Planned giving by community residents and former students is a vital necessity for Foothill and De Anza colleges to grow and prosper. Many people use planned giving in their estate planning to help us continue our important role in providing access to higher education at a cost within reach of all.
PLANNED GIVING-WHAT IS IT?
In addition to annual gifts of cash, securities, and Chancellor’s Circle membership, we also offer you many opportunities utilizing “planned” or “deferred” giving. A planned gift enables you to state your intention to leave a legacy to benefit Foothill-De Anza students. You can mention Foothill-De Anza in your will, a trust, or declare FHDA a beneficiary of a life insurance policy or IRA. The various types of planned gifts are discussed below.
TYPES OF PLANNED GIFTS
A. BEQUESTS
Provision for a planned gift may be made as a bequest in your will or trust. If you already have a will or living trust, you may make a simple change to complete your planned gift. If you have a will, your bequest should read as follows:
“I hereby give, devise, or bequeath to the FOOTHILL-DE ANZA COMMUNITY COLLEGES FOUNDATION (tax i.d. # 94-3258220)….
B. GIFT ANNUITIES
Charitable gift annuities allow you to invest in Foothill-De Anza colleges, guarantee a life income for yourself and a spouse or partner, and qualify for both income and estate tax benefits. You receive a guaranteed income for life. Annuities usually offer a higher rate of return than most other forms of investment and rates of return increase based on your age when the gift is made. For example, under the current rates for a 60 year old individual, the effective return, after income tax deductions are considered, is 7.4%.
Other rates are as follows:
Age Rate Effective payout rate*
60 5.7% 7.4%
65 6.0% 8.0%
70 6.5% 9.0%
75 7.1% 10.1%
80 8.0% 11.7%
*”Effective Payout Rate” is calculated after tax deductions.
In addition to the tax deduction when you make the investment, a portion of your quarterly payment will be tax exempt income. This program is operated under the guidelines established by the Network of California Community Colleges Foundation and under the review of the State of California.
For more information specific to you, please contact the Foundation Office directly at 650/949-6230 or foundation@fhda.edu.
C. DEFERRED INCOME ANNUITY
A deferred gift annuity plan provides for a guaranteed life income beginning at some future time of your choice, perhaps at a retirement age. You receive a charitable income tax deduction now. One advantage of this plan is that your initial contribution grows tax-free until payments begin. Deferred annuity benefits include an income tax contribution deduction, a portion of tax-exempt income at retirement, estate tax deductions, and probate elimination.
D. CHARITABLE REMAINDER TRUSTS
A charitable remainder trust enables you to establish a trust and transfer assets to it for the lifetime benefit of you and a spouse. You get a current income tax deduction for a part of the value of your assets. And, if you transfer assets such as appreciated stocks or real estate, you will not have to pay capital gains taxes on those assets. You can either choose to get a fixed annuity for life or a fixed percentage each year of the value of your trust assets. For example, if you direct that 5% of the assets be paid to you each year, then as your assets grow, your 5% will bring in more to you each year. Upon your death, the “remainder” or what’s left in the trust would be used by the Foundation to support the programs of Foothill and De Anza Colleges as originally spelled out by you as part of your trust agreement.
E. LIFE INSURANCE POLICIES
Insurance can be used to accomplish charitable objectives in a variety of ways. You may wish to make the Foundation the beneficiary of a life insurance policy or to designate the Foundation as both owner and beneficiary. You will be able to take a charitable deduction for the replacement value of the policy if the Foundation becomes the owner. And, if you continue paying the premiums, these can also be taken as a charitable deduction.
F. GIFTS IN KIND
The Foundation also may accept “gifts in kind”, donations of property such as real estate or artwork. Donors can claim an income tax contribution deduction for the fair market value of the property. The Foundation evaluates each offer of a gift in kind prior to acceptance. If you have owned tangible personal property such as artwork for more than a year and we can use it in a manner related to our community college function, you will then qualify for a deduction equal to the full fair market value. Gifts of real estate or securities you have held for more than one year are always deductible for the full fair market value.
HOW WILL MY GIFT BE MANAGED?
The Foundation does not currently administer trusts internally, but will work with your advisors to satisfy the need for administration and management. Gift annuities will be managed within the state-wide program established by the Network of California Community Colleges Foundations and the Community College League of California.
LEGACY CIRCLE
The Foundation’s Legacy Circle honors those individuals who have made a planned gift for the benefit of the colleges. This could be in the form of a bequest, annuity, charitable remainder trust, life insurance policy or any other deferred gift. If you have included Foothill or De Anza in your estate planning, please let us know so you may be included and honored in our Legacy Circle.
OUR CODE OF ETHICS
The Foothill-De Anza Foundation Board of Directors has adopted formal policies that commit the organization to protecting the best interests of both the colleges and the generous patrons who support us. We believe that the interest of the donor comes first, so we never encourage donors to make arrangements that would affect them adversely.
To be sure that your interests are uppermost in the minds of your advisors, we will not pay an attorney or other professional advisor to prepare a bequest, trust, annuity or any other vehicle that will ultimately benefit the Foundation or the Foothill-De Anza Community College District.
The information you give us is confidential. Unless you specifically give us permission to use your testimonial to help generate additional gifts, your name, beneficiaries, gift amount, and similar facts are between you and the Foundation.
For more information specific to you, please contact the Foundation Office directly at 650/949-6230 or foundation@fhda.edu.
|
