Planned Giving

What comprises a legacy gift?

Annual giving is an organization’s lifeblood and heartbeat, but a legacy gift goes far beyond that and has a lasting impact. This can include:

1. – Capital Gifts/Naming Opportunities: Dance requires space and upgrading, expanding and creating outstanding facilities is essential and creates a lasting impact
   
   
2. – Large Designated Gifts: As part of a planned portfolio or to anchor a specific area or initiative such as Scholarship, new programming, new sets, costumes and production elements and/or ensuring new programming can all be affected by this type of gift.
   
   
3. – Endowment Gifts: Either to the general endowment or creation of an endowed fund within our existing endowment

Are all legacy gifts part of a planned giving portfolio?

All legacy gifts are not planned gifts but all planned gifts by their nature are legacy gifts. When thinking about legacy giving, the easiest and most meaningful way may be to do so through a planned giving plan. The best way to structure this within your personal goals is to talk with an estate attorney or your personal financial planner. Consider the following:  

1. – Will/Bequest: As you are deciding where assets will be invested, one of the easiest ways to impact the Ballet is to include Fort Wayne Ballet in your will. This can be a cash gift, stocks, personal property or real estate.
   
   
2. – Retirement Plans & Life Insurance: You can name a nonprofit as the beneficiary of your life insurance policies or unused retirement assets. These can include individual retirement accounts (IRAs), 401(k)s, 403(b)s, or pensions. Because these gifts are often larger than what a donor could give in their lifetimes, they can have a huge impact on a nonprofit.

   
   – Charitable Gift Annuities: With charitable gift annuities, you give an irrevocable gift of cash or securities to a nonprofit in exchange for a fixed income payment, either for a set term or for life. The donor can take an immediate tax deduction while the nonprofit can invest and grow the funds. When the donor passes or the annuity terms are up, the nonprofit keeps the leftover funds. Some donors choose to defer their annuity payments until they retire, resulting in higher payments. Charitable gift annuities are a good giving option for donors who want to make a large gift while still protecting their income.

   
   – Charitable Remainder Annuity Trusts: With a charitable remainder annuity trust, you contribute cash or appreciated securities. You then receive a fixed income based on a percentage of the initial assets used to fund the trust. The nonprofit can invest the funds, while you can avoid capital gains or estate taxes. At the end of the annuity trust’s term, the remaining balance goes to the nonprofit. These contracts usually give a donor an income for a term of up to 20 years or for life. Annuity trusts are best if you want to make a major gift while still ensuring that their income increases from your assets.
   
   
   – Charitable Remainder Unitrusts: A charitable remainder unitrust is a little more flexible than an annuity trust. It pays you a fixed percentage of the fair market value of the trust’s assets and is revalued annually. If the value of the assets increases, the payments increase. But if they decrease, so do the payments. Like annuity trusts, the remaining balance goes to the nonprofit, and the terms are usually set for up to 20 years or for life. This type of planned gift is a good if you want to protect income against inflation.