PLANNED GIVING OPPORTUNITIES
How to maximize giving, minimize taxes and create a living legacy with Because Animals Matter
Thank you for your interest in including Because Animals Matter in your estate plans. BAM offers a variety of planned gift opportunities designed to meet individual financial needs. Planned gifts often provide lifetime monetary benefits to the donor and their family, along with considerable tax savings, and the satisfaction of knowing that they are helping ensure the future of BAM and its many programs for generations to come. There are a wide range of giving opportunities available, some of which are outlined below.
Find the gift that is right for you and BAM
Bequests
One of the simplest ways to make a planned gift to Because Animals Matter is to make a bequest in your will. If you already have a will, your lawyer can usually add a codicil to include BAM. Giving through a bequest lowers your federal estate taxes because the assets donated to BAM are deducted before the estate tax is calculated. Whether you have large assets or just a few possessions, a will prevents legal complications and delays, directing your personal representative to do as you wished.
Pet Bequests
Many friends of BAM who choose to make a bequest also arrange to entrust their pet(s) to our care after their passing. While placement with a trusted family member or friend who may already know and love the pet is often ideal, sometimes this is not possible. To accommodate such cases, Because Animals Matter offers the Lifetime Positive Care Program that allows an owner to bequeath their pet to BAM and enjoy the comfort of knowing their loving companion will have a safe place to go in the event the owner passes, or is no longer able to care for their pet. Visit the Lifetime Positive Care Program page to learn more, open the more detailed booklet by clicking on the cover image to the right, and request more information including an enrollment agreement be sent to you by emailing lifetime@becauseanimalsmatter.com.
To open an electronic copy for reading, download, or printing, click the booklet image above.
Life Insurance
A gift of life insurance is an excellent way to make a sizable contribution that does not tie up current assets, that provides immediate tax savings and that helps ensure the Center’s future. You may make the Center owner and beneficiary of a life insurance policy that you no longer need. If the policy is fully paid up, your deduction equals the cost or replacement value of a new policy with comparable benefits. You may also take out a new policy that names the Center as beneficiary. The premiums you pay are tax-deductible, and in time, the value of the policy will far exceed your net contributions.
Life Insurance Gift Case Study
Charitable Gift Annuity
A Charitable Gift Annuity (CGA) can provide guaranteed income for life by providing the mature donor with lifetime payments through better yield on fixed income assets, such as CDs and bonds, and reduce portfolio risk. In addition, the CGA will generate a tax deduction and allow remaining assets to be used to support the Center.
Examples of Charitable Gift Annuity donations
Charitable Remainder Trust
A Charitable Remainder Trust (CRT) gives you the flexibility to design a trust to meet your individual financial goals and provides an income for life. By establishing a Because Animals Matter CRT, all account values go to the benefit of Because Animals Matter to further its mission when the donor passes on. In short, a Because Animals Matter CRT epitomizes BAM’s idea of people helping pets and pets helping people by providing people with tax deductions and income for life, while also leaving a lump sum of money for pets in need and a variety of community programs.
Appreciated Securities
A popular alternative to a cash gift is a gift of appreciated securities, which generate a double tax benefit. In addition to receiving an income tax charitable deduction for the full market value of the property, the donor escapes any potential tax on the capital gain element in the gift property. In order to qualify for this double tax benefit, the property must have been held for more than one year.