Gifted to the community in 1981 by 12 founding families, Wells Fargo Center for the Arts is built upon the spirit of philanthropy. Individuals today can continue this legacy by providing for the Center’s future through planned gifts that also have specific tax advantages.
Leave a Legacy, Create a Legacy
Through planned giving, donors can enjoy specific tax advantages, often allowing them to make larger gifts than they may have thought possible. Planned gifts to the Luther Burbank Memorial Foundation provide long-term financial stability to the Arts Center, creating a wonderful legacy for the donor and ensuring that Sonoma County’s future generations continue to benefit from the enrichment of the arts.
The Promise of Planned Gifts
Planned gifts demonstrate your intent to provide for the future of the Arts Center while meeting your current personal, family, and financial needs. The Director of Development for the Arts Center is available to discuss your personal financial situation in confidence, answer questions you or your financial advisors may have, provide information about the organization, and offer other related assistance.
The Heritage Society
The Heritage Society recognizes and honors individuals who have made a provision in their estate planning to benefit the Arts Center. Society members are invited to an annual lunch held at the Center hosted by the Executive Director. The lunch provides a forum for Heritage Society members to hear a “State of the Arts Center” commentary and participate in an interactive discussion with the Executive Director.
Ways to Give
The following options provide donors with the opportunity to contribute today or leave an ongoing legacy to the Arts Center, while also providing benefits to you. We encourage you to consider your short and long-term goals and to discuss these options with your financial planning, legal, and tax advisors.
- Bequests: Through a last will and testament or a revocable living trust, a patron arranges for the disposition of assets beyond their lifetime. Those arrangements can include a bequest, which is a gift of any amount or form and may be comprised of cash, securities, real estate, or other property. They can be restricted for a specific purpose or for the general use of the Arts Center. A charitable bequest can reduce estate taxes.
- Life Insurance: Do you own life insurance policies that have built up cash value? Through financial growth and changing circumstances, a particular life insurance policy may no longer be considered necessary and can make an excellent charitable gift. The Arts Center can be designated as both the owner and beneficiary of the policy, whether it is paid in full or if future premiums remain due. Where the Arts Center is named as owner, the patron will typically receive an income tax deduction for the cash value at the time of the gift.
- Retained Life Estate Deed: A retained life estate deed is a legal, public document that transfers ownership of real estate from one party to another. Through this deed, patrons can donate a personal residence, farm, or vacation home to the Arts Center while retaining the right to use the property during their lifetime or for a designated term of years. The various legal requirements involved in the transfer of real estate will be applicable when gifting through a retained life estate deed. Patrons will receive an immediate income tax deduction when the gift is made, and through the donation, may also reduce estate taxes, while contributing a valuable asset to the Arts Center.
- Charitable Gift Annuities: A charitable gift annuity is a contract under which a patron makes a monetary gift to the Arts Center and in exchange the Arts Center promises to make payments of a fixed amount to the patron or chosen beneficiaries. Such payments may begin immediately after the gift is made, or may be deferred until some future point, such as retirement, when the patron may have greater income needs. Cash or marketable securities are typically utilized to fund the annuity, and the purpose of the gift may be specified by the patron. A portion of the gift is tax deductible, and a portion of the income received is tax-free.
- Charitable Remainder Trusts: A trust is a legal entity that allows the settlor/patron the benefits of property while relieving the patron of the burdens through the trust administration of a trustee. Under the terms of a charitable remainder trust, the patron or designated beneficiaries receive periodic payments for life or for a term of years, after which the Arts Center will receive the remaining trust assets. Assets such as cash, securities, or real estate often provide the corpus. By funding a charitable remainder trust, the patron will receive a calculated income tax deduction based on certain variables and may also avoid or reduce capital gains taxes and estate taxes.
- Charitable Lead Trusts: Under the terms of a charitable lead trust, the Arts Center would receive an income stream as current beneficiary during the trust term. At the conclusion of that term, the remaining trust assets are returned to the patron or, more frequently, to other beneficiaries, such as family members. Cash, securities, or real estate can be used to fund a charitable lead trust, and the patron will receive a gift or estate tax deduction at the time of the contribution. Although there is no income tax deduction, the discount on estate taxes may be of significant benefit to family members when assets substantially appreciate over the life of the trust.
For further information please email Robin Seltzer or call 707.527.7006 ext. 133
If you have already included the Arts Center in your estate plans, please let us know so that we may recognize you as a member of the Heritage Society.
