Plan a Gift for Tomorrow

Walltown Children's Theater Tap Class

Create a Lasting Legacy
Charitable gift planning through Triangle Community Foundation allows you to create a philanthropic legacy to support the issues and causes you care about long into the future. In the process you can realize financial, tax and estate planning benefits.  Triangle Community Foundation works within a full range of planned giving vehicles, including charitable remainder trusts and charitable lead trusts.

Donors who make planned or legacy gifts with TCF will be invited to join the Foundation’s George H. Hitchings Society—our legacy membership. As a member, you will be recognized in the Foundation’s Annual Report and other publications, and at special member events. The Foundation will, of course, honor your request for anonymity if so desired.

To discuss planned giving options and benefits, receive sample calculations and forms, or arrange for a gift planning consultation, contact Robin Barefoot, Gift Planning Advisor.  Or visit GiftLaw, our gift planning website for a gift calculator and tax information.

Bequests
Naming TCF in your will or living trust is a popular way to support the community.

• Leave a specific dollar amount, a percentage of your estate, or what remains after other bequests have been satisfied.
• You may arrange for your heirs to receive lifetime income from your estate, with the remainder going to the Foundation for charitable purposes.
• Some of the most tax-efficient asset types to give through your will come from retirement plan accounts, since heirs would be taxed on the income in respect of the decedent.
• Bequests to TCF earn a full charitable deduction on estate taxes.

Charitable Remainder Trusts
Giving through a charitable remainder trust allows you to receive income for the life of the trust, while the remains go to your community.

• You can place cash, property, or other assets into a trust that distributes an annual income for life or for the duration of the trust.
• After death or the end of a specified trust term, the remainder transfers to a fund named at TCF or a specific charitable organization.
• You receive a tax deduction for the present value of the gift the year it is arranged.
• This kind of trust is useful for people with securities or real estate that have increased in value but earn little income, because once the assets are places in trusts, they can be sold and reinvested free of capital gains tax.

Charitable Lead Trust
A charitable lead trust enables you to make significant charitable gifts now while transferring substantial assets to beneficiaries later.

• A trust is set up from which TCF receives annual payments through your lifetime or for a specified number of years.
• These funds may be distributed to charities you specify or be added to a donor-advised fund.
• When the trust terminates, the trust principal is returned to you or distributed to your children or others you may designate at reduced tax cost or tax-free.

Gift of Life Insurance
For those whose need for life insurance has decreased, making a gift of an unneeded policy can be a convenient and effective way of meeting your charitable goals.

• Transferring ownership of a cash value policy to TCF makes you eligible for a charitable tax deduction based on its current value. You also reduce estate taxes, since the value of the policy is removed from your estate.
• You can make life insurance part of your estate planning by naming the Foundation as a partial and/or contingent beneficiary of any insurance policy’s death benefit.

Retirement Fund Plans
People who have planned carefully for their retirement may find that the assets in their IRAs or other qualified plans exceed their needs. The remainder may be transferred to TCF, if so desired.

• You can designate that after your death, assets remaining in the plan are contributed to a fund named at TCF or a specific charitable organization.
• This is far more advantageous than including assets in your taxable estate or leaving them to heirs, as they may be taxed at a cumulative rate of over 65%.
• No estate tax is due on the retirement plan assets that pass to TCF.