Ways to Donate
There are several ways in which to donate, including:
- Charitable Gift Annuity
- Charitable Trusts
- Outright Gifts of Cash or Stocks
- Wills and Bequests
Brad Benham, vice president, can help you discover a type of gift that is right for you and your family. To learn more about your gift opportunities or other planned giving opportunities, please contact him by email at bbenham@hendrickhealth.org, or call us at 325-670-2204.
Charitable Gift Annuity
A Gift Annuity is an agreement between you and the Hendrick Medical Center Foundation. You contribute cash, securities, or other assets to Hendrick. In return, we agree to make regular, fixed payments to you for the rest of your life. The transaction is a purchase of an annuity and a charitable contribution.
Gift Annuity Benefits
- Your payment amount is fixed and guaranteed for life.
- Generally, the older you are when your gift annuity begins, the higher your payment rate. This is because a portion of your gift will be returned to you over your life expectancy.
- Payments to match your schedule: monthly, quarterly, semiannually, or annually (or even deferred for a few years)
- Tax advantages
Charitable Trusts
You can receive income for your lifetime and the lifetime of one income beneficiary by participating in a charitable remainder annuity trust or a charitable remainder unitrust to benefit Hendrick. You could receive financial and personal benefits while helping Hendrick at the same time.
Charitable Trusts Benefits
- An annual lifetime income
- Avoidance or reduction of capital gains tax
- Charitable income tax deduction
- Reduction in estate taxes
Outright Gifts of Cash or Stock
Cash
Cash, usually in the form of a check, is the most common form of charitable gift. Tax benefits are available if you itemize your deductions on your tax return. Cash donations to the Hendrick Medical Center Foundation can be exempt from federal income tax. Your actual savings will depend on your tax bracket.
To make an outright gift of cash, make your check payable to The Hendrick Medical Center Foundation and send to: 1900 Pine Street; Abilene, Texas; 79601-2316
Securities
More and more charitable gifts are being made with non-cash assets, such as stocks of publicly-traded companies. This is due in part to the remarkable rise in stock prices over the past few years. Many donors find that the values of their stocks have risen to such a degree that they can make a donation and still be as well off as they were a year earlier. Plus, the appreciated value of stocks that may be paying low dividends can be "unlocked" through the use of various charitable gift techniques.
If you make a gift of stock, the date of the gift, when you lose control of the asset, is the date the stock is received in Hendrick's account – or, if mailed, it is the postmark date.
Benefits
- Gift is tax deductible
- Avoidance of capital gains tax
- Because personal financial situations are unique, you should discuss your estate plans with your family and your financial and legal advisors before making any charitable gift.
Wills and Bequests
The most common and simplest form of planned giving is a bequest or a legacy gift. Bequests work particularly well for those who are unable to make an immediate outright gift but would like to help Hendrick in the future.
There are several types of bequests:
- Specific bequests take the form of an outright gift of money, securities or other property.
- With a residuary bequest, we receive the residue of your estate after all other bequests have been made.
- A contingent bequest takes effect only in the event that all other bequests, for whatever reason, fail.
- A bequest may also take the form of a testamentary trust (to receive the tax benefits, however, the trust must either be solely for charity or be a qualified charitable remainder or lead trust).
When you make a bequest to Hendrick Medical Center Foundation, your taxable estate is reduced by a 100 percent deduction for the amount of a cash bequest, or the fair market value of appreciated assets.