The Planned Giving Program at the Hospice Foundation of the East Bay offers a variety of ways to support Hospice with substantial benefits to the donor and his or her estate. Some donors depend on the income from their assets to live or have valuable property, such as a house or apartment building that they need during their lifetime. Often these donors decide to wait until they no longer need these assets to transfer them through a will or trust. Making a bequest can involve an unrestricted gift to be used as Hospice best determines or restricted per the wishes of the donor to a specific fund or program.

Often circumstances in life change and it may be that a life insurance policy is no longer needed later in life. A change in the beneficiary to include the Hospice Foundation of the East Bay can provide significant value and a possible estate tax charitable deduction.

Because retirement funds passing through an estate can be subject to both income and estate taxes, a significant portion of retirement funds will be taxed away from your heirs. For this reason, under the current tax laws, retirement funds are considered among the best to donate. Should the donor wish to make a contribution of all or a part of retirement funds, the donor can do so by designating Hospice as a beneficiary in a retirement plan account. Pending legislation may make it easier to donate retirement assets.

There are also ways that enable a donor to make a gift now and still receive income for life. This allows the donor the option to see the impact of their gift while they are alive and to have the option to receive the joy and heartfelt thanks of those who are benefiting. Some (but not all) of the possible ways are described as follows:

Charitable Remainder Trust:  In this type of agreement the donor gives cash or valuable assets that are placed in trust and invested to provide income. In a Charitable Remainder Unitrust, the income is based on a percentage of the value of the assets in the trust. A Charitable Remainder Annuity Trust provides a fixed income as determined when the trust is established. In both cases, the assets remaining in the trust revert to the charity on the death of the donor (and an income beneficiary if established).

Charitable Lead Trust:  This is often referred to as the opposite of a Charitable Remainder Trust. The income from the trust goes to the charity and the assets revert back to the donor or a designated beneficiary after a specified period of time. The organization receives cash annually to use in its operations and the donor can pass the assets on to his or her heirs.

Charitable Gift Annuities:  State laws vary to the issuance and not all charitable organizations offer Charitable Gift Annuities. It is a contract between the donor who transfers cash or acceptable assets to a charity who promises to pay the donor a specified rate of interest (fixed payment) for the donors lifetime.