Planned Giving – Life Insurance and Retirement Plans
You can play an important role in improving the welfare of animals in our community by making a gift of a life insurance policy or retirement account to AWA.
Both life insurance and retirement accounts can be used to make a charitable gift to AWA. By using either of these methods, you can make a larger gift than an outright cash gift. Most often, you can make the gift with no or little loss of income and also receive a substantial tax deduction.
Over time, circumstances in your life may change and reasons you purchased insurance or saved for retirement may change. If you have coverage you no longer need, you may consider contributing a fully paid “whole life” insurance policy to AWA by making us your primary or secondary beneficiary. This doesn’t provide an upfront tax deduction because it is revocable. If you want to provide income from your retirement account for a spouse or another beneficiary, you can direct that the proceeds from the plan fund a charitable gift. In this instance, the estate will be taxed but receives a credit for the contribution.
Please click here to download our full Planned Giving brochure.
If making a gift and receiving a tax benefit are important to you, transferring ownership of the policy to AWA is the best way to go. Transferring ownership is irrevocable which enables donors to receive a tax benefit for the cash value of the policy. As the donor, you are still the insured individual; however, the policy ownership is transferred to AWA and it will receive the proceeds.
If you would like help making a planned gift but need assistance, AWA has financial advisors and attorneys who are willing to work with potential donors.
If you have already named AWA as a beneficiary or plan to do so and would like to be a part of our Legacy of Love friends circle, simply fill out and return this Letter of Commitment.
For more information, you can contact Laura Houston, our Executive Director, at email director@awanj.org