Thank you for your interest in exploring gift planning opportunities with the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP). Your special gift will continue to strengthen and sustain IATP's work to ensure just and sustainable food, trade and farming systems locally and globally whether you choose to support our programs or our endowment fund. Our hope is to serve you, your family and your advisors with helpful information. We thank you for taking the time to explore the many options available to you as a member of IATP's Legacy Society. If you have any questions, please contact Josh Wise, Development and Communications Director at (612) 870-3419 or jwise@iatp.org. We also encourage you to consult with your lawyer as the options listed are not professional legal or tax advice.

 

Naming IATP in Your Will

Using the power and the ease of a bequest, a significant gift can be made to IATP, perhaps to a greater extent than would be possible during your lifetime. All charitable bequests are removed from the value of your estate and are free from estate or income taxes.

The following is sample bequest language for your planning, though we would encourage you to visit with a legal professional as this is not legal advice.

"I hereby give, devise and bequeath [insert dollar amount or percentage of estate or description of property, etc.] to the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, a nonprofit Minnesota corporation exempt from federal taxation under section 501(c)(3), currently located at 2105 First Avenue South, Minneapolis, federal tax identification number 36-3501938, for its general purposes."

 

Naming IATP as a Beneficiary

Naming the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP) as a beneficiary is a smart way to provide a future gift to IATP with a minimum of planning and paperwork.

It's a simple process that can provide a legacy to your generosity. Life insurance policies that you no longer need for their original purpose (for example, your children are now grown) make excellent vehicles for beneficiary designation. The same is true for IRA accounts or 401 (k) accounts -- any investment or policy you have that permits a beneficiary designation is perfect for this purpose.

Making a future gift to IATP by using a beneficiary designation is very easy. You simply name the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy as the beneficiary. The best way to do this is in writing and by visiting with your financial adviser, insurance agent, accountant or banker who handles your financial affairs. Be sure to get and keep a copy of the beneficiary designation for your records. If you're willing to share, we would appreciate a copy here at IATP, but it's not essential for us to have a copy.

An added bonus: an IRA or 401 (k) retirement account that would be heavily taxed if it passed to other heirs will pass 100% tax free to the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy since we are a charitable organization. In addition to providing a nice gift to IATP you will also be preserving 100% of your hard-earned money. Although tax laws are always changing, the current way you guarantee the preservation of 100% of your IRA or 401 (k) or 403 (b) assets is to designate a charity as the beneficiary. All other ways might involve some significant penalties and/or the payment of unanticipated taxes.

This might be a good time to review all of your life insurance policies, IRAs, TDAs, 401 (k)s, and other various beneficiary designations. Take an inventory of those oft-forgotten assets and then determine if it might be a smart idea to designate IATP as the beneficiary of one or more of your policies or accounts.

If you have any questions, please contact Josh Wise, Development and Communications Director at (612) 870-3419 or jwise@iatp.org. We also encourage you to consult with your lawyer as the options listed are not professional legal or tax advice.

 

Gift Annuity

ARE YOU TIRED OF 3% - 4% - 5% RETURNS FROM YOUR SAVINGS?
A GIFT ANNUITY COULD BRING A 7% - 10% RATE OF RETURN!

Do you depend on certificates of deposit, bonds and other fixed investments to produce retirement income? Would you like to double your current rate of return? Would you like the higher interest rate to be guaranteed for the rest of your life and for the rest of your spouse's life?

Annuity rates vary and generally increase with age. For example, a single life annuity for a 65-year-old could yield a 6.7% annual interest. For a 70-year-old it could be 7.9%. At age 85 the rate may move to more than 10%! Annuities are also available on two lives simultaneously and/or with a survivor benefit. Rates for two lives are slightly lower than for one life.

In addition to the higher rate of return, a portion of the interest income received each year on a gift annuity is tax free. You also receive a significant tax deduction for the year in which you initially establish the charitable gift annuity. The annuity income is guaranteed to you for your entire life. The guarantee is backed by the full faith and assets of the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy.

Another great way to increase your current income while at the same time converting highly appreciated assets (such as stocks) into cash is to create a charitable gift annuity by making a gift of the asset itself. By making a gift of the actual asset (such as stock that you bought for $10,000 that is now worth $50,000), you avoid all capital gains taxes on the $40,000 gain, you get credit for a charitable contribution of $50,000 and you would immediately begin to earn a high guaranteed rate of return on the $50,000 annuity for the rest of your life and/or for the rest of your spouse's life.

Charitable gift annuities have long been one of the more popular estate planning strategies. They're simple, easy to understand, yield current income for the donor which is partially tax free and they're guaranteed. Market fluctuations will not impact a gift annuity. Once you set it up, it's set for life.

If you have any questions, please contact Josh Wise, Development and Communications Director at (612) 870-3419 or jwise@iatp.org. We also encourage you to consult with your lawyer as the options listed are not professional legal or tax advice.

 

Charitable Remainder Trusts

There are two basic forms of charitable remainder trusts (CRTs): a unitrust and an annuity trust. Before discussing the two different forms, let's look at the basic nature of CRTs.

CRTs involve the irrevocable gift in trust of cash, securities, real estate or other property to a trustee under a trust agreement. The agreement must provide that income from the trust fund will be paid to you—or another person designated by you—for life or for a period of not more than twenty years.

The amount of income to be paid is expressed in terms of a stated percent (not less than 5%) of the value of the fund. On the death of the last surviving income beneficiary (or the expiration of a term of years), the trust terminates and the assets in the trust pass entirely to the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy.

Under an annuity trust, the creator of the trust (you) selects an amount which must be paid each year. That amount must be at least 5% of the initial value of the property placed in the trust. The payments are fixed and predictable and must be paid by the trustee, IATP, even if it is necessary to use principal from the trust fund in order to do so.

A unitrust is more flexible than an annuity trust in that it can provide a hedge against inflation, but it involves an element of risk for the income beneficiary. Under a unitrust, the creator selects a percentage (at least 5%) of the value of the trust to be paid as income, but in this form of trust, the value of the fund is determined each year. Thus, the income payments will rise or fall with the annual valuation of the trust assets. In an inflationary period, this form of trust tends to protect the real value of the beneficiary's income.

A CRT is a particularly beneficial strategy for individuals who want to preserve assets while minimizing taxes and at the same time generate a current income. A CRT is very useful for business owners or stock holders who have experienced a large increase in the value of assets over a period of time and who want to preserve those assets for future generations as opposed to paying a large percentage of those assets for taxes.

In addition to preserving assets, you might actually increase disposable income, relieve yourself of the management burden of property placed in the trust, provide an income for a surviving beneficiary if desired, and enjoy the satisfaction of ultimately providing a gift to IATP.

If you have any questions, please contact Josh Wise, Development and Communications Director at (612) 870-3419 or jwise@iatp.org. We also encourage you to consult with your lawyer as the options listed are not professional legal or tax advice.