Sponsor
Gifting Strategies and Your Benefits
EQUINE HERITAGE INSTITUTE, INC. is a 501(C)3 tax exempt, not-for-profit organization established in order to educate, celebrate and preserve the history of the horse and its role in shaping world civilizations and changing lives.
Your tax deductible donation can be used to help educate current and future generations about how this wonderful animal played a major role in the development of human societies throughout the entire world. We enjoy a high standard of living today because of the horse’s contribution to us in generations past.
Congress encourages charitable donations by providing tax deductions for gifts to charities. We encourage you to consult with your attorney and tax advisor to see how making such gifts may benefit you.
Outright Gifts
Cash:
Consider making an annual donation to the EQUINE HERITAGE INSTITUTE, INC. to help fund our many education programs, including our newest program, a virtual museum. There are so many children whose parents cannot afford the small fee for their children to take a field trip. Our program is designed to assist both public and private schools in teaching history to children in a way that complies with both Florida’s FCAT and Sunshine State Standards in a fun and entertaining way. Help us provide for these young students!
Please make your check payable to:
Equine Heritage Institute, Inc.
3024 Marion County Road
Weirsdale, Florida 32195
352-753-2826
Publicly Traded Securities:
Securities that are listed on the New York and American Stock Exchanges and on NASDAQ are gratefully accepted. At the discretion of the Board of Directors, the securities will either be sold or held for a determined period of time. The benefit to the donor is that the donor will not recognize a taxable gain on the sale of the stock but will be able to take a tax deduction for the donation.
Planned Gifts
Bequests:
Gifts of cash or other liquid assets through last wills and testaments, or through living trusts, are very important to the long-term work of the EQUINE HERITAGE INSTITUTE, INC. It is easy to do!
A visit with your attorney and tax advisor is made by you so that the proper planning may be done as well as the proper designation to the legal estate planning documents is completed, naming EQUINE HERITAGE INSTITUTE, INC. as a beneficiary.
How the Gift Works
- Donor meets with attorney and tax advisor to amend her/his Last Will and Testament to name Equine Heritage Institute, Inc. as a Beneficiary of the estate. Either a specific dollar amount or a percentage of the estate can be bequeathed.
- Upon the death of the donor, Equine Heritage Institute will receive the bequest when the estate has been settled. The estate will receive a charitable gift credit. The Institute will use the funds to help meet its goals and mission.
Thank you for considering this valuable means of donating to us!
Gifts of Life Insurance:
Life insurance can be a particularly versatile and valuable asset for the EQUINE HERITAGE INSTITUTE, INC. A gift of life insurance can allow a donor to make a more substantial contribution than would otherwise be possible. In addition, EQUINE HERITAGE INSTITUTE, INC., as a not-for-profit charity as owner of a policy, has the option of accessing the policy’s cash value with loans or withdrawals, or holding the policy for the death benefit.
- LeverageThe greatest advantage of a gift of life insurance is that a donor can make a substantially larger gift by using life insurance than by giving any other asset! Relatively modest annual premiums, which are generally tax deductible, mature in a substantial death benefit at the donor’s death. This is further enhanced by the income tax charitable deduction the donor may receive. The donor’s gift essentially COSTS LESS! For example, for a donor in a 30% tax bracket, a gift of $2,500 really costs $1,750 after factoring in the income tax charitable deduction.
- Gift of an Existing PolicyThe gift of an existing policy is easy to make! The transfer is as simple as completing a transfer of ownership form with the insurance company. Unless there is a loan on the policy, the donor does not recognize income for tax purposes no matter how large the gain in the policy. Also, because a policy is not an asset generally used by a donor for current income, it is not often thought of as a loss of an asset.
- Benefit to CharityA life insurance policy requires less administration by the charity than many other assets, such as real estate. Additionally, the charity can easy access to the cash values in the policy prior to the donor’s death by using loans or withdrawals. Both the cash value build-up and the death benefit are generally tax-free to the charity.
- Death BenefitThe death benefit, whether from a policy owned by EQUINE HERITAGE INSTITUTE, INC. or with the Institute as the beneficiary, is received by the charity without reduction for estate or income taxes and is not subject to the delays and expenses of probate. Historically, the death benefit is less likely to be contested by the donor’s beneficiaries than are other assets of the decedent’s estate that have been either gifted or bequeathed to charities.
How the Gift Works
I. Current, Paid-Up Policy
A. You transfer the ownership and beneficiary designation of the policy to the Equine Heritage Institute, Inc.
B. The Institute can elect to either cash in the policy for its current value or hold it until the death of the donor and collect the full death benefit.
C. The Institute has immediate access to the cash values built up in the policy.
II. Your Benefit
1. You receive credit for the gift and an immediate income tax deduction equal to the cash surrender value of the policy.
2. Your current income needs are unchanged.
3. You have made a significant gift now to the Equine Heritage Institute to help it achieve its goals and mission.
