IT TAKES A THOUGHTFUL PLAN
Like all things, having a thoughtful plan will improve your results. That’s how it works in philanthropy and in planning your estate too. We want to know what is important to you so that we can help you secure your legacy while providing financial, tax and estate benefits to you and your family.
We offer planned giving options that can provide you with the financial results you seek today, while ensuring your charitable goals are met tomorrow.
For more information regarding planning your estate, please call 239-274-5900, or click here and let’s get have a conversation and get started!
Charitable Gift Annuities
A giving vehicle that allows you to support the Southwest Florida Community Foundation or one of our funds, and receive steady payments during your lifetime.
You agree to make a donation of cash, stocks, or other assets to the Southwest Florida Community Foundation, or one of our funds. In return, you (and someone you choose) receive a fixed amount each year for the rest of your lifetime. (rate is recommended by the American Council on Gift Annuities)
Charitable Remainder Trusts
You or a named individual can receive income each year for life, or a period not exceeding 20 years, from assets you give to your trust.
There are two types of charitable remainder trusts. The annuity trust pays you a fixed dollar amount each year. The unitrust pays you a variable amount based on a fixed percentage of the fair market value of the trust assets. The annuity trust may last for the lifetimes of the beneficiaries or a term of years. When the trust ends, the rest goes to fuel your fund at the Southwest Florida Community Foundation to support the causes that you care about.
Charitable Lead Trusts
You can benefit from the tax savings that come with supporting the Community Foundation or one of our funds without giving up any assets that you’d like to leave to your family in the future.
You give assets to a trust that pays the Foundation or one of our funds an income for a number of years. When the term is up, the remaining trust assets go to you, your family, or other beneficiaries of your choosing.
Personal Foundation, also known as the Donor Advised Fund
You can stay involved in advising on the use of your gifts without being as restrictive or as expensive to operate as a family foundation. You can name successor advisors or convert this fund to a permanent (endowed) fund at any time.
It’s a simple agreement written between you and the Community Foundation. We handle the legal and administrative work, giving you the right to recommend grants to nonprofits or causes you care about most.
Bequests
With just a few sentences in your will or trust, you can give a gift that starts after your lifetime. And since it doesn’t go into effect until then, you can change your mind at any time.
Leave an item or amount of money or a percentage of your estate to the Community Foundation to your own fund. With prior instruction, we will include it in our ongoing grants cycle to make your philanthropic wishes come true every year in perpetuity. If your estate is subject to estate tax, your gift is entitled to an estate tax charitable deduction. Click here to access the bequest language for your will and a sample Letter of Request and Direction that will outline your wishes and go on file here.
There are more ways to plan your estate with other gift planning tools, but by now we hope you’ve got the idea. We know we can’t plan your estate online, that’s why we hope you will contact us to talk about what your hopes and dreams are. We are here to help.
Join the Legacy Society
The Southwest Florida Community Foundation created the Legacy Society as a way of saying, “Thank you!” to our current and future endowed fund holders. Members of the Legacy Society include any individual who has established an endowed fund or who has informed us that, upon their passing, an endowed fund will be established with the Southwest Florida Community Foundation.
If you would like more information about becoming a member of the Legacy Society and/or about establishing an endowed fund, please call us at 239-274-5900 or click here.