If you or someone you love are 70½ or older, an IRA qualified charitable distribution is a powerful way to contribute to your charitable giving goals.

Tax-free IRA distributions of up to $100,000 can be donated to South County Community Services, helping you meet your annual required minimum distribution. This saves you taxes on the transfer, reduces your taxable income, and avoids deduction limits on charitable gifts.

How a Qualified Charitable Distribution Works

1. Contact your IRA plan administrator to donate from your IRA to South County Community Services
2. Your IRA distribution funds will be transferred directly to South County Community Services
3. Any IRA qualified charitable distribution gifts do not qualify for a charitable deduction on your taxes, so you’re able to make separate nonprofit donations if you choose

If you are making a distribution from your IRA to us, please email or call us (269-649-2901 x4) to let us know to expect the check. Also, be sure to allow for extra time to process the distribution before the end of the year.

A gift annuity is a contractual agreement in which, in exchange for a minimum gift of $10,000, South County Community Services will make payments to you, another person, or two people for life.

Individuals aged 60 or older are eligible for immediate payment annuities. Payments can also be deferred to a future date, making gift annuities an excellent retirement vehicle. The gift can be in cash or marketable securities.

The minimum age for those entering into a Deferred Payment Charitable Gift Annuity contract is 50, and the minimum age for payments to begin is 60. People aged 60 or older can defer payments for at least one year after the annuity is established.

Establishing a gift annuity accomplishes two things: a contract is made for you, the donor (and another individual if you choose) to receive a fixed payment for life, and a gift is made to South County Community Services. Since a portion of the amount given for a gift annuity will be used for charitable purposes, the donor is entitled to a federal (and perhaps state) income tax deduction the year the gift is made.

The contributed irrevocable gift becomes an asset of SCCS and the payments are a general obligation of the organization. The annuity is backed by the full assets of SCCS, and the funds are separately invested according to conservative and disciplined financial standards.

For a period of years, a portion of each payment received is tax-free. This further increases the after-tax dollars available to the donor for spending or investing. An annuity funded with appreciated securities has even more advantages: The gain allocated to the gift portion is not subject to the capital gains tax, and the portion of the gain to be recognized can be spread over the expected term of the contract.

Retirement assets are one of the most beneficial gifts you can give to South County Community Services. These funds grow tax-free until the time of withdrawal. With the innovative use of these assets, you’re able to contribute generously to SCCS as well as provide for your loved ones. Many taxes on these plans can be avoided or reduced through a carefully planned charitable gift. Consider these charitable approaches:

Outright gift through beneficiary designation.
You can name South County Community Services as the beneficiary or contingent beneficiary of your retirement assets after your lifetime. When a retirement account is left to a charity, the organization does not pay any income tax whereas your heirs may pay income tax if they inherit your retirement funds. Your retirement plan’s administrator can provide a beneficiary form for you to name SCCS as your sole or partial beneficiary.

Charitable remainder trust after a donor’s lifetime.
You can name a trust as the ultimate beneficiary of excess or unused retirement assets. After your lifetime, the trust can provide income to heirs for a period of years, after which time the trust monies can fund charitable endeavors. Since it is a charitable trust, there is more money available to generate income for heirs.

Life insurance is often overlooked as an asset that you can use to make gifts to South County Community Services. There are a number of ways to support SCCS’s many programs with an insurance-related gift.

Add a beneficiary to your policy.
It is relatively simple to make a change to the beneficiary/beneficiaries of your insurance policy without changing your will or other aspects of your estate plan. Just ask your insurance company for a form that will allow you to make South County Community Services a beneficiary of your insurance policy.

Give a paid-up policy.
You can transfer ownership of a paid-up life insurance policy to South County Community Services. After the transfer, SCCS can elect to either cash in the policy right away or keep the policy and receive the death benefit later. You would receive an immediate income tax deduction for either the cash surrender value or the basis (usually the cost), whichever is less.

Making South County Community Services the owner and beneficiary.
You can take out a policy and make South County Community Services the owner and beneficiary of the policy. Premium payments can be made by you directly to the insurance company or by SCCS, by way of your annual gift to the organization. Whichever way the premiums are paid, you can take an income tax deduction.

A Charitable Remainder Trust, or CRT, is a life-income arrangement that provides you and/or other beneficiaries with a stream of income for life or for a period of years. After the trust terminates, the principal, or “remainder interest,” goes to South County Community Services. Unlike other life-income arrangements, CRTs are separately invested and managed trusts. Please note that SCCS does not manage these trusts for donors.

This is the most flexible of life-income plans, and a powerful way for you to benefit along with your heirs and SCCS. Some versions of CRTs can be funded with closely held stock, partnership interests, real estate, and in some instances, tangible personal property such as works of art. You can choose to receive a variable or fixed income (beginning immediately) for life or a term of years. There is no limitation on the number of beneficiaries of a CRT.

CRT Benefits:

• When appreciated assets are donated to the trust, they can be sold without incurring capital gains tax, allowing the entire proceeds from the sale to be reinvested.
• You can receive a charitable income tax deduction in the year the gift is made, with an additional five years to carry over any unused deduction.
• You can add to certain types of CRTs at any time.
• Through reinvestment within the trust, you can achieve diversification of a previously concentrated asset.
• Any assets that you contribute to a CRT are immediately removed from your estate, reducing your estate tax exposure.

Basic Types of CRTs:

• Unitrust (CRUT): This type of trust pays a variable income based on a fixed percentage (for example, between 5 and 6 percent) of the trust assets, revalued once each year. One advantage of a unitrust is that your income can increase as the trust principal grows over time. This type of CRT allows you to make additional contributions at any time.
• Annuity Trust (CRAT): This type of trust pays a fixed annual income that is determined when the trust is established. The annuity trust is often preferred by those who are interested in the security of a constant return.