WITH A PLANNED GIFT TO THE CANANDAIGUA LAKE WATERSHED ASSOCIATION, YOU WILL MAKE A SIGNIFICANT IMPACT BY PROTECTING THE FUTURE OF OUR LAKE FOR GENERATIONS TO COME.
Your generosity, through investing in the future of Canandaigua Lake, will contribute to the preservation of our lake’s health by advancing research efforts and science-guided solutions.
Additionally, your gift may provide you with opportunities to leverage tax benefits. While conventional donations often come in the form of cash, stock, or securities, there are alternative options to consider. If you would like to discuss planned giving options, please contact Lindsay McMillan lindsaym@canandaigualakeassoc.org
HOW TO MAKE A LEGACY GIFT TO CLWA
Appreciated securities (or other assets): A gift of appreciated securities is most often in the form of common stock or mutual funds. Such a gift is a valuable way to benefit CLWA and for you to receive tax benefits based on the fair market value of the assets.
For example, you can direct your financial institution to transfer shares directly to CLWA. When CLWA sells the shares, as a non-profit, they pay no capital gains taxes. Because you did not sell the shares, you pay no tax on the appreciation. The gains are essentially eliminated from taxation.
In avoiding capital gain taxation (up to 20%) by selling shares, you may find this form of gifting more tax-efficient than simply writing a check. If you also itemize your deduction – rather than use the standard deduction – you could get additional tax savings for the charitable gift.
Charitable IRA Rollover: If you are 70 1/2, Federal Legislation now allows you to make tax-free distributions from your IRA directly to CLWA. This distribution is not included in your adjusted gross income, so there is no payment of additional tax on qualified distributions.
The Internal Revenue Service allows those taxpayers to transfer up to $100,000 to charities tax-free each year. This is a great way to give to non-profit organizations, and for those who are at least 72, QCDs count toward the IRA owner’s required minimum distribution (RMD) for that tax year.
Normally, distributions from a traditional individual retirement arrangement (IRA) are taxable when received. With a QCD, however, these distributions become tax-free if they’re paid directly from the IRA to an eligible charitable organization. Gifting pre-tax dollars means you don’t pay income tax on those distributions. So, if you are required to make minimum distributions from your IRA each year, and you also give money to charity each year, why not save yourself some income taxes and use a QCD?
Simply work with your IRA trustee to help you process your contribution to CLWA using pre-tax dollars. The QCD option is available regardless of whether an eligible IRA owner itemizes deductions or uses the standard deduction. Transferred amounts are not taxable, and no deduction is available for the transfer.