Donor Services

Ways to Give
Outright Gifts
Outright gifts can include cash, securities, and life insurance.

Gifts of cash
A cash gift is the simplest way to establish a named fund or to add to an existing fund. Cash gifts are fully deductible up to 50 percent of the donor's adjusted gross income in any one year. Deduction amounts exceeding this limit may be carried forward for up to five additional years.

Securities
Gifts of appreciated securities (bonds and stock, including stock in closely held companies) also may be used to establish a fund or add to an existing fund. Such gifts often provide important tax advantages. Their full fair market value is deductible as a charitable contribution up to 30 percent of your adjusted gross income. As with gifts of cash, deduction amounts exceeding this limit may be carried forward for up to five additional years. The added benefit of giving appreciated securities is the avoidance of the capital gains tax on the appreciated portion of the gift. Gifts of closely held stock enjoy the same tax benefits as with publicly traded stock.

Life insurance
Life insurance policies also can be used as charitable gifts. If you name the GANA Educational Foundation as the owner and beneficiary of an existing or new life insurance policy, you receive an immediate tax deduction, which usually approximates the cash surrender value of the policy. All premium payments made by you thereafter will be deductible as a charitable contribution.

If you have questions about outright gifts that have not been answered in this section, please contact us for more information.

Memorial Gifts
Special funds can be created to handle tributes and memorials. Contributions may also be made to existing funds in order to:

• honor a living person
• memorialize deceased persons
• commemorate anniversaries or other special events

Donors can use this giving option to:

• create a scholarship fund acknowledging the contributions of a leader
• engage a group in establishing a research project
• support an event that they have attended and enjoyed

If you have questions about memorial or commemorative gifts, please contact us for more information.

Remainder Gifts
Many donors choose to leave charitable assets upon their deaths. After assuring that their loved ones have been cared for, donors can use a variety of assets, such as pension plans, life insurance or the proceeds from the sale of a house, for charitable purposes.

Bequests
You can establish support to the GANA Educational Foundation in your will or trust through a bequest.

Pension Plan Beneficiaries
A retirement plan is one of the best types of assets to transfer to a charity because it produces taxable income. Most assets an heir inherits are free from income tax. However, an heir will pay income tax on disbursements from a decedent's retirement plan such as a profit sharing plan, Section 401(k) plan or IRA. If you are going to make a charitable bequest, it is usually better to transfer the taxable assets subject to income tax to a tax-exempt charity - such as a foundation - and to transfer the assets not subject to income tax to heirs.

For a taxable estate over $3 million, the combination of estate and income taxes will frequently exceed 75 percent of the total amount - even more if the generation skipping transfer taxes are triggered. At a cost to your heirs of only 25 percent of the fair market value of these type of assets, you could apply 100 percent of the assets to a charitable fund to accomplish your specific charitable objectives.

Life Insurance Beneficiaries
Perhaps you would like to contribute the proceeds of a life insurance policy to help the glass and glazing industry, but you are not yet ready to give up ownership of the policy. By naming a foundation only as beneficiary, you retain ownership of the policy and have access to the cash value as well as the right to change the beneficiary.

If you don't have liquid assets right now but want to support the foundation, a gift of life insurance may be a good option. While you retain ownership of the policy, there is no charitable deduction for the value of the policy when you designate a foundation as the beneficiary or for subsequent insurance premiums. However, proceeds payable to the foundation at your death will not be subject to federal estate taxes.

We encourage you to work with your lawyer or financial advisor as you consider these options. If you have questions about remainder gifts that have not been answered in this section, please contact us for more information.