Creating your living legacy is easy. With well-thought-out planning, your gift can lend the necessary support to ensure the continued success of APF and its mission: supporting healthcare in Israel for generations to come.
By making a legacy gift, you become part of an exclusive group of donors who have the commitment and foresight to provide support for APF that lasts a lifetime and beyond.
Your gift may provide you with financial benefits and potential significant income-tax deductions. Discuss this with your tax or estate adviser.
There are several ways you can being your legacy planning, including:
(click to learn more)
GROUP LIFE INSURANCE – TWO-FER Program
ISRAEL BONDS
You have the power to strengthen Israel. APF proudly accepts Israel bonds as a donation or a payment for pledges and major gifts. Through your Israel Bonds donation to APF, you are making a statement to other Israel supporters worldwide that unity, continuity and the welfare of Israel are our highest priorities.
Purchase an Israel Bond and take pride in knowing your investment is helping Israel build and maintain a strong economy. When you donate the purchased Israel Bond to APF, it’s a double mitzvah: You simultaneously support Israel’s economy and APF’s important mission to strengthen Israel healthcare infrastructure and education.
Donate a bond by assigning it to APF. Please contact APF or Israel Bonds office for specific details and proper forms.
When can I claim this gift as a tax-deductible contribution?
Israel Bonds assigned to APF get recorded for the issue amount indicated on the bond.
APF receives both the interest on the bond and its principal value upon redemption. The tax substantiation letter sent to the donor by APF also indicates the issue amount and date received by APF. It does not include a charitable deduction amount but instead refers the donors to their own tax adviser to determine the appropriate charitable deduction amount. Charitable organizations are not obligated to provide fair market values for donated securities.
BEQUETHING YOUR WILL OR TRUST
Leaving a gift to APF in a will or trust is the most common type of a planned gift and one of the simplest ways to remember those people and causes you care about most. It’s a sound option for those who want to guarantee support of APF beyond their lifetimes, but also need to ensure availability of their assets while they’re still living. If you already have a will or trust, there is no need to rewrite your documents to make a gift — simply add an amendment that announces your intention. There are no minimum dollar requirements or complex rules to understand. You may decide to leave a designated amount or leave the funds undesignated, allowing APF to use them where they’re needed most. Charitable bequests qualify for a 100 percent charitable deduction for estate tax purposes.
The provisions in your will and/or revocable living trust to provide a charitable bequest to the American Physicians Fellowship (APF) d/b/a American Healthcare Professionals and Friends for Medicine in Israel* will depend upon your individual philanthropic objectives and estate-planning goals.
Please review the following sample bequest clauses with your attorney:
Unrestricted General Legacy (Outright Bequest):
I bequeath to the American Physicians Fellowship (APF) d/b/a American Healthcare Professionals and Friends for Medicine in Israel, not-for-profit corporation having its principal offices at 2001 Beacon Street, Suite 210 Boston MA 02135, the sum of ___________ ($ ) DOLLARS [or] a __ percent ( __%) of my [residuary] estate to be used for its general charitable purposes.
Bequest for – (Specific Designation):
I bequeath to the American Physicians Fellowship (APF) d/b/a American Healthcare Professionals and Friends for Medicine in Israel, not-for-profit corporation having its principal offices at 2001 Beacon Street, Suite 210 Boston MA 02135, the sum of ___________ ($ ) Dollars [or] a ___ percent ( __%) of my [residuary] estate to be used to provide grants for _______________________________ (insert specific designation here).
Option for Named Endowment for Specific Purpose:
I bequeath to the American Physicians Fellowship (APF) d/b/a American Healthcare Professionals and Friends for Medicine in Israel, not-for-profit corporation having its principal offices at 2001 Beacon Street, Suite 210 Boston MA 02135, the sum of ___ ($ ) DOLLARS [or] a ___ percent (___%) of my [residuary] estate to establish an Endowment Fund bearing the name(s) of ______________-_______________________. The principal of the Endowment Fund will be held intact in perpetuity and only the net income thereof will be directed for the purpose of providing _____________________________________ (insert specific designation here).
The percentage rate of “net income” earmarked from the Endowment Fund will be determined on an annual basis by a resolution of APF Board of Directors in accordance with their approved spending rule for such Endowment Funds.
STOCK TRANSFERS
Giving a gift of publicly traded stock that has increased in value and that you have owned for more than one year may provide better tax benefits than giving cash. Your charitable income tax deduction is equal to the fair market value of the stock, and you avoid paying the capital gains tax on any increase in the current value over the original cost of the stock. You may also save on brokerage fees because you are transferring ownership rather than selling the stock. For stock held in brokerage accounts, your broker can assist you in making a gift of stock via a direct transfer to APF.
Please follow the instructions below to formalize and execute your charitable gift, and be sure to fax or email the completed information to APF offices. These steps will inform APF of the proposed donation and ensure that you receive a prompt receipt of your gift for your tax records.
