Central Colorado
Legacy Society
Sustaining the Central Colorado you love, now and for the future
Central Colorado Conservancy's Planned Giving Program - Central Colorado Legacy Society - is a strategic, long-term fundraising initiative where donors arrange future contributions - often via wills, retirement accounts, or life insurance - typically fulfilled after their lifetime.
By making a planned gift, a donor helps ensure current and future financial stability for the Conservancy while receiving tax benefits, allowing them to leave a lasting legacy.
What is a planned gift?
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At its most basic, a planned gift is a form of charitable giving in which donors leave a legacy by planning future gifts to a nonprofit from a will, retirement account, life insurance policy, or other asset
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Planned Giving is way for people to make a difference that outlasts them and help create financial stability for organizations they care about.
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Planned Giving (sometimes called Legacy Giving) enables philanthropic individuals to make larger gifts to charitable organizations than they might otherwise be able to make from ordinary income.
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Some planned gifts use estate and tax planning to provide for a charity and a donor's heirs in ways that maximize the gift and/or minimize its impact on the donor’s estate. While other planned gifts can be simple charitable gifts through a will or trust.
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Planned gifts can include gifts of equity, life insurance, real estate, personal property, or cash.
Types of Planned Gifts
Bequests:
A charitable bequest is a gift made through a will or revocable trust, which takes effect after the donor’s death. It’s the most popular planned gift, the easiest to make, and it costs nothing during the donor’s lifetime. A bequest can be included in a new will or revocable trust, or it can be added to an existing will or trust through a simple amendment — in the case of a will, this is called a “codicil” — often at minimal expense. Typically, a charitable bequest is expressed as a set dollar amount or as a percentage of the “residuary” estate.
Appreciated Securities:
Publicly traded securities that a donor has owned for more than a year and that have appreciated in value can be transferred to a tax exempt organization, which can then sell the securities and apply the proceeds to whatever charitable purpose the donor designates. The donor gets an income tax charitable deduction for the fair market value of the donated securities while also avoiding a capital gains tax — a win-win situation.
Life Insurance:
A donor can designate a tax exempt organization as a beneficiary of a policy of insurance on their life. When the time comes, the nonprofit receives the proceeds. This arrangement allows the donor to provide a large gift to benefit a charity, often more than they would have been able to donate outright during life, without impairing their current cash flow. The donor’s heirs and legatees benefit indirectly as well, because policy proceeds distributed to an exempt organization are deductible for estate and inheritance tax purposes, leaving more to be distributed to them from otherwise taxable assets.
Real Estate:
A donor can gift real estate to a nonprofit, removing a large taxable asset from their estate and receiving the benefit of an income tax deduction equal to the appraised fair market value of the property, with no capital gains tax due on the transfer. The nonprofit can then either sell the real estate or keep it for its own use.
Retirement Plan:
A donor can name a nonprofit as the beneficiary of a portion or all of their IRA, 401(k), or other retirement account. After the donor’s death, the amount designated passes to the nonprofit and the donor’s heirs avoid income and estate tax on that amount.
Donor-Advised Fund:
A donor-advised fund (DAF) is a charitable giving account established at a public charity, allowing individuals to make contributions, receive immediate tax deductions, and recommend grants to charities over time.
How can your planned gift support the Central Colorado you love?
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Your planned gift can be designated for a specific Central Colorado Conservancy project or program. You can choose to have the entire amount of your gift be allocated to that program after your passing or have an endowment established that makes annual contributions to your chosen program.
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Your planned gift can be allocated in support of one of our already established Dedicated Funds.
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Operating Reserves Fund
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Stewardship Fund
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Legal Defense Fund
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Opportunity Fund
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Arkansas River Community Preserve Operating Fund
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Your planned gift can be designated for General Operating Support, which allows the Conservancy to use your donation wherever it is needed most and supports the organization broadly over time.
Tax Benefits of Planned Gifts
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Donors can contribute appreciated property, like securities or real estate, receive a charitable deduction for the full market value of the asset, and pay no capital gains tax on the transfer.
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Donors who establish a life-income gift receive a tax deduction for the full, fair market value of the assets contributed, minus the present value of the income interest retained; if they fund their gift with appreciated property, they pay no upfront capital gains tax on the transfer.
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Gifts payable to charity upon the donor’s death, like a bequest or a beneficiary designation in a life insurance policy or retirement account, do not generate a lifetime income tax deduction for the donor, but they are exempt from estate tax.
Interested in learning more about making a planned gift to the Conservancy?
Please email Wendy McDermott, Executive Director, to learn more - wendy@centralcoloradoconservancy.org.