Campaign BCA-Ways to Give

• Best Ways To Give More Generously-Capital Development Program

  To help donors consider the largest gift possible to Campaign BCA – The 21st Century, many giving options are available. These are outlined below. In some cases, additional information and assistance may be required. Contact the campaign office to request help.

  • Gift of Cash: A cash gift is a direct transfer of value that provides immediate benefit to you and BCA. Deductible contributions are valid in the year of the gift, and generally may be deducted up to 50 percent of your adjusted gross income for the taxable year. If the gift is of sufficient size, it is possible to exercise a five-year carryover of the deduction until it is fully captured.
  • Gift of Securities: A gift of marketable securities (stocks) benefits the donor twice. First, there is a charitable deduction for the full present fair market value, and second, probably pay no tax on the appreciation. It is recommended that you not sell the securities, but transfer them directly to BCA. A protocol and information to guide the transfer is available from the Campaign Office. Note: If you hold securities on which you have a substantial loss, it is more prudent to first sell the securities, then make the gift from the proceeds of the sale. You can then claim the cash gift as a charitable deduction, and have a “loss” as well.
  • Gift of Real Estate:For many donors, a gift of real estate will represent the most attractive option and enable them to make a substantial gift to the campaign. A personal residence, farm, land purchased for investment, vacation home, commercial and/or rental property are all assets that can be turned into a charitable gift to BCA. Again, the donor benefits from a full tax deduction for the value of the gift, and avoids capital gains tax liability. Additionally, the donor may benefit from being freed from the numerous burdens of property management. Gifts of real estate may be made outright, or placed in a trust or other planned gift opportunity. See the descriptions below, or contact the campaign office for more information.
  • Gift of Tangible Personal Property: Some donors may have a classic automobile, art collection or antiques that hold considerable value. Special IRS tax laws apply to establishing the value, therefore the deduction, for the donor. Please contact the Campaign Office for more information.
  • Bequests:Bequests are future gifts usually documented in a will or living trust. Donors declare specific distributions to be made from their estate to BCA. Bequests may be structured as a specific dollar amount, as a percentage of the gross estate value, or as all or part of the residual value of the estate after all other distributions have been made. Bequests may be changed during the donor’s lifetime to increase, decrease or even revoke the designation of estate assets.A percentage of a bequest may be credited toward the overall campaign goal, depending on the age of the donor. Generally, older donors will have more of their gift credited to achieving the campaign goal. Contact the Campaign Office for this information.
  • Charitable Gift Annuities:Donors on a fixed income wishing to increase their cash flow may want to consider a gift annuity. When a gift of cash, or appreciated assets such as real estate or stock is made, BCA, in turn, provides the donor with a lifetime income. Rates of return on these annuities are typically higher than certificates of deposit and passbook savings rates. A highly appreciated asset—such as real estate—that is producing little income for the donor can be transformed into increased income for the donor and a large gift to BCA. Detailed information is available through the campaign office.
  • Charitable Remainder Trust:These trusts are among the most popular for donors wishing to make a generous gift to BCA, while receiving a lifetime income and enjoying substantial tax savings. These trusts may provide income of a fixed and set amount, or on a percentage basis of the annual evaluation of the trust assets.These trusts may provide lifetime income, a charitable deduction, reduced capital gains tax exposure, for the donor. There are many illustrations of types of Charitable Remainder Trusts available from the campaign office.
  • Charitable Lead Trust: Lead trusts enable donors to consider a major gift to BCA while retaining the asset for the donor’s future purposes. A lead trust provides income to BCA for a limited and specific period of time as determined by the donor, while the asset principle is preserved for other members of the family or other uses.
  • Life Insurance: Paid-up life insurance policies are another method for making gifts to BCA. A donor may have a policy that was intended for other purposes many years ago, but is no longer needed. The ownership of policies can be easily transferred to BCA and may enable the donor to make a substantial gift while also claiming a charitable deduction. If premiums are still being made on the policy, even the premium payments may be deducted as an annual contribution, or the donor may no longer make payments, thus increasing the donor’s cash flow.

Commemorative Naming Opportunities & Annual Donor Wall in the Jodo Shinshu Center Lobby Commemorative Naming Plaque

• Jodo Shinshu Center Commemorative Naming Plaques

  Japanese Gardens (Outside) $200,000
  First Floor
  Offices & Classrooms $50,000 – $500,000
  Mezzanine
  Reception Room $200,000
  Second Floor
  Hotel Rooms (each)$50,000
  Conference Room $300,000
  Student Lounge $100,000
  Third Floor
  Hotel Rooms (each) $50,000
  Dorm Suite Bedrooms (each) $25,000
  Apartment & Rooms ($150,000 – $350,000

Give to Your Temple and/or the BCA Tax Free!

For more information, please contact:
Robert Noguchi, BCA Fundraising Manager at (510) 809-1453 or email robert@bcacampaign.org

• Tax Free Charitable Contributions Extended for IRAs

  We’re already more than half-way through 2011 so I wanted to inform members about an important announcement by John A. Frisch, CPA/PFS, CFP on February 1, 2011 on the Alliant Wealth Advisors website blog:

  The Pension Protection Act of 2006 first allowed taxpayers age 70½ or older to exclude from gross income otherwise taxable distributions (“qualified charitable distributions,” or QCDs) from their IRA that were paid directly to a qualified charity. Taxpayers were able to exclude up to $100,000 in both 2006 and 2007. The law was extended through 2009 by the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008, and has just been extended again, through 2011, by the Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010 (the Tax Relief Act).

  You must be 70½ or older in order to make QCDs. You direct your IRA trustee to make a distribution directly from your IRA (other than SEP and SIMPLE IRAs) to a qualified charity. The distribution must be one that would otherwise be taxable to you. You can exclude up to $100,000 of QCDs from your gross income in 2011. If you file a joint return, your spouse can exclude an additional $100,000 of QCDs in 2011. Note: You don’t get to deduct QCDs as a charitable contribution on your federal income tax return–that would be double dipping.

  QCDs count toward satisfying any required minimum distributions (RMDs) that you would otherwise have to receive from your IRA in 2011, just as if you had received an actual distribution from the plan. However, distributions that you actually receive from your IRA (including RMDs) that you subsequently transfer to a charity cannot qualify as QCDs.

  Without this special rule, taking a distribution from your IRA and donating the proceeds to a charity would be a bit more cumbersome, and possibly more expensive. You would need to request a distribution from the IRA, and then make the contribution to the charity. You’d receive a corresponding income tax deduction for the charitable contribution. But the additional tax from the distribution may be more than the charitable deduction, due to the limits that apply to charitable contributions under Internal Revenue Code Section 170. QCDs avoid all this, by providing an exclusion from income for the amount paid directly from your IRA to the charity–you don’t report the IRS distribution in your gross income, and you don’t take a deduction for the QCD. The exclusion from gross income for QCDs also provides a tax-effective way for taxpayers who don’t itemize deductions to make charitable contributions.

  If you have any questions, please consult your financial planner for complete information on this exciting opportunity.  Tax free charitable gifts may be given to your local temple and/or the BCA.

  Gassho,
  Robert Noguchi