Círculo del Legado de Clerin Zumwalt
Círculo del Legado de Clerin Zumwalt
Permítanos darle la bienvenida
The Clerin Zumwalt Legacy Circle honors supporters who have included Audubon Canyon Ranch in their estate plans. If you name Audubon Canyon Ranch in your estate plans—at any amount—you become a member of the Clerin Zumwalt Legacy Circle, by name or anonymously.
Every year, we thank members of our Clerin Zumwalt Legacy Circle with a springtime appreciation luncheon on an Audubon Canyon Ranch preserve. This event is by invitation only.
The Legacy Circle is named in honor of Clerin “Zumie” Zumwalt, our first naturalist and a much-loved member of the Audubon Canyon Ranch family.
If you have already included us in your estate plan, we want to thank you! We would be honored to enroll you in the Clerin Zumwalt Legacy Circle, so please let us know of your legacy gift:
Jen Newman
Director of Philanthropy
415-868-9244 Ext. 119
[email protected]
Crear un legado duradero de gestión medioambiental
With a gift in your will or trust to Audubon Canyon Ranch, you can help protect natural and human communities through land preservation, nature education and conservation science.
Easy ways to create your Audubon Canyon Ranch legacy
- Gifts that cost you nothing now
- Gifts that pay you income
- Gifts that reduce taxes
- Gifts that benefit your heirs
Helpful tools
Why should I consider a legacy gift to Audubon Canyon Ranch?
Audubon Canyon Ranch exists to protect and steward some 5000 acres of nature preserves in Marin, Sonoma and Lake counties—and to improve global environmental health by conserving valuable natural resources, managing for ecological resiliency, providing scientific solutions to ecosystem management, and teaching generations of conservationists in ways that strengthen natural and human communities.
By providing future support to Audubon Canyon Ranch through a gift in your will or trust, you can create an enduring personal legacy of stewardship—for the environment and conservationists of all ages.
Gifts that cost you nothing now: Simple gifts in your will or living trust
Making a gift to Audubon Canyon Ranch through your will or living trust is easy to arrange and costs nothing to make now. You don’t have to use assets you rely upon, and your gift remains entirely under your control during your lifetime. To make a gift to Audubon Canyon Ranch in your will or living trust, consider adding language like this to your will or trust documents:
“I give, devise and bequeath to Audubon Canyon Ranch (tax I.D. # 94-6069140) located in Stinson Beach, CA [ _____% of my estate, OR description of specific asset including location, OR $_____ dollars] for its general use [or the following specific purpose:_____ ________________________________________]”
Gifts that pay you income: Gift annuities & charitable remainder trusts
Charitable gift annuities provide donors with guaranteed fixed payments for life and an immediate income tax deduction, while allowing them to make a significant future gift to a good cause they care about.
Gift annuities are easy to establish and can be funded with a minimum gift of cash or stock of $20,000. The annuity rate is based on your age when the annuity is created. Typically, you must be at least 60 when payments begin. Gift annuities can provide lifetime payments to one or two people.
Sample rates for a one-life gift annuity (as of July 1, 2018):
Age | Current Rates |
|---|---|
60 | 4.7% |
65 | 5.1% |
70 | 5.5% |
75 | 6.2% |
80 | 7.3% |
85 | 8.3% |
90+ | 9.5% |
Here’s an example: Mary, age 75, is discouraged by current CD rates. She decides to fund a $25,000 gift annuity benefitting Audubon Canyon Ranch. Based on her age, Mary’s annuity rate will be 6.2%. She receives annual payments of $1550 for as long as she lives. Mary also receives an immediate income tax deduction of $11,439 she can use to save on taxes if she itemizes. When Mary passes, the remainder in her annuity account goes to support Audubon Canyon Ranch’s mission to improve global health.
Charitable remainder trusts provide income for life, savings on capital gains tax, an immediate income tax deduction—and the satisfaction of making a significant future gift to a good cause like Audubon Canyon Ranch.
Any asset placed in a charitable remainder trust (cash, stock, or real estate) is invested by the trustee to pay you income either for a term of years or for your lifetime. Charitable remainder trusts can also provide income to your heirs after your death. When the trust ends, the remaining principal goes to charity.
Your trust may provide you with important tax benefits:
- An immediate income tax deduction for a percentage of your gift.
- Bypass of capital gains tax on the sale of appreciated property.
- Avoidance of estate tax on trust principal.
Appreciated real estate is often an excellent asset to place in a charitable remainder trust. Owners of rental properties or commercial real estate can face significant capital gains tax when they sell. In some cases, personal residences are also subject to large capital gains taxes even after a $250,000 or $500,000 homeowner’s exclusion has been used. However, because charitable trusts are tax-free entities, and your trust will sell the property, no capital gains tax will be due when the property is sold.
Gifts of appreciated stock are ideal for funding a charitable remainder trust because the trust can sell the stock, bypassing capital gains tax, and reinvest the sale proceeds for the benefit of donors.
