Planned Giving Options

Peace of mind comes from knowing that your family is taken care of, your affairs are in order and your wishes will be carried out exactly as you wanted. Careful estate planning is key.

The term "planned giving" describes the many ways in which individuals make charitable gifts beyond what they can give on an outright basis. And while most people give to charity throughout their lifetime, only 6% include a gift for charity in their estate plans. By proactively planning, you may be able to make a much more substantial gift than previously imagined and leave a legacy that stretches long into the future. Whether it’s supporting safe places to play for kids, preserving our streams and wildlife, enabling homeless moms to provide for their families, or encouraging artists to create beauty in our world, the gift you plan today will ensure the exceptional quality of life in Yolo County continues for generations to come.

Through a single fund that you establish with a planned gift, you can provide grants to your favorite charities and causes long after your lifetime. You specify the names and amounts and the Community Foundation will act as stewards of your gift, ensuring your gift is carried out exactly as you planned. There are several vehicles for planned giving. Please consult your own professional advisor(s) and our development committee to discuss which might be right for you and your family.

Bequest
Through your will or living trust, you provide for a gift to the Community Foundation. This is perhaps the simplest form of planned giving and the vehicle most commonly used. Consider using your planned gift to establish an endowment fund at the Community Foundation and support you favorite causes for years to come.

Retirement Accounts
Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs) left to heirs may be subject to taxes that could total over half of the IRA’s value. Designating the Community Foundation as the beneficiary of an IRA is an excellent way for you to make a gift to charity, using an asset that might be otherwise heavily taxed. Also, a “Charitable Family IRA” allows you to put your IRA into the trust that produces income for you heirs and ultimately benefits charity.

Charitable Remainder Trust (CRT)
You make a gift of assets to establish a trust naming the Community Foundation as ultimate beneficiary. You get valuable tax benefits and retain for life the income generated from the assets given to the trust. (Typically for gifts of more than $200,000.)

Charitable Lead Trust (CLT)
When you don’t need income now but want to provide for your heirs, you may set up a Charitable Lead Trust and name the Community Foundation as the charitable beneficiary. You can use the income from the trust to make grants to nonprofit organizations during your lifetime and after your lifetime, have the trust assets, even if they have increased greatly in value, pass without further tax to your heirs.

Life Insurance
A fully paid, existing life insurance policy may be donated by designating the Community Foundation as owner and beneficiary. You may also donate a life insurance policy that is not fully paid, by designating the Community Foundation as owner and beneficiary and by continuing to pay the annual premiums. These gifts provide you with a current charitable income tax deduction and may also reduce your estate tax.

You may also keep ownership of a contributed policy by naming Yolo Community Foundation as sole or partial beneficiary. You retain ownership and access to the cash value as well as the right to change the beneficiary. While there is no income tax deduction for this arrangement, your estate will not be subject to federal estate tax for the beneficiary gift to YCF. Your insurance representative will have a designation form allowing you to name the foundation. After your lifetime, the insurance proceeds can be placed in one of our many funds.

Life Estate
Like many people in Yolo County, your major asset may be your home. You may irrevocably transfer the ownership of a home or farm to the Community Foundation and retain the right to occupy the premises for the rest of your life. Life estate gifts trigger an immediate charitable income tax deduction and pass free of estate tax to the Community Foundation. As with all gifts of real estate, the Community Foundation considers potential life estate gifts on a case-by-case basis.

Please Notify Us!
If you decide to leave a planned gift to the Community Foundation, please let us know. We want to make sure we have your wishes on record to properly carry them out after your lifetime. In most cases, we will set up a fund agreement that documents exactly how your fund should be used and which organizations or causes should benefit.