Planned Giving Myth #1
Only Wealthy People Can Make Charitable Bequests
We’ve all heard the stories of multi-millionaires leaving large sums of money or other assets to charities through their wills. These kinds of stories are great because they remind us of the joy of giving to organizations that are dear to us. However, sometimes these stories deter some would-be donors who think they need a lot of money to make bequests.
Donors do not have to give millions or even thousands of dollars to make a bequest. They should give what they want and what they can. There are many ways to make a bequest to charity. One way is to state exactly how much money or which assets are to be given. Another is to bequeath a percentage of your estate. Even if it is 1%, your charitable intent will be felt.
Donors who can’t afford to make large annual gifts to their favorite organizations are some of the best suited to make bequests through their wills. Although they have little or no expendable income, they own life insurance, Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs), property and other assets that can be donated upon their death. If given to loved ones, some of these items will be highly taxed. But when given to charity, no value is lost because they are tax free. IRAs are one of the assets that are highly taxed if not given to a spouse or charitable organization. It should be easy to change the beneficiary on your IRA; it is one of the ways to make a bequest without involving a lawyer.
A popular approach for many donors is to treat an organization as one of their children when writing their will. For example, if someone has two children, instead of dividing the estate in half, the donor divides it into thirds to provide for the children and a favorite organization.
As long as you have a desire to leave your legacy through your favorite charity, someone will be able to help you find a way to do so – and it will probably be much easier than you might have imagined. If you would like to talk to someone about your desire to make a bequest to the Sisters of St. Joseph Ministries Foundation, contact Lisse Regehr at 651.690.7092 or lregehr@csjstpaul.org.
