Make a Planned Gift to ESC

Planned giving is a means of donating that refers to several specific types of gifts that can be funded with cash, equity or property. ESC offers several different approaches to planned giving.

By Check

Mail a check payable to:
Executive Service Corps of the Triangle
P.O. Box 51152
Durham, NC 27717

Online

Donate online using Network for Good

Personal Property

Give personal property, such as appreciated securities, to ESC and avoid capital gain tax. Shares of appreciated publicly traded stock are an effective way to support ESC and avoid taxation on the capital gains. We receive stock gifts at fair market value as of the date of the gift; you receive a charitable income tax deduction, usually equivalent to the fair market value. We will sell the stock immediately and supply the net proceeds toward providing consulting services to area nonprofits.

IRA Minimum Distribution

Retirement plan assets (those in qualified plans and IRAs) are ideal for charitable giving purposes because these assets are often heavily taxed when passed on to non-spouse beneficiaries. To make a future gift of retirement plan assets simply requires a designation of ESC as beneficiary of the plan. Making a present gift of retirement account assets during your lifetime has been permitted under recent law, but check with your tax advisor to be sure this provision still applies before making a gift of retirement plan assets such as the annual required minimum distribution. Contact ESC at 919-294-9803 for more details.

Bequest in Your Will

Including a charitable bequest in your will is a simple way to make a lasting gift to ESC to carry on its work after you are no longer able to. You can decide to leave a bequest at any age by adding to an existing will or drafting a new one. You can choose to give a stated dollar amount, a specific property, a percentage of your estate or the remainder after distributions to other beneficiaries, or you can make your gift contingent on certain events. In doing so, you leave a legacy to ESC so that consulting services to other nonprofits can continue while you enjoy the asset you have to maintain your current lifestyle. Plus, the assets distributed to ESC are exempt from estate tax. For more information about how your charitable bequest can benefit you and ESC, please contact ESC at 919-294-9803. We recommend that you also consult with your tax advisor or estate planning professional.

Create a Charitable Trust

Charitable Remainder Trust:
Giving through a charitable remainder trust allows you to receive income for the rest of your life or a specified number of years while knowing that whatever remains will benefit ESC. You transfer assets into a trust, the trust distributes regular income to you or designated family members and you receive an immediate charitable deduction. You may choose to receive an annual fixed income amount or a percentage of the trust’s value each year; payments can begin immediately, or you can defer them to increase your charitable income tax deduction. The amount of income payments and the amount of charitable tax deduction depends on the age of the income recipient and the current annuity rate as established by the IRS. Upon the income beneficiary’s death (or after the defined period of years) the remaining assets in the trust transfer to ESC. For more information about how a charitable remainder trust can benefit you and ESC, please contact ESC at 919-294-9803. Consultation with your estate planning attorney is required to set up the trust.

Charitable Lead Trust:
A charitable lead trust permits you to remove assets from your estate to benefit ESC during the trust’s term. Assets you select are transferred into a trust, which pays ESC an annual amount to help provide consulting services to local nonprofits. During its term, the trust can be managed by experienced professionals, which may (or may not) help your trust investments grow over time. When the trust terminates, either upon your death or after a specific number of years, its final assets are transferred to the beneficiaries you designate. Any growth in the trust passes to recipients, often with significant transfer-tax savings. Charitable lead trusts offer financial benefits by sheltering investment earnings from income tax, too. However, at the time your trust is established, you may owe gift tax on the present value of your gift to the final beneficiary. Charitable lead trusts can be arranged to make annual distributions of a fixed percentage of the trust assets or distributions of a fixed dollar amount. For more information about how a charitable lead trust can benefit you and ESC, please contact ESC at 919-294-9803. Consultation with your estate planning attorney will be required to set up the trust.

No-Longer-Needed Life Insurance

Giving through life insurance is one of the simplest ways to make a significant legacy to support the consulting services of ESC. There are two approaches: You can simply designate ESC as either the primary or a secondary beneficiary of either 100% or some lesser percentage of the proceeds of the policy. Or you can transfer to ESC ownership of a no-longer-needed (or new) policy, either paid in full or for which you continue making tax deductible premium payments. The transfer of the policy is a present gift for which a charitable tax deduction may be taken, and the continued payment of premiums is also considered a charitable contribution, deductible to the full extent of the law. For more information about how the gift of a life insurance policy can benefit ESC, please contact ESC at 919-294-9803. We recommend that you also consult with your tax advisor, life insurance agent or other planning professional before making a final decision.