Charitable Gift Planning

The easiest and most direct way to make a charitable gift is by an outright bequest of cash in your will. Making an outright bequest requires only a short paragraph in your will that names Valley Youth House as the charitable beneficiary and states the amount of your gift. Working with your attorney, you can add gift language to your current document(s) or to an entirely new one. A gift can be made through your Last Will and Testament as an outright, residual, contingency, or restricted bequest.

Below is sample bequest language you can share with your estate professional advisor:

“I (name), of (city, state, zip), give, devise and bequeath to Valley Youth House Committee, Inc. (written amount of percentage of the estate or description of property) for its unrestricted use and purpose.”

Life insurance allows you to make a much larger gift to Valley Youth House than you might otherwise be able to afford. Although the cost to you (your premiums) is relatively small, the amount Valley Youth House will receive (the death benefit) can be quite substantial. As long as you continue to pay the premiums, the charity is guaranteed to receive the proceeds of the policy when you die (guarantees are subject to the claims-paying ability of the issuing insurance company). Since life insurance proceeds paid to Valley Youth House are not subject to income and estate taxes, probate costs and other expenses, Valley Youth House receives 100% of your gift.

Giving life insurance to Valley Youth House also has income tax benefits. Depending on how you structure your gift, you may be able to take an income tax deduction equal to your basis in the policy or its fair market value (FMV), and you may be able to deduct the premiums on your income tax return. When an insurance contract is transferred to Valley Youth House, the donor’s charitable deduction is based on the lesser of FMV or adjusted cost basis. The simplest way to give using life insurance is to designate Valley Youth House as the beneficiary of your policy.

Significant benefits can be gained by naming Valley Youth House as a beneficiary of retirement plan assets. Gifts of retirement plans are acceptable through direct transfer of regular IRA, Roth IRA, 401K and 403B rollover to Valley Youth House and/or by naming Valley Youth House as the beneficiary successor or contingent beneficiary for all or part of the assets upon death of either the retirement owner or spouse. Donor should contact their fund custodian to initiate the transfer.

The option allows a donor to deter a gift to the end of their lifetime and reduce the size of their estate. Plus, the dollars are tax-free to Valley Youth House. Generally, a spouse, child, or other individual designated as beneficiary of a traditional retirement account must pay federal income tax on any distribution received from the account. By contrast, since Valley Youth House is a tax-exempt charitable organization under federal law, the charity will not have to pay any income tax.

You can enjoy a double tax benefit by donating publicly traded stock (closely held needs to be marketable/sellable), bonds, or shares of mutual funds to Valley Youth House. By donating appreciated securities, you may claim a generous tax deduction for what the stock is worth today as opposed to what it cost you when you purchased it. You will also avoid paying capital gains tax on the transfer of the security by donating it to Valley Youth House. This would not be the case should you decide to first sell the security and then donate the proceeds.

The market value for stocks and bonds used by the IRS to determine the value of the tax deduction is based upon the average of the highest and lowest trading prices on the date the investment is contributed to Valley Youth House.

Donor information is not recorded when security transactions occur electronically. Therefore, it is important for the Development Department to be notified of the transaction to ensure proper receipt and application of the gift. By working with your broker, you can donate securities electronically or by registered mail. It is also possible to name Valley Youth House as the beneficiary of your security account(s)

Generously established endowments are a specifically designated pool of assets held and invested by Valley Youth House to provide long-term growth interest and annual funding for programs and services for youth and families served. Endowment funds can be created by a single or multiple donors in honor or memory of a loved one to ensure perpetual financial resources. Donors may contribute to an already established endowment fund or establish a new fund to be directed for unrestricted use or to a specific purpose of their choice. A gift of any size may be contributed to an already existing endowment fund.

The minimum gift level to establish an endowment fund is $25,000 and may bear the name of the principal donor(s) or such individual as designated by the principal donor(s). This minimum amount can be committed via a pledge and paid over a period of time or as a lump sum. The annual spendable amount will be calculated the year following the endowment becoming fully funded and the minimum gift amount met. The corpus of the fund will be held in perpetuity and a percentage of the net income of endowed funds in accordance with the Valley Youth House Inc. Treasury and Investment Policy will be allotted for annual expenses​