LIFE INCOME GIFTS

Did you know that you can make a gift to the Bob Mizer Foundation that will also guarantee a continuous stream of income for you and/or your loved ones?  In fact, there are a variety of so called "income producing gifts" that may help you to: 

• Create a supplemental source of retirement income;
• Provide a protected source of income for your spouse or other loved ones who survive you;
• Arrange funds to cover educational expenses for your children or grandchildren;
• Increase your income from low yielding stocks, certificates of deposit or other underperforming assets.

CHARITABLE REMAINDER TRUSTS

Trusts can be created to accomplish a wide range of goals.  They allow a person to arrange for a property to be put first to one use and then to another. A charitable remainder trust (CRT) offers a way to make a meaningful legacy gift to the Bob Mizer Foundation while first providing income for yourself or others you name.

CRT's work like this:

1. You, as the donor, create a trust with the assistance of an appropriate advisor.
2. You transfer the cash or other property to the trust to be managed by a trustee. The trustee can be you, a bank/trust company or a charity.
3. You receive an income tax deduction in the year you create the trust.
4. The trustee manages the trust’s holdings for the beneficiaries. You or others you name are called the “income beneficiaries” and the Bob Mizer Foundation is the “charitable beneficiary.”
5. Each year a distribution from the assets in the trust is paid to the income beneficiaries.
6. Payments continue until the trust is “dissolved.” The trust document specifies when this is to occur, such as the death of the last beneficiary or after a stated period of time.
7. When the trust is dissolved its assets are distributed to the Bob Mizer Foundation. This gift portion is known as the “charitable remainder.”

Charitable remainder trusts can be designed to pay either fixed, unchanging income or an income that will vary with the performance of the trust assets. The type most appropriate for you will of course depend upon your needs and circumstances. The Bob Mizer Foundation can help you determine which type of CRT will work best for you.

At no obligation or cost, the Bob Mizer Foundation will work with you and your professional advisors to determine which type of Charitable Remainder Trust will best address your particular needs. With our expertise and illustration capabilities, you will be equipped to make an informed decision as to whether and which charitable remainder trust  strategy will be most appropriate for you and your circumstances.

CHARITABLE LEAD TRUSTS

Some individuals would like to see the Bob Mizer Foundation have use of their gift now, while also reserving benefits from the gift for family members to use later. Charitable Lead Trusts are essentially the opposite of charitable remainder trusts. In this arrangement, a donor contributes property irrevocably to a trust. The trustee pays an income to a charity such as the Bob Mizer Foundation for the donor’s lifetime or over a period of years. At the end of the term, the trust property is distributed back to the donor or to the donor’s heirs.

The primary estate planning advantage of charitable lead trusts is that the property contributed is valued for estate and gift tax purposes as of the date of contribution. This means that if you have an asset this is likely to appreciate substantially in value over time and from which you do not need the income - such as real estate – you may wish to remove it from your estate now by contributing it to a charitable lead trust. When your heirs receive it they will not have to pay gift or estate tax on the increase in value between the date of contribution and the date of distribution.

This type of gift plan can be complex but works very well in testamentary planning. Some individuals set up several charitable lead trusts varying the timing of distribution assets to loved ones. Reducing estate tax, timing the receipt of an inheritance, and providing for a charitable gift are just a few of the objectives that can be met through the use of a charitable lead trust.

CHARITABLE GIFT ANNUITIES

To create a life income gift does not require an extraordinary amount of wealth. With a gift of only $10,000 you can create a Charitable Gift Annuity. Here’s how it works:

1. You transfer cash or other assets to the Bob Mizer Foundation to fund a gift annuity agreement.
2. You’ll receive a fixed payment each year. The amount of your payment is a percentage of your gift, determined by your age when the gift agreement is arranged.
3. You benefit from an immediate tax deduction. And, part of each annual payment you receive may be tax free for a number of years.
4. You can also choose to name a second individual to receive payments with you for her lifetime. In a joint-life gift annuity, the payments and deductions are less since the annuity is spread over two lives.
5. Whatever asset value remains from the original gift at the death of the annuitant(s) is the gift to the Bob Mizer Foundation.

