Whether you are single, married, raising a family, planning for retirement years, or enjoying your senior years, your future and the future of those you care most about will be a reflection of the plans you make today.
 
The Community Foundation of Calhoun County has the professional staff to assist you in achieving your charitable goals. Our mission is to promote philanthropy through charitable options that assist you in effectively meeting your needs while bettering the lives of all residents of our community. 
 
In this section we offer ten brief outlines of different planning opportunities. As you review them, consider how one or more of these tools may help you achieve your charitable goals. In many cases, basic planning can effective pass assets to heirs and leave a significant gift as a lasting legacy in the community. Most importantly, estate planning allows you to leverage or redirect your tax dollars to the institutions and organizations that have served you in life or fostered your values.  
 
After you review these options, please feel free to contact us. We uphold the strictest confidence and we have no products we are selling or promoting, other than improving the quality of life in our region. Also, we would be happy to provide you and your advisor with additional information to establish a fund or add to an existing fund.
 
1.                  The Will
 
Above all, the Community Foundation encourages everyone, regardless of assets, to have a will that provides for the orderly distribution of property. Without a will, the state of Alabama has intestacy laws that may surprise you, leaving the disposition of your property to the probate court. Since dying without a will leaves no direction for others to follow, the probate court has no other choice but to impose their guidelines on your heirs.
 
Your attorney can draft, revise or add a simple amendment to your will (codicil). By this device, you can instruct that the Community Foundation establish an endowment fund in your name or the name of someone you wish to honor in perpetuity. Descriptions of the various fund options in the Prospective Donor tab of this website. Likewise, sample will language can be found in this section under the Will Gift Language tab. Most funds support charitable needs in our region; however, distributions can be made to qualified charitable organizations anywhere in the United States.
 
2.                  Revocable Living Trusts
 
If you have chosen to rely on a revocable living trust to pass your property to loved ones while minimizing probate costs, consider how you might add a charitable dimension to this plan as well. You can designate that a portion of the assets in the trust be used for charitable purposes administered by the Community Foundation upon your death. Much like a charitable bequest through a will, such gifts are deductible from estate taxes and can be delayed until all other needs have been met. Most importantly, this type of trust allows you to make changes as factors change in your life, thus protecting your economic freedom and financial security. Your attorney can add language to your will creating a revocable living trust.
 
3.                  Retirement Plans
 
Whether you participate in a company pension plan or a qualified retirement plan you have established for yourself (Individual Retirement Account), this asset is one of the best was to make a charitable gift because IRA’s are heavily taxed upon the death of the owner or upon the death of a surviving spouse. In addition, IRAs are contracts that can be easily amended or changed making it a very flexible gift to assign without incurring legal expenses.
 
Donating an IRA to the Community Foundation results in no loss of its value, it removes the asset from your estate and qualifies for a charitable deduction. You should consult your financial or legal advisor regarding the income and estate taxes associated with pension plans. Without a careful estate plan, some pensions can lose as much as 80% of their total value.
 
4.                  Charitable Gift Annuity
 
The Community Foundation is registered with the State of Alabama Securities Commission to offer charitable gift annuities (CGA). These are “split interest” gifts that allow you to make a charitable gift and receive payments for life. With this option, you donate a minimum of $10,000 of cash or appreciated stock. In exchange for this contribution, the Foundation is legally obligated to provide you an annuity based on a written contract. You receive payments for the remainder of your life or you may name another person as the beneficiary.
 
The Foundation can provide you with a written illustration of an immediate or deferred CGA. This type of gift is ideal for individuals who wish to compliment their current savings for retirement or for individuals who are retired and wish to convert low yielding appreciated assets to higher, fixed annual payments.
 
5.                  A Gift With a Fixed Income
 
A charitable remainder annuity trust is a way to make a gift that allows you to retain income from your property for life or for a set period of time that you specify. This type of “split interest” gift requires the professional services of a lawyer to set-up the trust and a trustee. Your funds are held separately and are invested for payment of a fixed and regular income to you or someone else you name.
 
The payments you receive each year will be at least 5% of the total amount placed in the trust. You determine the exact amount when the plan is created; however, federal law does not allow you to make subsequent changes. Thus, this type of gift is irrevocable. A charitable deduction against your income taxes is allowed when the trust is established. The amount of this deduction depends on your age, payment percentage, and other factors when the trust is established. 
 
6.                  A Gift With a Variable Income
 
Like the annuity trust, a charitable remainder unitrust is another “split interest” gift arrangement that provides income to you or someone important to you for life. But unlike the annuity trust, the income from a unitrust will increase or decrease with the value of the assets placed in the trust.
 
You determine the payout percentage when the gift is made. Each year this percentage of the value of the trust assets is paid to you or others you select. When the value of the trust investments increases, you benefit from the growth. Likewise, the income will be less if the value of the assets decline. Since the trust is evaluated each year, you can make additional contributions to this type of trust, and an income tax deduction is allowed for a portion of each amount contributed.
 
7.                  A Gift Benefiting a Future Generation
 
People who wish to make a substantial gift over a period of years while ensuring that their property will ultimately return to themselves or their loved ones may be interested in the charitable lead trust.
 
Under the terms of a charitable lead trust, assets are transferred to a trust that pays income to the Community Foundation to benefit one or more charitable purposes for a set number of years determined by you. At the end of that period, the assets are returned to you or other persons you specify in the trust agreement. This type of “split interest” gift is ideal to leave assets to grandchildren as they reach their adult years.
 
8.                  Life Estate
 
You can make a gift of a home, second home, farm or certain other real estate while retaining the use of the property for as long as you live. Using a life estate agreement you make a gift of your home or other real estate now, but retain the security of knowing you may live there or enjoy the use of the property as long as you wish.
 
The satisfaction of giving, as well as an income tax deduction, is enjoyed now rather than later. Under the agreement, you must continue to take care of the property, pay the taxes, and you can receive any income it generates. But, because you have made an irrevocable gift of the property by deed (a contract), it bypasses the probate process at your death, possibly saving unnecessary legal fees and estate taxes.
 
9.                  Life Insurance
 
The reason and the need for life insurance changes as life progresses, children become self-sufficient, and investments may provide unexpected income and security. As a result, not all life insurance coverage may be needed for the reason it was initially intended. Also, many people have life insurance that is added as a benefit by joining a club, provided by an employer or a feature of a credit card. 
 
One of the simplest ways to make a significant gift is to name the Community Foundation as the charitable beneficiary to receive all or a set percentage of the proceeds of a life insurance policy. By simply requesting a change of beneficiary form from your insurance company, you can make a significant gift to fund the charitable causes important to you.
 
10.             Tributes and Memorials
 
For many reasons, individuals, families, businesses and organizations seek to honor an individual for their invaluable service or to pay tribute to someone’s memory. This individual could be a relative, a child, a friend, a co-worker, a church member, a board member or a retiring employee. Memorials and honorariums are added The Longleaf Fund, the Foundation’s unrestricted grantmaking account.
 
Larger contributions can be made to establish a permanent fund in someone’s honor or memory. New funds can be created with a minimum contribution of $10,000, or annual contributions totaling $10,000 (not to exceed five years). Scholarship funds require a minimum contribution of $50,000 before a scholarship can be awarded.
 
The Anvil Society
 
Individuals or families who include the Community Foundation or one of its endowments in their wills, estate plans or as a named beneficiary in a contract are enrolled as members of The Anvil Society. This is a perpetual designation to recognize your generosity. Upon executing the deferred gift, a Letter of Intent is signed.  Additional information about the Society is located in the Gift Planning tab.