Remainder Gifts

Many donors choose to leave assets to the Kalamazoo Community Foundation upon their deaths. After ensuring their loved ones have been cared for, donors can use a variety of assets to accomplish their charitable goals.

Bequests
Because a bequest permits you to retain complete control over your assets during your lifetime and support the community you love later, a bequest is one of the easiest and most popular ways to give. A charitable bequest can be a specific dollar amount, a percentage of your estate, or what remains after other bequests—including those to family members—are made. Or, your will can specify that your heirs receive lifetime income from your estate, with the remainder going to the Community Foundation for charitable purposes.

Retirement Plans
A gift of an Individual Retirement Account or 401(k) plan can be made by naming the Kalamazoo Community Foundation as a beneficiary or contingent beneficiary of a percentage of those assets or a specific dollar amount. Retirement plan assets often are the best to give to charity because they are so heavily taxed if left to heirs—the combined income and estate taxes on inherited retirement plan assets may easily exceed 75 percent. However, when retirement plan assets are designated for charity, the charity receives 100 percent of the gift.

Life Insurance
Life insurance gifts may actually enable you to make a much larger gift than you might have thought possible. Three options for you to consider include:

•  Making a gift of a paid life insurance policy that is no longer needed.
•  Naming the Kalamazoo Community Foundation as the owner and beneficiary of an existing or new
    life insurance policy (annual gifts to the Community Foundation to cover the insurance premium
    are tax deductible).
•  Maintaining ownership of the policy, but designating the Community Foundation as the beneficiary.


We encourage you to work with your attorney or financial advisor as you consider these options.  Our staff is experienced in the use of these giving vehicles and is eager to work with you and your advisor in this process.  If you have questions about remainder gifts that have not been answered in this section, email us or call (269) 381-4416.