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Planning Creative Ways to Give to the Marquette County History Museum

Are you looking for a creative way to make a gift to the Marquette County History Museum?

Since you’re visiting the Planned Giving section of our website, you likely have an interest in supporting our mission of bringing people and history together for enjoyment, discovery, and learning. Whether you’re ready to make a gift now, or you would like to explore the creative possibilities of deferred gifts, I’m here to help you accomplish your charitable goals.

My name is Jon Becker, and I am the Capital Campaign Manager at MCHM. I am primarily responsible for our new building project, but I am also here to help you with any gift you would like to make to MCHM. I share your passion for our history and value the role that museums play in our community.

As it has for you, history has played an important role in my life. I believe that history allows us to glimpse the world through the eyes of others, that it can transport us in time and place, and that it can call us to reflect on what we value most. Somewhere in this collection you have found inspiration.

I joined the museum in the winter of 2007, and I’m looking forward to working together with you to ensure the vitality of this extraordinary place for generations to come! Please call me at (906) 226-3571 or email jbecker08@sbcglobal.net .

Planned giving strategies can: Planned gifts may consist of:
• Help you effectuate your charitable goals • Cash
• Reduce estate taxes • Securities (appreciated securities provide particular advantages)
• Produce income tax savings • Life insurance
    • Artifacts
    • Real Estate

Where Is All of the Legal Mumbo-Jumbo?

You’ve probably seen many planned giving websites and printed marketing materials that go into great detail about each of the tools listed on the previous page. It’s easy to get lost in the technical jargon. What’s important to remember is that the various tools that are available aren’t ends unto themselves; rather, they exist to help you accomplish your goals.

Would you like to make a gift to support the Marquette County History Museum, while maintaining an income stream for life?
Maybe a Charitable Gift Annuity or a Charitable Remainder Trust is right for you.

Would you like to make a gift to support the MCHM, and are required to take a distribution from your IRA, but you would prefer to exclude the distribution from your adjusted gross income?
Maybe an IRA rollover is right for you.

Would you like to make a gift to support the MCHM while paying for your grandchild’s college tuition but you have already used up your lifetime gift tax exclusion?
Maybe a Health Education Exclusion Trust (HEET) is right for you.

Would you like to make a gift to support the MCHM, and you have a life insurance policy that no longer satisfies the purpose for which you originally acquired it?
Maybe you would like to transfer the policy to the Marquette County History Museum to take a tax deduction today, or name the MCHM as a beneficiary of the policy to create a charitable estate tax deduction for the future.

Once you’ve defined your financial and charitable goals, then you should seek the advice of estate planning professionals to find the tools that are right for you. In the meantime, there is no shortage of material available on the internet to help you familiarize yourself with some of the strategies that are available, and please don’t hesitate to contact me if you have questions at (906) 225-3571 or jbecker08@sbcglobal.net .

The Tools of Planned Giving

The term "planned giving" is often used to describe a number of tax-advantaged financial planning tools. These tools can help you accomplish your charitable and financial goals. Some of these tools may be familiar. Others may be less so. If you would like to learn more about how these tools may suit your particular goals, please contact Jon Becker, Capital Campaign Manager at jbecker08@sbcglobal.net or (906) 225-3571

Planned giving tools include:

Testamentary Bequests are gifts that are made through a will. A bequest may be an item of personal property, real estate, or cash. This is one of the easiest and most popular ways to make a gift.

In the case of a specific bequest, you simply leave the museum a specified dollar amount or item. For example, your will might include a provision like the following:

• I give (the sum of $___ or a description of asset) to the Trustees of the Marquette County History Museum, a charitable corporation located in Marquette, Michigan, for its general purposes.

In the case of a Residuary Bequest, you may specify that the residue or a percentage of the residue of your estate be paid to the Marquette County History Museum after all taxes, debts, expenses, and specific bequests have been paid by your estate. For example, your will might include a provision like one of the following:

• I give the rest of the property I own at my death to the Trustees of the Marquette County History Museum, a charitable corporation located in Marquette, Michigan, to be used for its general purposes.
• I give 10% of the rest of my estate to the Trustees of the Marquette County History Museum, a charitable corporation located in Marquette, Michigan, to be used for its general purposes.

A Charitable Gift Annuity (CGA) is a contract, under which the Museum, in return for a transfer of cash, marketable securities, or other assets, agrees to pay a fixed amount of money to one or two individuals, for their lifetime.

A person who receives payments is called an "annuitant" or "beneficiary." The payments are fixed and unchanged for the term of the contract. A portion of the annuity payments are considered to be a partial tax-free return of the donor's gift, which is spread over the life expectancy of the annuitant(s). If the CGA is funded with appreciated securities, it is possible to reduce or even eliminate capital gains taxes.

