How Can You Help?
Send your donation directly to:
Indiana County Chapter, American Red Cross
610 Kolter Drive
Indiana, PA 15701
Opportunities
Benefit Your Loved Ones and others Through Your Will
After providing for the needs of your loved ones, you may choose one of several ways to benefit the Indiana County Chapter, American Red Cross. By having your attorney revise your will or add a simple amendment, you can make a gift of a dollar amount, specific property, a percentage of your estate, or what is left after your loved ones have been taken care of. You may also wish to name one or more charitable recipients in case one or more heirs do not survive you.
American Red Cross Gift Annuity
When you arrange for a gift annuity, a specified amount of cash or stock is transferred to the Indiana County Chapter, American Red Cross. In exchange, you receive guaranteed fixed regular payments for the rest of your life and/or a loved one’s life. The payment amount is determined by the age of the beneficiary or beneficiaries at the time the gift is made. That amount never changes. A portion of your income represents tax-free return of principal. Payments are backed by the assets of the American Red Cross-, so you can count on regular, timely installments.
Deferred Gift Annuity
Similar to a gift annuity, except that payments begin on a future date that you specify. An attractive benefit of this arrangement is that it enables a donor to make a gift now and take a charitable income tax deduction now, while in a higher tax bracket. Income may be deferred, for instance, until after retirement, when the rate of tax will presumably be lower. A part of each payment, as in any gift annuity, will be tax-free for a period of years. However, the precise amount of each payment will depend on the tax rules in effect when the payments start. Payments cannot begin until one year from the gift date.
Pooled Income Fund
When you participate in the pooled income fund, your gift is combined with the gifts of others so that the principal can be invested as a lump sum for the benefit of each giver and for the future of the Red Cross. The agreement provides an opportunity to designate your Red Cross chapter as ultimate beneficiary of your gift. You may contribute any amount of $5,000 or more, and add to the fund at any time in amounts of $1,000 or more. When you contribute, you will receive an income tax deduction. Pooled fund participation is established directly with the Red Cross.
Giving Through Revocable Living Trusts
If you have chosen to rely on a revocable living trust to pass your property to loved ones while minimizing probate costs, consider how you might add a charitable dimension to this plan, as well. You can provide that at the termination of your revocable living trust, a portion of the assets in the trust be used for charitable purposes you direct. Much like a charitable bequest through a will, such a gift is deductible from estate taxes and can be delayed until all family members have first been provided for.
A Gift With an Income That Never Changes
A charitable remainder annuity trust is a way to make a gift that allows you to retain income from your property for life or for another period of time you specify. Your funds are held separately an invested for payment of a fixed and regular income for you. Such payments can be a welcome supplement to your retirement plan. Ensuring management of assets is another benefit of the plan. When the trust ends (at the death of the income recipient[s] or at the end of the period you have specified), whatever remains in the trust is distributed for the charitable purposes you specify. The payments you receive each year will be at least 5% of the amount placed in the trust. You determine the exact amount when the plan is created. A tax deduction is allowed at the time you create your trust. Its size depends on your age, payment percentage, and other factors.
A Gift With a Variable Income
Like the annuity trust, a charitable remainder unitrust provides for a gift that returns an income. But unlike the annuity trust, the income from a unitrust will increase or decrease as the value of assets placed in the trust fluctuates. You determine the percentage of payout when the gift is made. Each year this percentage of the value of the trust assets is paid to you or others you select. When the value of the trust investment goes higher, more income is received. The income will be less if the value of the assets placed in the trust declines. Additions can be made to this type of trust, and a tax deduction is allowed for a portion of each amount contributed. For many people, the unitrust can play a welcome role in retirement planning.
Real Estate
When you make an outright, irrevocable gift of real property to American Red Cross, you will be eligible for a charitable income tax deduction equal to the full fair market value of the property. When giving long-term appreciated property, you may avoid capital gains tax. This may be preferable to leaving the property to the Red Cross by will since it adds an immediate income tax deduction. You can transfer the deed of your residence or farm to the Red Cross, but live there for your lifetime. You take care of the property, pay the taxes, and receive any income that it generates. Because you have made a gift of the property, it does not pass through your probate estate at death. An income tax deduction is also allowed when you complete this kind of gift.
A Gift of Lasting Significance
All of the ideas discussed here can include an enduring tribute to a family member or other loved one. There may be no better way to pay tribute to another than through a gift with lasting meaning. Examples of memorial gifts are endless. Many organizations and institutions can attribute buildings, equipment, endowment funds, and a multitude of services to gifts made in memory of loved ones. We will be glad to assist you in choosing an appropriate commemoration for your gift in honor of someone special to you.
If the ideas presented here interest you, we recommend that you discuss your plans with your professional advisors. Please contact the Indiana County Chapter, we may help to provide more detailed information on any planning options of interest to you.
This organization is not engaged in rendering legal or tax advisory service. For advice and assistance in specific cases, the services of an attorney or other professional advisor should be obtained. The purpose of this information is to provide accurate and authoritative information of a general character only. Watch for tax revisions. State laws govern wills, trusts. And charitable gifts made in contractual agreement. Advice from legal counsel should be sought when considering these types of gifts.
Creative Gifts Through Retirement Plans
Whether in a company pension plan or other private fund such as an Individual Retirement Account, you may accumulate more funds than you need. In such a case, it may be simple and convenient to make a gift from such accounts to perpetuate the work of the American Red Cross. It can be satisfying to know that the funds you have carefully saved over a lifetime may ultimately be put to good use now as a part of prudent estate planning.
A Large gift at Little Cost Through Life Insurance
Life insurance needs changes as life progresses. Children become self-sufficient, and investments may provide unexpected income and security. As a result, not all life insurance coverage may be needed for the reason it will initially purchased. Also, because federal law now exempts many estates from taxation, life insurance purchased to cover estate taxes may be "obsolete." One of the simplest ways to make a significant gift in the future is to name a charitable beneficiary to receive all or a portion of the proceeds of a policy no longer needed for its original purpose. Another way to make a gift of insurance is to purchase a new policy, naming a favorite cause as a beneficiary or co-beneficiary. You can ensure a gift "on the installment plan" which may be much larger than its cost.
Our Mission:
The American Red Cross, a humanitarian organization led by volunteers and
guided by its Congressional Charter, and the Fundamental Principals of the
International Red Cross Movement, will provide relief to victims of disasters
and help people prevent, prepare for, and respond to emergencies.
