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PLANNED GIFTS TO BENEFIT OUR COMMUNITY
Silicon Valley Community Foundation accepts a variety of planned
gifts left by generous individuals who are dedicated to ensuring a positive future for
our community. Any of these gifts would qualify the donor to join the community foundation’s
Legacy Society, a special group of visionary
Peninsula and Silicon Valley philanthropists. Read on to learn more about:
For more information or to discuss planned gift opportunities, please
contact our estate planning team.
Bequests
The simplest way to leave a planned gift to benefit our community is to
make a bequest including specific language in your will or living trust naming Silicon Valley
Community Foundation as the recipient of a testamentary gift. Your will or living trust can
include gifts in the form of cash, securities or personal property. You may contribute a specific
dollar amount, a percentage of your estate or the residual of your estate in this manner.
Your estate will receive a charitable deduction for the full donation,
so your heirs will not pay estate tax on these assets.
The community foundation is happy to provide sample language to include
in your will or trust, as well as guidance and a thorough review of our policies regarding such a gift.
Charitable Remainder Trust
By transferring assets to establish a Charitable Remainder Trust, you
receive an immediate tax deduction and lifetime income for you or your named beneficiary. You
also reduce or avoid capital gains taxes associated with the gifted asset.
Eventually, when the trust's term is complete, the remaining assets pass
on to the community foundation.
The community foundation will accept gifts from a variety of CRTs including
standard unitrusts, net income unitrusts, net income with a makeup provision unitrusts, and charitable
remainder annuity trusts. Silicon Valley Community Foundation has the capacity and expertise to
act as trustee.
Charitable Lead Trust
When you create a Charitable Lead Trust, the CLT makes regular income-tax-deductible
gifts to the community foundation as the income beneficiary. When the trust terminates, the
entire principal is returned to you or to your family.
Retirement Plan Donations
Naming Silicon Valley Community Foundation as a beneficiary of your retirement
funds, such as an IRA, 401k or 403b, is a simple and effective way to benefit the community while
avoiding significant, often unanticipated tax penalties. Your retirement plan is tax-deferred only
until death. The remainder of these assets are subject to multiple taxes when included in your estate,
resulting in a tax rate of 60 percent or more. Donating retirement accounts can reduce or eliminate
these taxes completely and make a significant impact on the community.
Life Insurance Donations
Among the many ways to donate life insurance, the simplest is to designate
Silicon Valley Community Foundation as a beneficiary of the policy.
You may also transfer ownership of a paid-up policy to the community foundation,
or donate insurance policy dividends. Or, you may also chose to name the community foundation as designated
owner and beneficiary, making annual gifts to the community foundation in the amount of the annual premium.
In this arrangement, the premium would be paid by the foundation.
Pooled Income Fund
If you are interested in the tax-saving benefits of a charitable trust, but also
want to minimize investment risk and investment overhead costs, consider a pooled income fund gift.
Your gift is combined with gifts from many members of the community to create a common investment portfolio.
It operates much like a mutual fund. Your gift is invested and 100% of the net income is distributed in
proportionate shares to you, or to those whom you designate.
Your gift to Silicon Valley Community Foundation's pooled income fund creates life
income for you as well as an immediate income tax deduction for a portion of the gift. You will also avoid
capital gains tax on your gift of an appreciated asset. Finally, even though you receive income for life,
there is no estate tax on this gift.
When you pass on, your shares will be donated to support the foundation’s
Community Endowment Fund, a vital resource for this region, or
another endowed fund at the community foundation. The minimum initial contribution to the pool is $10,000
and beneficiaries must be 55 or older.
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Silicon Valley Community Foundation is not engaged in
rendering legal, financial, or tax advice. Information in our publications and on our website is provided
as a service to provide general information about charitable giving. Many topics related to charitable
giving have complexities and nuances that cannot be adequately detailed in brief articles or announcements.
Individuals’ personal situations may vary. Please consult your financial or legal advisor.
Performance data is based on past performance and is no guarantee of future results. If you would like
to report discrepancies with information presented, please contact us at info@siliconvalleycf.org.
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