The contribution that establishes the CGA becomes a part of the Museums’ assets, and the payments are a general obligation of the museum. The annuity is backed by the museum's entire assets, not just by the contributed property.

A Charitable Remainder Trust (CRT) is a gift plan defined by federal tax law that allows you to provide income to yourself or others while making a generous gift to a charity such as the Marquette County History Museum. The income may continue for the lifetimes of the beneficiaries that you name.

As the settlor of a CRT, you irrevocably transfer assets, usually cash, securities, or real estate, to a trustee which can be the MCHM. In the case of Charitable Remainder Annuity Trusts (CRATs), the pay-out rate is determined at the time the trust is established. During the trust's term, the trustee invests the trust assets. Each year, the trustee distributes a percentage of the trust's value to the income beneficiaries. In the case of a Charitable Remainder Unitrust (CRUT), the annuity distribution is subject to change based upon the annual valuation of the trust corpus. The advantage of CRAT is knowing the exact value of the annuity distribution; however, the settlor may not make additional contributions to the trust once established. The advantage of a CRUT is the ability to make additional contributions to the trust during the settlor's lifetime; however, the exact value of the annuity distribution is subject to change.

A Charitable Lead Trust (CLT) is a gift plan defined by federal tax law that allows you to provide immediate income to the MCHM for a fixed term of years. In a CLT you transfer cash, securities, or other property to the trust. Like CRTs, there are two types. In a Charitable Lead Annuity Trust (CLAT), the trust pays a fixed sum to the charitable beneficiary each year (based on a percentage of the trust’s initial value) In a Charitable Lead Unitrust (CLUT), the trust pays a percentage of the trust’s value each year to the charitable beneficiary (based on an annual accounting of the trust’s value). When the trust ends, the remaining assets pass to your family or other heirs you name. This strategy can reduce or eliminate estate taxes while transfering assets to your beneficiaries.

Life insurance is an excellent way to make a gift to the Marquette County History Museum. Many of our friends have found that a gift of life insurance allows them to make a larger gift then they ever thought possible.

The MCHM as the Beneficiary of a life insurance policy:

You can name the Museum as the beneficiary of a life insurance policy. In this case, the proceeds of the policy would pass to the MCHM at your death.

You retain the ownership of the policy. In this case, there is no immediate charitable deduction however your estate will receive the charitable deduction.

The MCHM as Owner and Beneficiary of a life insurance policy:

If you hold a fully paid-up or current life insurance policy that no longer serves your estate planning goals, you may irrevocably transfer ownership of the policy to MCHM. This will entitle you to an immediate charitable income tax deduction.



Recent Changes to the Tax Code May Impact Your Charitable Giving in 2007

Take Advantage of the Pension Protection Act of 2006

Congress passed the Pension Protection Act of 2006 on August 17th this past summer. The Act permits taxpayers age 70 1/2 and older to make contributions from their Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs) to public charities without including the amounts in the taxpayer's income. Donors may make qualifying distributions of up to $100,000 per year from traditional Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs) and Roth IRAs.

Taxpayers who are required to take annual distributions from their IRA may now help the Marquette County History Museum while excluding the required distributions from their Adjusted Gross Income (AGI).

WHAT ARE SOME OF THE BENEFITS?
• Donors who itemize their taxes are prohibited from deducting more than 50% of their AGI for purposes of making charitable donations. However, donations from an IRA are excluded from the percentage limit, allowing those who have reached the 50% threshold to give more.
• Several federal tax deductions (e.g. dependent and personal exemption deductions and deductions for medical expenses and non-business casualty losses) become smaller as a taxpayer's income increases. By making charitable donations directly from an IRA, rather than taking required distributions that qualify as income, taxpayers can keep their annual income down and qualify for other tax deductions.


WHAT ELSE DO I NEED TO KNOW?
• Distributions must be made directly from the IRA trustee payable to the Marquette County History Museum.
• You may not receive ANY goods or services in return for charitable IRA rollover contributions in order to qualify for tax-free treatment. Therefore, you may not use IRA rollover contributions to pay membership dues.
• The Marquette County History Museum will send you a written substantiation of each IRA rollover contribution so that you may benefit from the tax-free treatment of the distribution.
• In most instances, your IRA administrator will send your charitable donation directly to the MCHM, so it is important to coordinate the gift with your IRA administrator and the Development Staff of the Museum.

 

  213 N. Front St. Marquette, MI 49855

 906.226.3571