Assets We Accept as Gifts

A gift of cash is the easiest way to create a new Fund or add to an existing one, and are tax deductible to the extent allowed by law - currently up to 50% of your adjusted gross income in any one year. Contributions exceeding this limit may be carried over and deducted for up to five years following the gift.

Donate now with a credit card using a secure vendor - Network for Good.

Check should be made payable to: Greater Worcester Community Foundation and mailed directly to the Foundation:

Greater Worcester Community Foundation
370 Main Street, Suite 650
Worcester, MA 01608-1738

Note the Fund name in the memo field.

Stocks and bonds that are highly appreciated may be given to the Foundation, thereby allowing you to deduct the full fair market value as a charitable donation and avoid capital gains tax.

For wiring instructions contact Kelly Stimson.

Property is accepted after careful evaluation, it must be readily marketable and free of environmental problems. The Foundation's general policy is to accept gifts of real property so that it may be sold and the proceeds added to an existing Fund or to create a new one. You receive a charitable deduction for the value of the property and avoid capital gains taxes. For more information about gifts of real property

Collections of artwork or porcelain must be marketable and are accepted after careful review. The Foundation will sell the property and use the proceeds to add to an existing fund or create a new one.

A Foundation fund relieves you of the complexities and costs associated with running a private foundation and fulfills your charitable goals in perpetuity. Compare a private foundation to a donor advised fund.

The trust makes payments to a Named Fund at the Foundation for charitable purposes you specify. After a set number of years, the trust's remaining principal and any accumulated appreciation can be distributed to children, grandchildren or other named beneficiaries, often with significant estate tax savings.

There are excellent tax incentives for contributing stock of a closely-held corporation to a fund at Greater Worcester Community Foundation. If some or all of the stock can be contributed to a component fund of the Foundation before the terms of a sale of the corporation are completed, considerable financial resources can be made available for charitable purposes at the lowest after-tax cost to the donor.

Sometimes donors will be interested in giving closely-held stock to the Foundation even if the business is not likely to be sold. Typically, the donor contributes shares of stock to a component fund in the Foundation and the stock is later sold for cash by the Foundation. In such instances, the Foundation will not guarantee or pre-arrange such sale or make any other agreement that might imply or cause a material restriction to be imposed upon the contribution. To learn more...

Family Limited Partnerships (FLPs) enable people to own and manage family property or family business enterprises. The main goal of an FLP is to protect assets. It allows for complete control over family assets with protection from lawsuits and claims. Assets are transferred to and held by the FLP, which most often has general and limited partners. Typically, spouses are named as General Partners and have complete control and authority over the partnership's assets. Children are named as Limited Partners and are not permitted to participate in management decisions. General Partners may gift shares of ownership to children free of estate or gift tax consequences. To learn more...

After providing for your loved ones, leaving a bequest to Greater Worcester Community Foundation can be one of the simplest ways to achieve your charitable goals. A fund created through a Will can benefit particular organization(s); an area of interest, e.g. the arts, environment, education, etc., to meet the changing needs of the community (discretionary), or a scholarship you decide. No matter which option you choose your bequest will generate an estate tax deduction. In consultation with your attorney you may wish to consider which of the following types of charitable bequests would best suit your situation. To learn more....

Your premium payments become tax-deductible when you designate the Foundation as owner and beneficiary of your life insurance policy. After your lifetime, the Foundation uses the money to create a fund in your name that fulfills your charitable goals in perpetuity.

Life insurance policies are an excellent vehicle for charitable gifts, often enabling donors to achieve family and charitable goals simultaneously.

What are my options?

For insurance policies with a cash surrender value whose original purpose no longer exists, you can:

• Gift the policy to Greater Worcester Community Foundation, Inc., and receive an income tax deduction for the present value of the policy. The tax savings can be invested to generate future income and will reduce the value of your taxable estate.
• Make Greater Worcester Community Foundation, Inc., the owner and irrevocable beneficiary; you continue to pay the premiums and claim continuing tax deductions. It is possible to use appreciated stock as a gift to Greater Worcester Community Foundation to cover premium costs and avoid capital gains.

Insurance for wealth replacement — When larger amounts, multiple heirs and a taxable estate are involved, a separate irrevocable life insurance wealth replacement trust can be the owner of the life insurance policy. With proper structure and procedures, transfers to the trust can be nontaxable, and distributions of death benefits through the trust to heirs are not in the estate for tax purposes. A life insurance wealth replacement trust can also be used to offset funding of charitable remainder trust.

IRAs and other tax-deferred retirement plans such as 401(k)s are subject to multiple taxes, including income, estate, inheritance, and generation-skipping transfer taxes. Because of this, IRAs and other tax-deferred retirement plans are an excellent asset to transfer to Greater Worcester Community Foundation upon one’s death. Many people do not realize that the combination of taxes on these assets can be as much 73% for transfers to children and increasing to 84% for transfers to grandchildren. Consequently, if possible, donors are advised to use other assets to provide for family members and loved ones, and to transfer IRAs and other tax-deferred retirement accounts to charities such as Greater Worcester Community Foundation.

How Do I Do This?

To name Greater Worcester Community Foundation, Inc., as the plan beneficiary, contact the plan administrator of the IRA or tax-deferred retirement account and request a change of beneficiary form. Members of the Foundation staff are available to assist you with this process.

Greater Worcester Community Foundation offers a Pooled Income Fund (PIF) to provide donors with lifetime income from a professionally managed, diversified fund. Our PIF is administered by State Street Bank & Trust Co. and is comprised of the commingled gifts of many donors, invested in a balanced equity/bond portfolio. To learn more...

Greater Worcester Community Foundation offers Charitable Gift Annuities. This enables you to make a contribution and receive steady income during your lifetime. State Street Global Advisors administers the Charitable Gift Annuity program on behalf of the Foundation. To learn more...

A Charitable Remainder Trust provides income to you for life or for a limited number of years. After that time, the remainder is distributed to the Foundation in accorance with your charitable intentions. Contact your legal advisor to discuss.

You may donate a residence, farm or other land as a future gift and continue using the property throughout your lifetime. You receive a partial income tax deduction and reduced estate taxes.