Planned Giving/Encore Society
The following pages detail the ways you can leave an enduring legacy for future generations
Thank you for embracing our mission by making a gift that enriches lives through the arts.
Bequests are...
Affordable
Making a bequest won’t reduce your current income or the assets that you rely on today for your financial security. Bequests are made from your “capital assets” that remain after they have finished serving you during your lifetime. Those capital assets might include:
| * Life insurance proceeds * Savings, stocks and bonds * An IRA or 401-K * The value in a home or other real estate * Interest in a family business |
People who may feel limited in their ability to support the Conservatory during their lifetimes often find a bequest is an ideal way to make a more significant expression of their feelings for the Conservatory and the contribution it makes to the people of our community.
Easy to do
It can be as simple as including a statement like this in your will:
| “ I give the sum of $XXX to the South Shore Conservatory of Music, Inc., of Hingham, MA, such sum to be added to the Conservatory’s unrestricted endowment, the income from such gift to be used by the Conservatory to support its programs.” |
Alternatively, you may be more comfortable with a form of bequest that provides
“the lesser of $XXX or YY% of my residual estate.”
Enduring
A bequest gives you the satisfaction of leaving a personal legacy – knowing that your gift will be a lasting statement of your belief in the Conservatory, and will benefit many future generations to come.
Tax-wise
Charitable bequests to qualified organizations like the Conservatory are fully deductible from your taxable estate.
Revocable
Remember, you can revise your will at any time in the event of unexpected changes in your life circumstances.
And…You will be eligible for The Encore Society
Recently a group of dedicated Conservatory friends came together to found The Encore Society to encourage our donors to assure that their affection, appreciation, and support for the work of the Conservatory will continue in perpetuity, by remembering the Conservatory in their wills and estate plans.
Won’t you please consider following their forward-thinking example by making a provision in your will that makes it possible for the support you provide each year during your lifetime to endure in perpetual “encore” annual gifts from you?
To learn more about becoming an Encore Society member, please call Laura Carleton at 781-749-7565 ext 14, or send an email to l.carleton@sscmusic.org.
Gifts from your IRA, 401-K, or other retirement plan
Save taxes by making a current gift from your retirement account
In recent years, the IRS has permitted charitable gifts to be made from otherwise taxable IRA and other retirement plan distributions, provided the donor has reached age 70 ½, and that the distribution is made directly from the fund custodian to the charitable organization.
Please check with your tax advisor or Laura Carleton at 781-749-7565 ext 14, l.carleton@sscmusic.org for current regulations.
Make a bequest to avoid double taxation on retirement plan assets in your estate
Any assets that remain after your lifetime in most retirement accounts like conventional IRAs and 401-K plans are currently subject to double taxation, first as ordinary income, and then as part of your taxable estate.
You can avoid this tax exposure – and obtain a further tax deduction – by naming the Conservatory in your will as a beneficiary of the remainder of your retirement plan assets. Making a bequest in this manner offers a number of additional advantages.
Enduring
A bequest gives you the satisfaction of leaving a personal legacy – knowing that your gift will be a lasting statement of your belief in the Conservatory, and will benefit many future generations to come.
Revocable
Remember, you can revise your will at any time in the event of unexpected changes in your life circumstances.
And…You will be eligible for The Encore Society
Recently a group of dedicated Conservatory friends came together to found The Encore Society to encourage our donors to assure that their affection, appreciation, and support for the work of the Conservatory will continue in perpetuity, by remembering the Conservatory in their wills and estate plans.
Won’t you please consider following their forward-thinking example by making a provision in your will that makes it possible for the support you provide each year during your lifetime to endure in perpetual “encore” annual gifts from you?
To learn more about becoming an Encore Society member, please call Laura Carleton at 781-749-7565 ext 14, or send an email to l.carleton@sscmusic.org.
Gifts of Real Estate
The Conservatory can accept gifts of real property that is no longer needed, allowing you to generate an income tax deduction and reduce or eliminate capital gains tax. Alternatively,
You can make a gift of your residence, but have lifetime use of it.
You may transfer ownership of your personal residence to the Conservatory now, but retain what is called “a Life Estate”, entitling you to continue to live there for your lifetime. At the same time, you can also receive a significant tax benefit in the year of the gift.
To learn more, please call Laura Carleton at 781-749-7565 ext 14, or send an email to l.carleton@sscmusic.org.
Gifts of Life Insurance
A gift of life insurance offers significant advantages:
You can make a potentially large gift with very low cost and significant tax benefit
If you change the ownership of a no longer needed life insurance policy to the Conservatory you can receive a current income tax deduction – and potential further deductions in the future through gifts to pay the policy premium.
To learn more, please call Laura Carleton at 781-749-7565 ext 14, or send an email to l.carleton@sscmusic.org.
Charitable Trusts
There is an array of charitable trust arrangements which can offer important income and estate tax advantages. Among these are:
A Charitable Remainder Trust combines annual income for you, and a bequest to the Conservatory
Your gift is made to a trust created to provide you with annual income, and convey the principal of the trust to the Conservatory after your lifetime. There is a tax benefit, available in the year of the gift, that depends upon your age. Additional tax benefits may be available if the trust is funded with appreciated property.
Charitable Lead Trusts provide current income to the Conservatory, but preserve the trust assets for your family
You can fund a trust created to provide the Conservatory an annual income for a period of years, and to pass the trust principal to your heirs. Significant estate and gift tax benefits are available.
To learn more, please call Laura Carleton at 781-749-7565 ext 14, or send an email to l.carleton@sscmusic.org.