Include STAND in Your Estate Plan
The COVID pandemic of 2020 revealed how far our country has drifted toward tyranny. In the midst of lockdowns forced on law biding citizens, over 500 race riots broke out with looting, murder and widespread attacks on police. Lawlessness held our cities in a death grip in 2020. This year 2023 is beset by the most dramatic increase in violent crime in sixty years. Police are retiring and quitting their jobs in record numbers because of the all out attack on their profession, falsely accusing them of being racists and murderers.
Understandably, many Americans fear for the future of the country. STAND has been a national leader for the last decade in combatting the use of race as a political weapon and tool of manipulation. Any vision for saving America must include addressing the false narrative that we are a racist nation and our society is inherently unjust. One of the keys to defeating the big lie is reaching minority people with the truth. This is a long term objective which requires long term planning.
If you are interested is making sure that America remains a free, unified and prosperous nation, please consider giving strategies that will impact the country well into the future.
Here are some of the available options:
Cash – A large cash gift could qualify you for a tax deduction up to 100% of adjusted gross income, which would provide substantial tax savings. Large gifts allow us to plan long term.
Appreciated Stock – You can receive a tax deduction for the fair market value of appreciated stock and avoid capital gains taxes on the appreciation.
IRA Required Minimum Distributions – If you are over 70 and a half years old, you can transfer up to $100,000 per year from an IRA to STAND. While there is no charitable deduction, your distributions are excluded from income and still count toward any required minimum distribution. This does not apply to other retirement plans, but some can be rolled into your IRA and qualify.
Retirement Plan Assets – Assets held in an IRA for your beneficiaries is considered “income in respect of a decedent” (IRD). It is to your advantage to keep them out of your estate to avoid having them taxed twice in larger estates – once as an asset in the estate and again in the hands of your beneficiary. Making STAND – a non-taxable organization – the beneficiary of these assets avoids this taxation.
Real Estate (vacation home, personal residence or commercial property) – Real estate can appreciate dramatically, leaving you with a substantial tax bill on the appreciation. A gift of real estate can provide immediate tax relief through a deduction for the fair market value of the property as well as avoiding capital gains tax on appreciation. If property ownership has become onerous due to insurance, taxes and maintenance, donating the property could be a viable option. You can get the best of both worlds – retain the property for use during your lifetime and revive the current income deduction for the gift.
Life Insurance – You can make a deferred gift of a Life Insurance policy which is no longer needed for the purpose originally intended. If the policy is fully funded, you get a tax deduction immediately with no cash outlay.
Consult your attorney or accountant. None of the above is intended to substitute for the advice of your accountant or lawyer, but we hope it stimulates you to think long term about helping STAND to continue our work well into the future. America did not get to this crisis overnight. We cannot solve sixty years of racial demagoguery and Marxist indoctrination in one day. What we can do is begin now with a determination to continue until we defeat the forces that would divide and destroy our nation.
If you would like to discuss an estate gift, our President would be happy to talk to you personally about how your gift could be used and what we could accomplish with it in the years to come. Contact us at 757-375-6444. Thank you for supporting the work of STAND.
IF YOU BELIEVE IN THE WORK STAND IS DOING, PLEASE CONSIDER PLANNED GIVING AS A WAY OF HELPING US LONGTERM.
BEQUESTS AND ESTATE PLAN GIFTS
A bequest is a gift from your estate—a transfer of cash, securities, or other property made through your estate plan.
You can make a bequest to STAND by including language in your will or living trust leaving a portion of your estate, or by designating STAND as a beneficiary of your retirement account or life insurance policy.
Some of the advantages of creating a bequest include:
· A bequest costs nothing now, yet gives you the satisfaction of knowing you have provided for STAND in the future.
· You retain control of and use of your assets during your lifetime.
· You may modify your bequest if your circumstances change.
· Gifts to STAND from your estate are exempt from federal estate taxes.
THE PROCESS OF MAKING A BEQUEST
A bequest to STAND can be made for a specific amount, for a percentage of your estate, or for all or a portion of what is left after you have made bequests to your family. To make a gift to STAND from your estate, you must sign a new will or living trust instrument, add a codicil to your present will, or make an amendment to your present trust instrument.
Alternatively, you can designate STAND as a beneficiary of a retirement plan or life insurance policy. To do so, contact your retirement plan administrator or life insurance company and complete the appropriate beneficiary designation form. You can designate a specific purpose for such a gift with a separate letter.
PLANNING YOUR BEQUEST
When planning for a bequest, you will need to consider how you would like your gift to be used to benefit STAND—whether unrestricted in purpose or restricted to a specific project or purpose, and whether you would like it to be an expendable fund (to be spent when received) or an endowed fund (to last in perpetuity).
· Unrestricted bequests allow us the flexibility to meet future needs which may not be anticipated.
· A restricted bequest directs assets to a specific fund, project, or particular purpose, such as a specific campaign. The sample language below shows how to word gifts to be restricted to specific projects or for such purposes as specific campaigns. A restricted bequest may be for an expendable or endowed fund. Because each restricted bequest is unique, STAND encourages donors considering this type of gift to speak with our attorney about the appropriate language.
· Expendable funds are used in their entirety, generally within a relatively short time frame. Some larger expendable gifts are used over longer periods.
· Endowed funds provide income every year in perpetuity to carry out the designated purpose of the fund. Note that endowed funds have minimum required amounts. Please speak to our attorney if you are considering a bequest to establish an endowed fund.
CREATING A LASTING LEGACY
Endowed funds may be established by bequest for many purposes. Some possibilities include:
· Project Awakening which is a comprehensive private sector program designed to address the problems of the inner city.
· Awakening Hearts & Minds Project is a long term program to set minority citizens, especially black and Hispanic, free from the clutches of the Left’s propaganda which stokes racial division and paints America as uniquely and inherently racist and evil. AHM seeks to replace the Marxist and racial worldview with a contextual view of American history compared to the rest of the world.
· Campaign to Awaken the Church which focuses on informing Christians about the issues that affect their freedom and First Amendment rights and why they must be involved in the public square.
· Vote the Rock, which focuses on church voter education, registration and mobilization.
· Ministers Taking a STAND which focuses on activating pastors and ministers to take a stand for our Judeo-Christian heritage and values.
· Youth Taking a STAND which focuses on activating young people and delivering them from the Marxist propaganda promoted in schools, colleges and the media.
· STAND With Law Enforcement which focuses on correcting perception of law enforcement as racist and brutal. SWLE seeks to create strong support for and relationships with police officers as servants who risk their lives daily to protect law abiding citizens.
A fund created by your bequest can carry your name or the name of a family member or another person you wish to honor. Named funds, because of the support they offer to programs and people are a way to give emphasis to the principles which matter to you and preserve your legacy well into the future. Note that minimum gift amounts required for creating named, endowed funds vary, so please contact us for further information.
THANK YOU
If you have included STAND in your estate plans, please let us know. We would like to thank you for your generosity and make sure the purpose of your gift is understood by the foundation.
S.T.A.N.D. Foundation, Inc. is a 501(C)(3) organization under the Internal Revenue Code.
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