ravenscroft, Development Director, at 240-482-1983, or eravenscroft@alleycat.org.

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