Example: Joe, age 80, gives $10,000 cash to establish a gift annuity with the Bob Mizer Foundation. The payment rate at age 80 is 8.0% (Check with us for current rates and estimated tax savings before you give.) He will receive annuity income each year for life and a tax deduction in the year he gives.

Amount transferred to the Bob Mizer Foundation = $10,000
Annuity Rate = 8.0%
Annual payment to Joe for life = $800
Immediate income tax deduction = $4855

Many donors find it convenient to arrange a new gift annuity agreement each year. Since payment rates for older donors are higher than for younger ones, each new gift annuity generally brings larger annual payments.

BEQUESTS

MEMORIAL AND HONOR GIFTS

Bob Mizer Foundation gratefully recognizes gifts made in memory or in honor of a friend, family member, or significant member of the Foundation community.

BEQUEST

A gift provided for in your will that may be a percentage of your estate, the residual of the estate, a certain item, or specific dollar amount. Estate taxes may be reduced through a bequest.

Friends and relatives are frequently unsure of what to do with artwork "outside of the mainstream". We have heard of dozens of instances where it is simply thrown in the trash to avoid embarrassment to family. Passing it on to the Bob Mizer Foundation is a legacy for yourself, and the wonderful photography that you have enjoyed.

The Bob Mizer Foundation is unique in its purpose, goals, and projects. Your bequest helps to insure the Foundation remains strong and healthy and a resource for new generations.

CHARITABLE REMAINDER TRUSTS

You may wish to name Bob Mizer Foundation as a recipient of a remainder trust which provides either a fixed or variable life income for you and your family. Part of the trust qualifies for an income deduction, and at the death of the last beneficiary, the assets of the trust would be distributed to Bob Mizer Foundation.

For questions about giving to the Bob Mizer Foundation, please contact Dennis Bell, Executive Director,  from our contact page.

CASH GIFT

THE EASIEST WAY TO GIVE

Cash - usually in the form of a check - is probably the most common and popular type of gift. Checks should be made payable to the Bob Mizer Foundation.  When you itemize your deductions, your gifts of cash may be deducted on your federal income tax return. Amounts up to 50 percent of your adjusted gross income may be deducted; any excess can be deducted over the next five years. Your actual savings depend on your tax rate and other factors. Usually, the higher your tax rate, the greater your savings. Gifts of cash are completed when delivered or mailed.

ESTATE GIFTS

Naming the Bob Mizer Foundation as a beneficiary of your estate today will serve to remind your friends and neighbors in the community that, throughout your lifetime and beyond, you cared for this genre of photography and appreciated the master photographers who invoked change. Certainly there is no better way to be remembered and no better gift to leave behind. Your legacy in this regard is easy to create and can cost nothing to establish. In fact, doing so may save your estate a great deal in taxes.

THE LEGACY APERTURE

The Legacy Aperture was established to recognize and honor our friends who have included Bob Mizer Foundation in their estate plans.  They have done so by naming BMF as a beneficiary to wills, living trusts, IRAs, life insurance and other life-income gifts or who have made an outright gift to the Bob Mizer Foundation Endowment Fund.

With their consent, members of the Legacy Aperture are recognized in our newsletter  and in our Annual Report.  They also receive invitations to periodic events to keep them up-to-date on Bob Mizer Foundation's programs and campaigns.

If you already qualify for membership in the Legacy Aperture , or wish to learn more about joining, please contact Bob Mizer Foundation's Director .

WILLS

Including the Bob Mizer Foundation in your will or living trust is one of the easiest ways to make an important difference in the future of the foundation. It’s generally as simple as adding a brief statement to your estate documents. (Often you can just add a codicil to an existing document.) While this type of gift creates no immediate tax benefits, it will be completely tax deductible for estate tax purposes.

This method also allows you to specify exactly how you'd like to distribute your assets. You can make a specific bequest by identifying a specific parcel of real estate, block of stock, or other clearly identified item. Or you can make a cash bequest of a specific percentage of your estate. Finally you can make a residual bequest from the remaining assets in your estate after all other bequests and settlement costs are satisfied.

The following are ways that you can name the Bob Mizer Foundation as a beneficiary in your will.

Percentage Gift - Name the Bob Mizer Foundation as a percentage beneficiary in your will. 

