PLANNED GIVING OPTIONS
"Create a legacy and include a financial donation in your estate plan to keep saving homeless animals in the future.”
~ Betty Gurley
Since 2004, we have successfully worked to reduce the number of animals being euthanized in county shelters. Thanks to the generosity of caring people like you, Mostly Mutts Animal Rescue will continue to save the lives of homeless pets in our community and work diligently to find them forever homes.
By making a planned gift through your will, trust, or other financial plan, you can help ensure our good work continues far into the future. When you incorporate charitable giving in your estate planning you gain personal satisfaction - not only by completing your plan, but also by ensuring that homeless pets will continue to receive humane care, and that even more lives are saved.
OUTRIGHT GIFT
An outright gift of cash or appreciated property is an easy and wonderful way to contribute to the work of Mostly Mutts Animal Rescue. Your gift will be put to immediate use, and you will be entitled to a charitable income tax deduction for the full value of your gift.
BEQUESTS
Through your will or living trust, you can donate a fixed amount to Mostly Mutts Animal Rescue, or a percentage of your estate. Common language used in a will is, "I give to Mostly Mutts Animal Rescue and Adoption, Inc., a Georgia corporation with its principal offices at 3238 Cherokee Street, Kennesaw, GA 30144, (the sum of $ ___ ) (all or ___ percent of my residual estate) to be used for its general purposes."
SPECIFIC GIFT
You describe exactly what kind of gift you want to leave to a specific individual or organization and the designated source. If you want to leave a specific dollar amount from a specific source or a particular item (such as a piece of property or a collector's item), this is the type of bequest you would use.
Example - Jeanne states in her will, "I leave my stamp collection to my grandson, Gregory. I leave my beach house to my daughter, Maria. I leave my securities to Mostly Mutts Animal Rescue."
Example - Mary states in her will, "I leave $50,000 to my nephew, Stephen. I leave $20,000 to Mostly Mutts Animal Rescue."
RETIREMENT ASSETS
The Pension Protection Act of 2006 states that if you are 70-and-one-half years or older, you can make an outright gift to Mostly Mutts Animal Rescue by transferring funds directly from your individual retirement account (IRA) without paying federal income taxes on the distribution. The gift must be made by the end of the year and will count towards your minimum required distribution. Please consult your tax adviser for current donation limits.
Typically, retirement plan balances are subject to both income and estate taxes. Because Mostly Mutts Animal Rescue is a nonprofit organization, we won't pay income tax on the distribution nor will the gift be subject to estate tax.
Your retirement assets may be transferred to Mostly Mutts Animal Rescue by completing a beneficiary designation form provided by your plan custodian. If you designate Mostly Mutts Animal Rescue as a beneficiary, the animals will benefit from the full value of your gift because your IRA assets will not be taxed at your death. Your estate can also benefit from an estate tax charitable deduction for the gift.
LIFE INSURANCE
Mostly Mutts Animal Rescue accepts gifts of life insurance either as the beneficiary of a policy or as the sole owner and sole beneficiary. Either way, we can use these gifts to save the lives of homeless pets in our community.
You can name Mostly Mutts Animal Rescue as a primary life insurance beneficiary or as a contingent beneficiary should your other beneficiaries not survive you. After your lifetime the benefits from your policy pass to Mostly Mutts Animal Rescue, free of federal estate tax. To make this gift, contact your insurance carrier and request a beneficiary form. Here are some benefits to you:
- Simple to give: involves little effort or paperwork
- Financial advantage: continued ownership of your policy
- Flexibility: you can change your mind and your beneficiaries at any time
- Future tax savings: removes the asset from your potential gross taxable estate
Another option is to donate your paid-up life insurance policy to Mostly Mutts Animal Rescue. If the policy has a cash value, Mostly Mutts Animal Rescue will have the option of either holding the policy until the maturity date or surrendering the policy to receive the policy's current cash value.
Example: Art bought a life insurance policy years ago, which he now wants to donate to Mostly Mutts Animal Rescue. Since he gave the policy to us, Art can claim an income tax charitable deduction. The total amount of the policy is removed from his estate, and we will use the gift to help homeless pets find forever homes in our community.
APPRECIATED ASSETS
Donate stocks, bonds, or real estate to fund a planned gift and avoid substantial capital gains taxes on these assets. If you donate appreciated securities that you have owned for more than one year, you receive a deduction for the full market value of the securities, even when it is greater than the amount you paid. You don’t have to declare the difference or the profit as income, which is a double benefit.
Mostly Mutts Animal Rescue is a 501(c)(3) non-profit agency. Donations are tax-deductible to the fullest extent of the law. Mostly Mutts Tax ID number is 41-2142032.
Please consult with your independent financial, tax, or legal adviser to discuss your planned giving wishes and the potential tax advantages of donating, because Mostly Mutts Animal Rescue does not provide financial, tax, or legal advice.
Thank you for considering Mostly Mutts Animal Rescue in your estate plans. Your generosity will help guarantee life to homeless animals for many years to come.
