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There are many ways you can support the NSA such as a simple cash gift, a gift of real or personal property, naming the NSA as a beneficiary in your will or life insurance plan, or more complicated estate planning devices.
This guide is designed to help philanthropic individuals accomplish your financial, tax and estate-planning goals and desires through charitable tax-wise giving. We want you to save significant dollars in taxes while at the same time to secure your financial future, provide for your heirs, and help the NSA.
Our program is based upon the following standards to serve you, our philanthropic friends, and your families:
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We will honor your needs first, ahead of any individual or organization by listening to how you would like to contribute and helping to determine what type of gift will benefit you.
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We will provide you with objective complete and accurate information, based upon your goals and objectives, so that you can make an informed decision that is best for you and your family.
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We will provide you with the highest level of professional service.
Utilizing many different ways to give from a simple bequest to a complex charitable trust, we want you to be able to: increase your income and financial security, obtain significant income, capital gain and estate tax savings, provide an increased inheritance for your loved ones, and leave a significant legacy to the NSA.
The NSA is fortunate to have friends who have made giving to us a part of their lifestyle and financial and estate planning. We want to continue to reward this powerful partnership. We will be happy to meet with you and your advisors, to provide expert input on your specific case and to assist you in developing and integrating appropriate charitable planning concepts into your plan. But please remember that the NSA is not in a position to offer legal or financial advice. When considering the tax or other effects of a gift to the NSA, please consider consulting your attorney or financial advisor.
To get you started, you are invited to request a copy of the NSA’s Planning Giving Program 2003 from our National Office at:
National Stuttering Association
119 W. 40th Street
14th Floor
New York, NY 10018
or call Tammy Flores 1-800-937-8888 (We Stutter) who will gladly have a representative of our Fund Development Committee contact you.
Our program will provide you with information about several tax-wise methods of giving you may find beneficial in your gift, financial, tax and estate planning, such as the following options:
Matching Gifts
Keep in mind that many employers will match your gift dollar-for-dollar (or more) providing additional support for the NSA. Often, these programs are also extended to retirees. Please check to see if you qualify for a matching gift program with your employer.
Gifts of Appreciated Stock
If you have owned stock for more than one year and it has appreciated in value, you will be able to use the current value of the stock as your charitable donation. (If you sell appreciated stock, rather than donating it, you may be required to pay capital gains tax on the appreciated value – so consider donating the stock to the NSA to avoid that result.)
Remembering the NSA in Your Will
A simple and commonly used method to ensure the NSA’s legacy will continue is to name the NSA as a beneficiary in your will. You can accomplish this in one of three ways:
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You can leave the NSA a specific amount of cash or specific property. For example, “I give the sum of $100,000 to the National Stuttering Association,” or “I give 500 shares of XYX Corporation stock to the National Stuttering Association.”
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You can leave the NSA a fixed percentage of your estate. For example, “I give 20% of the residue of my estate to the National Stuttering Association."
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You can leave the NSA all or part of the residue of the estate after bequests to other beneficiaries have been made. For example, “I give the residue of my real and personal estate to the National Stuttering Association.”
Remember that the estate tax charitable deduction is unlimited.
In addition to your will, you may consider naming the NSA as a beneficiary in your living trust or pension plan.
Gifts That Provide You With Income For Life
If you own highly appreciated and/or low-income-producing assets and would like to convert these to produce a higher income without triggering capital-gains taxes, there are several ways to give to the NSA that will help you accomplish this and provide you with an income for life. The income you receive can be fixed or variable and after the income beneficiaries have passed away, the remaining principal can be used to support the NSA.
When you transfer cash or marketable securities to the NSA, in return, the NSA can issue an annuity contract which will pay you or your designated beneficiary a guaranteed annuity for life! This transfer is considered part gift and part purchase of an annuity. The annuity rate will depend on you or your beneficiary’s age and the type of annuity you choose.
With a present gift annuity, annuity payments begin immediately. With a deferred gift annuity, annuity payments are deferred to some future date. With either type of annuity, the NSA will retain the remaining principal upon your or your beneficiary’s death.
How can a charitable gift annuity benefit you in other ways? You will receive a guaranteed income stream for life (or a specified term of years) and receive an immediate income tax charitable deduction for the gift portion of the transfer. If you establish the gift annuity with appreciated securities, you may even defer your capital gains tax.
Just imagine being able to accomplish two very important goals at once: Providing for your or your beneficiary’s future needs while at the same time helping the NSA promote its goals of helping those who stutter. Even with age and minimum donation restrictions, envision a deferred gift annuity that may be used to fund a college plan for a young child or grandchild, with income payments paid to the child during his or her college years. When the child’s education is completed, the remaining principal will go to fund NSA’s critical work.
Gifts of Income Without Relinquishing Title
Another wonderful donation tool is to make a gift of income to the NSA for a specific period of time after which the principal will revert back to you. If you have a large influx of income that will put you in a higher tax bracket, this alternative may be particularly attractive to you!
Through this device, you may transfer property irrevocably to a trust which then pays you or your designated beneficiary a set of annuity or percentage of the trust assets for life or for a term of up to twenty years. When the trust terminates, the remaining assets pass to the NSA.
The remainder trust can be structured in two ways:
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With a unitrust, your annual payment varies each year and is determined by multiplying a fixed percentage (at least 5%) set at the establishment of the trust by the fair market value of the trust’s assets in a given year.
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With an annuity trust, your annual payments are at a fixed percentage (at least 5%) of the initial trust principal and thus unlike the unitrust, the annuity trust does not vary from year-to-year with the subsequent actual value of the trust.
The charitable remainder trust allows you to make irrevocable commitment to contribute a significant sum to assist the NSA with its important work while retaining a payment stream for you or your beneficiary for a period of time of life. You will receive a current federal income tax charitable deduction for the value of NSA’s remainder interest in the trust. Even with certain age and minimum donation restrictions, there may be for you many other potential tax and estate benefits as well.
Gifts of Real Estate
Did you know that most types of property (residential, farm, vacation, income, commercial, raw or vacant land) can be given to the NSA? The appraised fair market value of the property is deductible from income taxes and you avoid the capital gains tax.
Gifts of Life Insurance
You may also give to or name the NSA as owner and beneficiary of an existing life insurance policy which may have been purchased years ago and that you no longer need. This may generate an income-tax deduction.
You can also begin funding a new life insurance plan naming the NSA as beneficiary. Your donations (for the premium as little as $50.00 per month) are deductible as they are made to the NSA who then makes the premium payments.
As teammates to confront stuttering, we want to help you in every way to understand these powerful and valuable alternatives to donate to the NSA family and protect the interests of your own. Please contact us to discuss these exciting alternatives for donations and again, please understand the importance of consulting with your own attorney or financial advisor to obtain the proper and appropriate legal and financial advice for charitable donations.
The giving programs, tips and information are intended to highlight general donation and giving plans and should not be used as a substitute for appropriate professional advice relating to your specific circumstances. Consult your attorney and financial advisor to determine your individual and specific income tax applications and compliance with the Internal Revenue Code.
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