How to Give
Gifts made from your will, trust, or beneficiary designation
A bequest allows you to continue to use the property you will leave to us during your life and make a lasting impact on our work after you are gone.
Benefits of a bequest
- Receive an estate tax charitable deduction
- Reduce the burden of taxes on your family
- Leave a lasting legacy to our organization
How you can leave a bequest to Mercy For Animals:
- Include a bequest to Mercy For Animals in your will or revocable trust
- Designate Mercy For Animals as a full, partial or contingent beneficiary of your retirement account (IRA, 401(k), 403(b) or pension)
- Name Mercy For Animals as a beneficiary of your life insurance policy
A bequest may be made in several ways
- Specific Bequest – A specific bequest involves making a gift of a specific asset such as real estate, a car, other property or a gift for a specific dollar amount. For example, you may wish to leave your home or $10,000 to Mercy For Animals.
- Percentage Bequest – Another kind of bequest involves leaving a specific percentage of your overall estate to our organization. For example, you may wish to leave 10% of your estate to Mercy For Animals.
- Residual Bequest – A residual bequest is made from the balance of an estate after the will or trust has given away each of the specific bequests. A common residual bequest involves leaving a percentage of the residue of the estate to our organization. For example, you may wish to leave 30% of the residue of your estate to Mercy For Animals.
A beneficiary designation gift is a simple way to make a gift to support Mercy For Animals by designating us as a beneficiary of your retirement, investment or bank account or your life insurance policy.
Benefits of a beneficiary designation gift
- Support the causes that you care about
- Continue to use your account as long as you need to
- Simplify your planning and avoid expensive legal fees
- Reduce the burden of taxes on your family
- Receive an estate tax charitable deduction
How a beneficiary designation gift works
- To make your gift, contact the person who helps you with your account or insurance policy, such as your broker, banker or insurance agent.
- Ask them to send you a new beneficiary designation form.
- Complete the form, sign it and mail it back to your broker, banker or agent.
- When you pass away, your account or insurance policy will be paid or transferred to Jacobs & Cushman San Diego Food Bank, consistent with the beneficiary designation.
Important considerations for your future
If you are interested in making a gift but are also concerned about your future needs, keep in mind that beneficiary designation gifts are among the most flexible of all charitable gifts. Even after you complete the beneficiary designation form, you can take distributions or withdrawals from your retirement, investment or bank account and continue to freely use your account. You can also change your mind at any time in the future for any reason, including if you have a loved one who needs your financial help.
Gifts that support farmed animals and save you taxes
An IRA charitable rollover is a way you can help farmed animals today while reducing your taxable income.
Benefits of an IRA charitable rollover
- Avoid taxes on transfers of up to $108,000 from your IRA to our organization
- Satisfy your required minimum distribution (RMD) for the year
- Reduce your taxable income, even if you do not itemize deductions
- Make a gift that is not subject to the deduction limits on charitable gifts
- Help further the work for a more just food system
How an IRA charitable rollover gift works
- Contact your IRA plan administrator to make a gift from your IRA to Mercy For Animals.
- Your IRA funds will be directly transferred to our organization to help continue our important work.
- Please note that IRA charitable rollover gifts do not qualify for a charitable deduction.
- Let us know if you wish for your gift to be used for a specific purpose.
A charitable lead trust is a way you can support Mercy For Animals for a number of years and pass on your assets to your family while eliminating gift or estate taxes.
Benefits of a charitable lead trust
- Receive a gift or estate tax charitable deduction
- Pass inheritance on to family at a reduced or zero cost
- Establish a vehicle from which you can make annual gifts to our organization
How a charitable lead trust works
- You make a contribution of property or assets to fund a trust that pays Mercy For Animals income for a number of years.
- You receive a gift or estate tax deduction at the time of your gift.
- After a period of time, your family receives the trust assets plus any additional growth in value.