Gifts to SELC with Benefits for You
Many of us trace our connection to the natural world to a childhood experience: playing in the shallows of a stream, learning to identify songbirds, beachcombing for shells, turkey hunting, hiking or camping in the mountain forests. Generations of southerners have grown up enjoying - and learning from - our native ecosystems and landscapes.
These natural treasures have helped to shape our region's history and culture, and it is up to us to ensure that they are intact and healthy not only for ourselves today, but for our children and their grandchildren.
If we want a healthy environment in the future, we have to plan - and act - for it now. One of the most effective, direct means of achieving conservation in the South is to support the law and policy reform efforts of the Southern Environmental Law Center.
Following is a range of SELC gift options that may have significant benefits (such as tax savings or lifetime income) for you and your loved ones. We urge you to consult your lawyer or financial advisor to decide which is most appropriate for you.
Stock Gifts
Stock gifts are a particularly effective way to support SELC. If you own stock that has appreciated since you bought it, you may face capital gains taxes when you sell it. Donating that stock to the Southern Environmental Law Center might be a wise decision for you because:
- Neither you nor SELC (a non-profit organization) must pay capital gains tax--meaning that SELC receives the full value of your gift;
- You can receive a charitable deduction for the full market value of your stock;
- You make an important contribution (perhaps larger than you could afford if you gave cash) that furthers environmental work you care about.
To transfer stock to the Southern Environmental Law Center through our brokerage firm, contact Sandy von Thelen at Scott and Stringfellow at (800) 868-7726.
- SELC's DTC number is 0702
- SELC's account number is 77126014
Bequests
A bequest to SELC through your will is the simplest kind of planned gift. A bequest may both reduce estate taxes for your heirs and enable you to make a much more significant gift than you can during your lifetime. Bequests can be:
- A specific amount of cash, stock, or piece of real estate;
- A percentage of your total estate (there is an added benefit to this: the size of your gift grows over time as the size of your estate increases);
- All or a percentage of the remainder of your estate after all other distributions are made; or
- Contingent on other conditions being met, such as having a loved one predecease you.
Here is suggested language and SELC information that might be helpful to you and your advisor:
"I give and bequeath to the Southern Environmental Law Center, Inc., 201 West Main Street, Suite 14, Charlottesville, VA 22902 (Federal Tax ID Number 52-1436778)…."
If you already have a will, there is no need to rewrite it to include SELC; your lawyer can add a bequest through a simple codicil.
Charitable Lead Trusts
Through a charitable lead trust, you can support the Southern Environmental Law Center generously for your lifetime or a specified number of years—and then reclaim assets yourself or pass them along to your heirs. Here's how it works.
- You place cash, stock, or other assets into a trust, which is invested to generate revenue.
- A set amount or percentage of the investment returns are paid to SELC, which uses your gift to support important southern conservation projects.
- When the trust ends, the remaining funds are passed back to you or on to your beneficiaries.
Establishing a charitable lead trust can have tax benefits, particularly regarding estate tax reductions for your heirs.
Contact Annie Stafford in SELC's development department at (434) 977-4090 or 877-977-4090 (toll free) for more details and a personalized proposal based on your circumstances, which you should discuss with your lawyer or financial advisor.
Charitable Remainder Trusts
Do you have valuable assets - such as appreciated stocks or a second home - that that are 'tied up' and not producing income?
©Charles Shoffner
Would you like to have additional income for yourself (or a spouse, parent, or child) for up to 20 years - and leave a generous gift to sustain the Southern Environmental Law Center's work?
If so, then a charitable remainder trust may be the perfect choice for you.
- Your assets (e.g. cash, stock,, real estate, or other assets) are used to create a trust fund, which is then invested.
- You decide whether to base your payments on a percentage of the initial trust (Annuity) or a percentage of the trust's value as it is revalued annually (Unitrust). Scheduled payments then come to you over the course of your lifetime or the trust period.
- Afterwards, remaining assets pass to SELC and provide a wonderful legacy for your environmental interests.
In addition to providing income, a charitable remainder trust could have triple tax benefits for you:
- You receive an immediate income tax deduction for a portion of the trust's value;
- You bypass capital gains taxes for appreciated assets; and
- Since the donated property is not included in your eventual estate, your heirs may save on estate taxes.
Contact Annie Stafford in SELC's development department at (434) 977-4090 or (877) 977-4090 (toll free) for a personalized proposal based on your circumstances, which you should discuss with your lawyer or financial advisor.
Retirement Funds
If family members or friends are beneficiaries of your retirement funds, they could receive as little as 25% of your hard-earned money. Retirement accounts like IRAs, Keoghs, and 401(k) plans are taxed as income to your heirs, and in addition may be subject to estate tax.
Alternatively, you can make other estate provisions for loved ones and name the Southern Environmental Law Center as a beneficiary of your retirement funds. That way, the entire designated amount passes to SELC tax-free, and your gift is fully deductible for estate tax purposes. You may designate:
- your entire retirement account;
- a set dollar amount;
- a percentage of your total retirement funds;
- an amount contingent on other conditions being met, such as having a loved one predeceasing you.
Consult your financial advisor or your employer's human resources department to get the simple form to designate the Southern Environmental Law Center (Federal Tax ID Number 52-1436778) as a beneficiary of your retirement account.
Life Insurance
If your fully-paid life insurance policy is no longer needed to provide security for grown children or other loved ones, you could make the Southern Environmental Law Center a beneficiary for all or part of your funds. Or you could give your policy to SELC and make us your beneficiary. This entitles you to a current income tax deduction.
Or rather, if an ongoing tax deduction is attractive to you, consider purchasing a new life insurance policy (or converting an existing, in-process policy) and giving it to SELC with our organization as the designated beneficiary. Your ongoing premium payments are then tax deductible and you receive an additional income tax deduction at the time of the gift.
Consult your attorney or insurance agent to designate the Southern Environmental Law Center (Federal Tax ID Number 52-1436778) as sole or shared beneficiary of your life insurance policy.
