Planned giving is a way to make a gift to your charity of choice through thoughtful estate planning. It takes your needs as well as the needs of your loved ones into consideration, while helping support a cause or a charity that is personally meaningful to you. Here are some frequently asked questions about planned giving:

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• What is planned giving? Planned giving is a way to make a gift to your charity of choice through thoughtful estate planning. A planned gift as part of an overall estate plan takes your needs as well as the needs of your loved ones into consideration, while helping support a cause or a charity that is personally meaningful to you.

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• How can I make a planned gift to a charity? The most common way of making a planned gift is by designating the charity as a beneficiary in your will. Other options are designating the charity as a beneficiary of your retirement plan or life insurance policy. There are also other, more complex ways of setting up a planned gift. Your attorney or financial planner may have suggestions that are best suited to your unique needs.

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• How do I benefit from a planned gift? A planned gift may enable you to make a much more significant gift than you may have thought possible. It can create opportunities to support your favorite charity or program in a very impactful way.

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• How does my family and other loved ones benefit? A planned gift can create potential savings on capital gains taxes or estate taxes, lessening the financial burden on your family and loved ones. For instance, a planned gift can reduce your estate tax liability. The assets that you transfer to the charity remain outside of your taxable estate.

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• How does the charity benefit from a planned gift? Your gift can make a significant impact on the charity now and/or in the future. You also have the option to direct your gift to support a specific area of the charity, such as a division, round table, program or scholarship. The charity’s development office staff can assist you with the designation, and provide suggested language for your will or codicil to identify for the area(s) you would like to support.

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