Building a Crockpot Legacy
ike a recipe for the children’s story of Stone Soup, we describe below “ingredients” you might consider adding to our crockpot. This is how we can join forces to slowly build a legacy of education and excellent fiduciary services for the communities we serve – “orphan elders” and disabled adults in Alameda, Contra Costa, Napa, San Francisco, San Mateo, and Solano counties.
First Choice, Grade A Beef – Use your unlimited 2021 charitable donation (limited time only) to support our community benefit non-profit. This is a limited extension of the CARES ACT* which could allow you to maximize the tax benefit to you in 2021 while you fund a future endowment for those elders who do not have the resources for our essential services.
*CARES ACT EXTENDS SUSPENSION OF DEDUCTIBLE DONATIONS. Taxpayers who itemize their deductions are not subject to any caps on the amount of donations they can deduct in 2021. This is also an extension of a provision that originally was part of the CARES Act and effective only for 2020.
Usually, the limit is 60% of adjusted gross income, or AGI (found on your tax return). In other words, the amount of charitable donations you could deduct as recently as 2019 generally could not exceed 60% of your AGI. For 2021, as in 2020, that limit has been temporarily suspended. https://www.moneytalksnews.com/charitable-tax-breaks-have-been-extended-for-2021/
Potatoes – Sustaining Donations – Every donation helps us get the word out. We want the professional community to know, understand, and support our mission – to come alongside “orphan elders” and other adults with special needs. Some of our favorite gifts come in regular $100 checks every time a deal is closed. Or, as a memorial to a dear family member’s anniversary date each year.
Carrots – Endowments – Endowments are a special kind of gift which is used to build a particular type of program near to your heart. For example, a retiring fiduciary who wants to continue to make a positive impact on the level of care offered can donate an endowment to fund a staff position of care oversight. The endowment funds are prudently invested, and the income generated is used to seed a care oversight program to serve those clients without sufficient resources to pay for this crucial patient advocacy role.
Another important role for an endowment is to fund the services for Conservatees or others whose resources have dwindled and would not sustain the kind of help a frail elder person needs when suffering from dementia. There is no insurance or other funding for this crucial service. Many professional fiduciaries elect to quietly carry cases with clients who have run out of funds as a pro bono case. Because a person with dementia can easily see their life savings eaten away with the cost of board and care, we seek to fund an endowment to handle cases where the client’s resources have depleted.
Endowments provide the opportunity for a donor to help shape the future of this organization in areas where they see the greatest need. The endowment program is flexible and can be tailored to fit the donor’s vision as it supports our mission. Starting level for endowments is $100,000, which is 100% tax deductible in 2021 (up to taxpayers taxable income).
Secret Sauce – Charitable Trusts & Retirement Accounts
Some people have realized that their resources will far outlast them. Perhaps they do not have family who will inherit their accumulated wealth, or they have provided for family in other ways. Two methods to add to our resources are Charitable Trusts, and naming ACE Fiduciary Group, A Non-Profit Corporation as a beneficiary of your IRA. Currently, charitable organizations can receive an IRA account without any tax penalties. This is one of the simplest ways to give to a favored charity. It only requires an updated beneficiary statement.
Another way that people have given to charities of their choice is via a Charitable Remainder Trust. This is a bit more complex and requires a special kind of trust. Some charitable trusts will provide you with current income and leave the remainder to the charity. Others will provide the charity with current income and leave the remainder to your heirs. We recommend you seek competent legal and tax advice if considering a charitable trust.
If you decide to name The ACE Fiduciary Group, A Non-Profit Corporation as the beneficiary of any testamentary bequest, we would appreciate knowing about it. This will allow us to say thank-you for the honor. It will also encourage others to keep this organization healthy and growing.
Canned Tomatoes – Service Fees – Our fiduciary services are provided to clients based upon their ability to pay. Fees are normally charged to the estate or trust of a client at standard fiduciary rates. These fees are our stable source of funding. They are set at normal and customary rates and are used to pay staff, as all non-profit organizations must do. Any net income for the year is placed into the operating fund to continue our work in the next year for other “orphan elders” and adults with special needs.
Spices – Kickstarter & Other Donations – Any and all donations at any time are gratefully accepted. Click here to donate. We provide an annual letter to our donors to allow them to take a tax deduction. By special invitation, some of our donors also serve on our Advisory Circle.
Please reach out if you have any questions or wish to discuss a major gift.
This is how we are building a crockpot style legacy – with friends, neighbors and community members putting in the ingredients of our very own type of “Stone Soup”. We continue to appreciate all the professionals and community members who are part of the sustaining safety net for our “orphan elders”.