Beneficiary designations from IRA’s and 401(k)s are taxed differently than other assets and may carry significant tax liability when passed to heirs. Leaving a percentage of your IRA or 401(k) to Audubon Canyon Ranch, and other, less tax-vulnerable, assets to loved ones, can reduce this liability for your heirs. And, as retirement plan assets pass tax-free to Audubon Canyon Ranch, 100% of your gift can be used to help us continue our mission of land preservation, nature education and conservation science. Here’s an example:
“Sarah, an Audubon Canyon Ranch supporter for many years, would like to make a gift of support to help Audubon Canyon Ranch continue its work in the future. She has a modest IRA and learns that if she leaves her IRA to her son, he will have to pay tax on this inheritance. Instead, Sarah decides to leave her highly appreciated home to her son and make Audubon Canyon Ranch the primary beneficiary of her IRA. Her son won’t pay taxes on his mother’s home, and Sarah’s IRA will pass to Audubon Canyon Ranch tax-free. She is pleased to help her son in this way and to make a significant future gift to Audubon Canyon Ranch without having to use current income or her savings.”
IRA charitable “rollover gifts” are current gifts to charity made from an IRA account. In some cases, IRA owners would prefer not to take their required minimum distributions (RMD) as doing so would result in higher taxes. By instructing their IRA custodian to make a distribution from their account to charity, IRA owners can satisfy their RMD requirement and make a tax-free gift to a cause they care about, like Audubon Canyon Ranch.
To make an IRA charitable rollover gift to Audubon Canyon Ranch:
- You must be 70 ½ or older when you make your gift
- You can transfer up to $100,000 annually without triggering income tax
- You can use your gift to satisfy some or all of your RMD
- Your IRA custodian must make the distribution directly to Audubon Canyon Ranch.
Also consider: Charitable remainder trusts and gift annuities.
A Charitable lead trust allows donors to benefit their favorite charity and transfer trust assets, and any growth, to children and grandchildren tax-free.
A charitable lead trusts pass trust income to a charity or charities for a term of years. When this term expires, trust assets are then passed to the trust beneficiaries, usually the donor’s heirs.
A charitable lead annuity trust pays a fixed amount each year to charity. A charitable lead unitrust pays a variable amount each year based on the value of the assets in the trust. The trust term and payments to charity can be set to reduce or possibly eliminate taxes for heirs. Here’s an example:
“Robert wants to provide for his children and support Audubon Canyon Ranch. After consultation with his financial advisor, Robert funds a charitable lead annuity trust with assets valued at $950,000. Robert’s trust pays $57,000 (6 percent of the initial fair market value) to Audubon Canyon Ranch each year for 12 years, for a total of $684,000. When the trust term expires, the remaining trust assets pass to his children. Robert’s gift tax deduction is $588,251 against the $950,000 of trust assets. As a result, only the difference ($361,749) is ultimately subject to gift tax, which Robert offsets using his lifetime gift tax exclusion ($5.49 million per individual for 2017). The remaining trust assets and all appreciation pass to his children free of gift or estate taxes. Had Robert given the $950,000 outright to his children, it would have been a taxable gift.”
A charitable gift annuity can provide financial security for one or two income beneficiaries. A donor receives fixed annual payments for life, at an attractive rate, and an immediate income tax deduction. In addition, a donor can name a loved one, such as a spouse, as the surviving income beneficiary – to receive the same fixed payment for as long as they live should they survive the donor.
A donor can also contract for a gift annuity and name an adult relative or other loved one as the sole income beneficiary of the annuity. The donor still receives a tax deduction and provides a steady stream of income for their loved one’s lifetime. Here’s an example:
“Mei, age 80, wants to support Audubon Canyon Ranch and supplement her adult daughter, Addie’s, retirement income. Mei creates a $100,000 gift annuity naming Addie as the sole income beneficiary. Mei receives a tax deduction of $28,378. Addie, age 57, receives a 4.1% annuity rate and fixed annual payments of $4,100 for as long as she lives. When Addie’s annuity expires, the amount remaining in the annuity account is distributed to Audubon Canyon Ranch.”
Also consider: Charitable remainder trusts with a term of years added.
Have you already included Audubon Canyon Ranch in your will or trust?
We want to thank you! We would be honored to enroll you in the Clerin Zumwalt Legacy Circle, so please let us know of your legacy gift:
Jen Newman
Director of Philanthropy
415-868-9244 Ext. 119
[email protected]
Audubon Canyon Ranch offers personal consultation, without cost or obligation, to those interested in learning more about legacy gift options. Our legacy giving specialists will be glad to talk with you about your goals and provide you with confidential estimates of the tax and income benefits of specific legacy gifts. Our specialists provide information only. We recommend you consult with professional advisors before making any gift.
I would like to explore options for legacy giving without obligation. Please contact me:
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