Your gift can be wired directly to Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. LLC
Account Name: American Physician Fellowship for Medicine in Israel, Inc.
Account Number: 036-30895 DTC Number: 0013
Reference: Donor Name (Including your name will ensure the gift is properly acknowledged.)
**Please Note: For mutual fund gifts or for gifts of stock not held in a brokerage account, please contact the APF office.
LIFE INSURANCE
Gifts of life insurance provide an opportunity to make a contribution to APF without affecting your present financial status. There are several ways to gift a life insurance:
- Contribute an existing policy, making APF the owner and beneficiary of the policy
- Contribute a portion of a large existing policy, leaving the balance to your original beneficiaries
- Purchase a new policy making APF both the owner and beneficiary of the policy
Benefits of a gift of life insurance:
Later in life, you may have a life insurance policy that is no longer needed for its originally intended purpose. If you are in such a position, your policy may be a great asset with which to make a charitable donation.
- For example, your paid-up life insurance policies can be used to fund a gift to APF. If, for instance, you acquired several life insurance policies when your family was younger, the coverage may now be more than you need.
Tax Benefit: If you donate a policy, your charitable deduction will be based on the total cost (the total of your net premium payments). We can help you determine these amounts.
- You can also transfer ownership of an existing policy which is not yet paid up.
Tax Benefit: Your charitable deduction will be determined in the same way as if you had given us a paid-up policy.
A gift of life insurance to APF would make sense to you if…
- You are maintaining insurance coverage that your family no longer needs.
GROUP LIFE INSURANCE – TWO-FER Program
For those of us in the business world, GIVING still makes financial sense, if done intelligently. Many executives, physicians at large institutions and so forth have sizable Group Life coverage provided by their employer. Each year, for all life insurance above $50,000, we have to pay taxes on imputed income, based on our age and magnitude of insurance coverage.
Few executives realize that the IRS, in an attempt to encourage charitable giving, provides any healthy person the opportunity to take advantage of a “two-fer.” By naming one’s favorite charitable institution beneficiary of the Group Life Insurance, the tax on the imputed income is eliminated.
For a premium less than the tax the executive was paying on this imputed income, he can purchase a Term Life Insurance policy for the same amount of protection to his family. By that, you can obtain twice as much insurance for less than the taxes that had previously been paying!
Here is an example for illustration purposes:
- Age: 50 Group Insurance Face Amount: $550,000
- New Term Insurance: $500,000 Tax Bracket: 40% Discount Rate: 4%
- At age 50 your Group Rate is 2.76%. The imputed Income: $1380. Your taxes (40%) are about $552.
- BY age 69 you would pay about $31,080 in taxes.
- Buying your own Term Policy, you will pay each year $825 in premium totaling $16,500.
Interested? Let us look into this with you?
GIFTS YOUR RETIREMENT ASSETS
Retirement plans such as IRAs, 401(k)s and other qualified plans provide a simple way to make a future charitable gift. On your plan’s beneficiary designation form, you simply indicate the amount or percentage you would like to leave to APF.
How a gift of retirement assets works:
- You complete a beneficiary designation form that names APF as a beneficiary of your IRA, 401(k) or other qualified plan.
- The funds you designate to APF will be distributed directly to APF tax-free and outside of your estate.
Benefits of giving through your retirement plan:
- Beneficiary designation gifts are easy to set up. Unlike the formality or expense of updating your will, you simply ask your retirement plan representative for a beneficiary designation form. This form, on file with your retirement plan’s administrator, determines who receives these assets.
- If your family’s circumstances change, you can alter the amount or percentage left to APF by completing a new form at any time.
- You can avoid both income and estate taxes levied on the remainder left in your retirement account by leaving it to a charity such as APF.
- You can continue to make withdrawals from your retirement plan during your lifetime.
- Retirement plans in particular are ideal to transfer to a charity such as APF because of the tax burden they may carry if paid to noncharitable beneficiaries, including your children.
Frequently asked questions about gifts of retirement assets
Why is this an efficient way to give?
Typically, retirement plan balances are subject to both income and estate taxes. Because APF is a nonprofit organization, we won’t pay income tax on the distribution nor will the gift be subject to estate tax. The entire amount comes to us, and your heirs may benefit from a reduced estate tax burden.
What information do I need to name APF as a beneficiary of my retirement account?
APF’s formal name is “American Physicians Fellowship Inc.” and our tax ID number is: 04-2207701.
Can I name other beneficiaries of my retirement plan in addition to APF?
Yes, you may make APF a partial beneficiary of your plan and direct the balance to your heirs, other individuals and other charitable organizations.
A gift of retirement assets is for you if…
- You have a 401(k), IRA or other retirement plan.
- You want to balance your charitable giving with providing for your family.
- You want to ensure the most tax-efficient distribution of the assets in your estate.