Create Your Legacy

If you’d like to ensure your generosity makes a difference for future generations, consider a legacy – or planned – gift to the Community Foundation of Howard County (CFHoCo).

Planned giving is the process of making a gift that uses tax, financial and charitable estate-planning techniques to enable a donor to make a sizable gift commitment and receive significant tax and financial benefits (as well as the pleasure of making a gift to something important and worthwhile in the Howard County community).

There are several types of planned giving vehicles that donors can utilize in making a future gift to CFHoCo. They include:

BEQUESTS

Including a charitable bequest in your will is one of the easiest ways to create a legacy and make a lasting gift to our community. A donor interested in investing in the future of our community can leave all or a portion of their estate to the Community Foundation of Howard County (CFHoCo). When you make a charitable bequest in your will to CFHoCo, we establish a special fund in your or your family’s name that benefits the community forever and becomes your personal legacy of giving.

CHARITABLE TRUSTS

With a charitable trust, you can create an income stream for yourself and transfer the assets of the trust to the Community Foundation of Howard County (CFHoCo) at a later date (“Charitable Remainder Trust”), or you can set it up so that the income is paid to CFHoCo for a specified period of time, after which the assets are transferred back to your family (“Charitable Lead Trust”).

In addition, transferring assets to a charitable trust may remove them from your probate estate and reduce your taxable estate.

Your financial advisor can help you understand the different types of charitable trusts and how they might affect your financial picture.

CFHoCo does not directly administer charitable trusts, but we will work closely with your tax and legal advisors to provide the information you need to designate CFHoCo as the beneficiary of your trust. We also can help you create a named fund at CFHoCo to receive your gift and ensure that your gift benefits causes that are important to you in perpetuity.

LIFE ESTATES

Life estates give donors a way to make a meaningful gift of real estate to the Community Foundation of Howard County (CFHoCo), while retaining the right to use the property during their lifetime. Such gifts entitle donors to take a charitable income tax deduction for the present value of the remainder interest of the property and to escape potential capital gains on the property’s appreciation.

When the life estate terminates, CFHoCo can sell the property, and proceeds from the sale are used to support the causes the donor has specified.

LIFE INSURANCE

Gifts of life insurance provide a simple way for you to establish your legacy with tax benefits that you can enjoy during your lifetime. By giving a paid-up policy or continuing to pay premiums, you may receive a number of tax benefits, including reduced estate and income taxes. If you choose to continue paying premiums through the Community Foundation of Howard County, you will be entitled to a charitable deduction of up to 50 percent of your adjusted gross income.

HOWARD LEGACY SOCIETY

The Howard Legacy Society is a group of visionary people who have named the Community Foundation of Howard County as a beneficiary in their estate plans. Your gift will have meaning and impact for years to come, and the Legacy Society recognizes this special form of lasting philanthropy.

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