Planned Giving

In addition to direct cash donations, there are many other ways you can support Little Friends financially. Planned Giving enables you to make larger gifts to Little Friends than you could make from ordinary income. Some planned gifts can provide life-long income to Little Friends. Other gift plans use estate and tax planning to provide for Little Friends and your family in ways that maximize the gift and/or minimize its impact on your estate.

The benefits of funding a planned gift can make this type of charitable giving very attractive to both you and Little Friends and may include:

Creating a will or trust is a smart way to provide for your loved ones and the causes you care about. A gift in your will, also known as a charitable bequest, allows you to make a significant impact in supporting Little Friends while retaining control of your funds during your lifetime.

How you benefit:

You can provide for your loved ones and the causes you care about.
You may leave a gift of any amount; there is no minimum gift size.
You can name your gift in honor of a loved one.
You are never locked in — you can change your mind if your circumstances change.

Donating appreciated securities is one of the most tax savvy ways to give, with the benefit of avoiding capital gains tax, while still having the ability to utilize the tax deductions the year the donation was made. Below are the steps included in a stock donation:

Decide what shares of which securities you want to donate:

Stocks from publicly-traded companies
Bonds
Exchange-traded funds (ETFs)
Mutual funds

Need to know:

Name of security
Ticker symbol (if on the public stock market)
Number of shares you are interested in donating

Securities Donation Forms

Provide the following on the appropriate securities donation forms. Ensure you fill out these forms with a black ink pen. Mail, email, or fax your transfer request to your brokerage’s address (will be listed on your forms). Transfers must be completed by December 31 to be eligible for tax deductions for the current tax year.

Recommendation – While December 31 is the legal deadline for these gifts we recommend checking with your financial advisor as some facilities require the submission of these several weeks prior.

Nonprofit Name: Little Friends Inc.
EIN: 36-2698644
Little Friends Inc brokerage firm information (receiving institution): Mary Esser
Account number: 954027272
DTC number: 0188
Brokerage firm name: TD Ameritrade Clearing, Inc. (TD Ameritrade will merge with Charles Schwab)
All the above information is subject to change once the merger occurs

Retirement account gifts are one of many tax-wise ways to donate to Little Friends. Some people choose to donate their retirement assets to a nonprofit simply because the transferring of these assets, to anyone other than a spouse, is one of the most heavily taxed of all assets. This means your gift will have a bigger impact on Little Friends because 100% of the gift supports our programs rather than the gift being heavily taxed before benefitting your heirs.

Below are the steps included in retirement donation:

Add Little Friends as a beneficiary of your IRA, 401k or other retirement plan.
Pass the balance of your retirement assets to Little Friends by contacting your plan administrator.
Inform Little Friends of your plan to give. *The administrator of your plan is not obligated to notify us.

IRA

If you are 70 ½ years old, you can give up to $100,000 per year to Little Friends without having to pay income taxes on the money. This gift may qualify for your required minimum distribution.
Provide the following information to the institution managing your IRA: Little Friends, Inc. Attn: Agency Advancement, 27555 Diehl Road, Warrenville, IL 60555. Tax ID: 36-2698644

A donor-advised fund is like a charitable investment account for the sole purpose of supporting charitable organizations you care about. When you contribute cash, securities or other assets to a donor-advised fund at Little Friends, you are generally eligible to take an immediate tax deduction. Then those funds can be invested for tax-free growth, and you can recommend grants to virtually any IRS-qualified public charity, including internal transfers to Little Friends. Below are the steps included to utilize a donor-advised fund:

Establish a Giving Account and then make a tax-deductible donation. (Cash, stocks, or non-publicly traded assets i.e., private business interests, cryptocurrency, and private company stock to be eligible for tax deductions immediately.)
Little Friends will invest your donation.
Little Friends receives the balance of the invested funds upon the donor’s passing.

A charitable gift annuity is a contract between a donor and Little Friends with the following terms: As a donor, you make a gift to charity using cash, securities or other assets. In return, you become eligible to take a partial tax deduction for your donation, plus you receive a fixed stream of income from the charity for the rest of your life. Below are steps involved in establishing a charitable gift annuity:

First, donate to Little Friends. This gift is then set aside in a reserve account and invested.
Based on the donor’s age when the donation is made, the donor will receive a fixed quarterly payout for the rest of his/her life.
Upon the donor’s passing, Little Friends receives the remainder of the gift.

A charitable remainder trust is an irrevocable trust that generates an income stream for the donor and/or beneficiaries of the trust. The remainder of this donated asset will be distributed to Little Friends. Below are the steps to establish a charitable remainder trust:

A gift of cash or other property is made to an irrevocable trust.
Donors will receive an income stream from the trust for a period of predetermined years and Little Friends will receive the remaining trust assets at the end of the trust term.
Donors will receive an income tax charitable deduction when the trust is funded.

Click on any of these gift types for more detailed information. Please contact our Agency Advancement Team to learn more about these strategies.

Gift acceptance policy: Any non-standard contributions must be submitted to the board for approval. To ensure a timely review, please submit any anticipated contributions prior to finalization of estate plans.

Legal Disclaimer: The content above is presented solely as general educational information and should not be construed as providing legal or tax advice. Please consult with your professional advisors when planning your gifts.