Planned Giving enables you to support your favorite cause with an organized and structured approach enabling you to meet your personal and philanthropic aspirations by choosing gift-giving vehicles that reflect your personal goals while maximizing the financial and tax benefits of your gift. With careful planning you can:

• Increase your income
• Reduce estate taxes
• Reduce capital gains taxes

Charitable Bequest

Making a bequest to Indian River Habitat for Humanity is an easy and usually inexpensive way to transfer assets—cash, securities, real estate, life insurance and retirement plans—to support your favorite charitable cause. And, you can decide to do it at any age by adding to an existing will or trust or by drafting a new one. In doing so, you leave a legacy to Indian River Habitat for Humanity, while enjoying the assets you need to maintain your current lifestyle. In addition, you may be able to distribute some or all of your assets, tax-free or reduce your estate tax entirely. Click here for suggested bequest language and to learn more.

Charitable Gift Annuity (CGA)

A CGA establishes a contract between you, the donor and IRHFH. In exchange for an irrevocable gift of cash or marketable securities, IRHFH agrees to pay a fixed sum either monthly, quarterly, bi-annually or annually for the remainder of the annuitant's life. You may establish either a one-life or two-life gift annuity. An annuity may be established with a gift of $10,000 or more to Habitat. In exchange for your gift, Habitat will pay a specified annuity to you or another beneficiary designated by you. The payout rate is determined by the age of the beneficiaries. The older the annuitant is at the time of the gift, the higher the rate of return.

Charitable Remainder Unitrust (CRUT)

Under a CRUT, the donor irrevocably transfers money, securities, or other property to a trustee selected by the donor. The trustee pays the donor (or one or more non-charitable beneficiaries as designated) a fixed percentage of the net fair market value of the trust's assets as determined annually. The payments are made for the life or lives of the non-charitable beneficiaries or for a fixed period of years not to exceed 20 years. Upon termination of the non-charitable beneficiary's interest, the assets of the trust are transferred to IRHFH.

Life Insurance

Many individuals have life insurance policies which were purchased with the hope of ensuring the financial stability of their family should something happen to them or their spouse. If your circumstances have changed since that long-ago purchase, you may wish to consider making a gift of your policy to IRHFH.

A large life insurance policy mayt give rise to heavy estate taxes as the value of the policy will be added to the total value of your estate when you pass away. You can designate IRHFH as the beneficiary of your policy and your estate will receive a charitable contribution deduction on the policy's full value. You may also designate IRHFH as a contingent beneficiary in the event your primary beneficiary predeceases you.

Life Estates

A donor may contribute a personal residence or farm to IRHFH and retain the right to occupy the property until death. The lifetime use of the property may be based upon the donor's life, another's life, or two lives such as the donor and spouse. The life estate ends and the property passes to IRHFH when the lives of the designated individual(s) end. Proposed gifts must be reviewed individually as sometimes it is not practical for us to accept the gift.

Please notify us of your intent to include Indian River Habitat in your Estate Plans by completing and mailing or faxing us a Declaration of Intent form.