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Major Gifts and WKAR

Office of Major Giving
Melanie McGuiremelanie@wkar.org • (517) 884-4730

Planned Giving

Planned Giving

We would be most honored to be remembered as a part of your legacy.

Through creative gift planning strategies incorporated within your comprehensive estate plans, you may:

  •  Provide significant future financial support for WKAR designated per your wishes,
  •  Possibly reduce income taxes, 
  •  Potentially avoid or reduce capital gain and estate taxes,
  •  Retain a life income or increase spendable income.

We invite your inquiries and would be pleased to discuss with you, your family, and/or your advisors, how a planned gift to WKAR may be arranged to satisfy your philanthropic and financial goals.

To learn more about estate planning, please contact
Melanie McGuiremelanie@wkar.org • (517) 884-4730

Charitable Bequests
The vast majority of planned gifts established for, and ultimately received by, WKAR are the result of charitable bequests established in one's will or personal trust. Charitable bequests can take various forms including: specific bequests, residuary bequests, and contingent bequests. Such gifts enable you to make significant contributions that may not have been possible during your lifetime.

Gifts of Retirement Plan Assets
Do you know that your retirement plan assets can be gifted to WKAR tax free?  Retirement plan assets, when left to individual beneficiaries, will be taxed at that person’s ordinary income tax rate. When gifted to WKAR, WKAR will receive 100% of the remaining retirement plan assets and will not be reduced by any tax.

Gifts of New or Existing Whole-Life Insurance Policies
To avail yourself of this planned giving opportunity, WKAR development staff will work with you and the MSU Foundation to determine if this is the right option for you. Your premium payments each year will qualify for a charitable deduction if WKAR is the owner and beneficiary of the policy.

Charitable Life Income Plans
Charitable remainder trusts and charitable gift annuities offer a lifetime stream of income for you and/or your loved ones, will create a future gift to the program of your choice at WKAR, provide a charitable deduction, and complement your general estate plans. To learn more about charitable life income plans please contact WKAR development.

Legacy Society
The WKAR Legacy Society recognizes those who have established planned gifts for the future support of WKAR. Please let us know if you are interested in these gift planning options. We want to include you!

Trusts

Trusts

Are you looking for new ways to protect your family and your money? Would you like to cut estate taxes and probate costs, too? Would you like to remember WKAR in your estate plans?

A personal trust may be the answer for you. It can be the ideal solution when you would like to make a gift to WKAR, but first must satisfy your own family's financial needs.

Personal trusts let you have it both ways -- passing assets to your heirs with the least amount of tax, while making a future gift to WKAR. You can set up a trust for anyone, and for just about any purpose.

Living Trust
You might decide to create a trust for your own benefit; a trust that will remain operative while you are living.

Testamentary Trust
You can create a trust in your will -- known as a testamentary trust -- for the benefit of your spouse, your children, and other family members.

Charitable Life Income Plans
Charitable remainder trusts and charitable gift annuities represent creative developments in the evolution of charitable estate planning. Their flexibility enables you to provide a lifetime stream of income for yourself and/or your beneficiaries, satisfy philanthropic goals, and avoid substantial estate or transfer and capital gains taxes. To discuss these options in greater detail, please contact the gift planning professionals at WKAR.

Charitable Gift Annuities
The charitable gift annuity and deferred gift annuity are planned gifts that are remarkably simple to establish. In exchange for a transfer of cash or marketable securities, the MSU Foundation will contractually agree to pay a guaranteed stream of lifetime income to you and/or another beneficiary. Long-term appreciated securities are excellent assets to utilize when funding a charitable gift or deferred gift annuity.

Charitable Remainder Unitrust
A charitable remainder unitrust is similar to other types of trusts, except that WKAR receives the remainder interest as charitable remainderman. To qualify for the federal charitable deduction, the trust must be irrevocably funded.

Charitable Remainder Annuity Trust
A charitable remainder annuity trust shares common features with the unitrust except that the annuity trust provides a "fixed" rather than a "variable" income stream.

Charitable Lead Trust
The charitable lead trust is a way to pass property to heirs and pay less tax. It is the reverse of the charitable remainder trust in that it provides a gift of an income interest from the assets in the lead trust to WKAR for a term of years, after which time the assets in the trust either revert to the donor or pass to a beneficiary(ies) designated by the donor, such as the donor's children.

Endowments

Endowments

Imagine making a contribution that leaves a legacy to WKAR for generations to come. When you establish an endowment, you are assuring your gift will have a lasting impact. Without question, endowments are the most stable and advantageous source of funding for the station.

WHAT IS AN ENDOWMENT?

An endowment is a gift made on the condition that the principal is continually preserved and only a percentage of the interest is spent annually. Given their permanence, endowments assure excellence.

WKAR currently has more than $2.3 million invested in the University’s Common Investment Fund that yields about $115,000 annually to be spent according to the designation that the donors and the university have agreed upon. Every year, a number of new donors step forward to add to these totals.

Endowing your gift will ensure that WKAR will not only endure, but that it will prosper as well.

More info at givingto.msu.edu/wkar

Current Gifts and Pledges

Current Gifts and Pledges

Current gifts and pledges, often made in conjunction with planned giving strategies, can have a direct and immediate impact on WKAR in general or on programming and services of your choice.

Current gifts can be cash contributions that you give now and from which WKAR benefits immediately. Or, they may involve pledges payable over a five-year period but are not considered gifts from your estate.

Gifts of Cash
Gifts of cash consist of any immediate transfer of funds from you to WKAR. This can be accomplished through mailing a personal check made payable to WKAR/MSU.

Credit card gifts are also considered cash. You may call with your credit card number, amount of gift and desired designation and the amount will be charged to your Visa or MasterCard.

It is also safe and easy to make a cash gift with your credit card here at WKAR.org. Your gift will be processed immediately with the latest in secure internet technology.

Gifts of Securities
Gifts of securities can be made easily when your broker transfers shares electronically to WKAR.

Gifts of Tangible Personal Property?
A gift of tangible personal property -- such as a work of art, rare books, a stamp or coin collection -- entitles you to a charitable deduction based on the full fair market (appraised) value of the gift, if the gift complies with the standard of "related use" regarding the designation to and use by WKAR. Contact the WKAR development staff for an explanation and application. 

Gifts of Closely Held Stock
If you own a sizable block of or all of the stock in a closely held corporation, you may enjoy significant benefits by turning all or part of it into a gift to WKAR. Giving closely held stock is a unique philanthropic opportunity that can immediately benefit you and WKAR.

Office of Major Giving
Melanie McGuiremelanie@wkar.org • (517) 884-4730