Example: “I hereby give, devise and bequeath an amount equal to _____% (_________ percent) of the total value of my estate to the Bob Mizer Foundation located at 920 Larkin St, San Francisco, CA 94109.”
Residuary Gift - Name the Bob Mizer Foundation as a residuary beneficiary in your will. The residuary of one’s estate is anything that is not specifically left to someone and which remains after the payment of all costs of estate administration.

Example: “I hereby give, devise and bequeath the residuary of my estate to the Bob Mizer Foundation located at 920 Larkin St, San Francisco, CA 94109.”
Specific Gift - Name the Bob Mizer Foundation as beneficiary of a specific monetary amount from your estate or a specific asset or group of assets (such as real property, securities or tangible personal property) from your estate.

Example: “I hereby give, devise and bequeath all my right, title and interest in [description of real property, securities or tangible personal property i.e ‘my personal residence located at 123 Main Street, Anytown, USA’] to the Bob Mizer Foundation located at 920 Larkin St, San Francisco, CA 94109.”

TRUSTS

Many people use a trust as part of their estate plan. While your attorney is responsible for the legal aspects of your trust, naming the Bob Mizer Foundation as a beneficiary can easily be done. The following are options for naming the Bob Mizer Foundation as a beneficiary of your trust estate.

Percentage Gift - Name the Bob Mizer Foundation as a percentage beneficiary of your trust estate; or

Specific Gift - Name the Bob Mizer Foundation as beneficiary of a specific monetary amount from your trust estate or a specific asset or group of assets (such as real property, securities or tangible personal property) from your trust estate.

LIFE INSURANCE

If time has diminished or alleviated your need for life insurance, naming the Bob Mizer Foundation as a beneficiary of all, or a percentage of, your existing life insurance policy is an easy way to make an estate gift and establish your legacy.

To name the Bob Mizer Foundation as a beneficiary of your existing life insurance policy, all you need to do is ask the life insurance company for a change of beneficiary form and simply name the Bob Mizer Foundation as your primary or contingent beneficiary.

RETIREMENT PLANS

Many of us have diligently saved for retirement through various tax deferred retirement plans. IRA, SEP IRA, SIMPLE IRA, 401(k), 457, 403(b)/TSA, etc., the list of tax deferred retirement plans goes on and on. Although they each have their own unique rules, they all share one very unattractive feature: All are subject to both estate and income taxation at death. In a worst-case scenario, this double taxation can have the negative effect of reducing the amount that your beneficiary may actually receive by up to 70%. For example, from a retirement account that was valued at $1,000,000 prior to death, the government could receive up to $800,000 in estate and income taxes while your beneficiary would receive only $200,000.

Because a vast majority of your retirement plan assets might be paid to the government in the form of taxes, the best option for you may be to leave your retirement plan assets to a charity upon your death. By naming the Bob Mizer Foundation as a beneficiary of all, or a percentage of, your retirement plan assets, you at least will have the comfort of knowing that all the retirement assets you decide to leave to the Bob Mizer Foundation will be used to protect and preserve the legacy of Bob Mizer and others like him.

To name the Bob Mizer Foundation as a beneficiary on any of your retirement plan accounts, all you need to do is ask the custodian or retirement plan administrator for a change of beneficiary form and simply name the Bob Mizer Foundation as your primary or contingent beneficiary.

ANNUITIES

Annuities can be great retirement savings vehicles that, just like your retirement plan accounts, have enjoyed years of tax-deferred growth. Unfortunately, as with your retirement plan accounts, your annuity investments are subject to both estate and income taxation at death.

Once again, because a vast majority of your annuity investments might be paid to the government in the form of taxes, the best option for you may be to leave your annuity investments to a charity upon your death. By naming the Bob Mizer Foundation as a beneficiary of all or a percentage of your annuity investments, you will have the comfort of knowing that your legacy of concern for the ocean environment will be established in perpetuity.

To name the Bob Mizer Foundation as a beneficiary on any of your annuity investments, all you need to do is ask the annuity company for a change of beneficiary form and simply name the Bob Mizer Foundation as your primary or contingent beneficiary.

REAL PROPERTY

A gift of real property in San Francisco has given the Bob Mizer Foundation a new home and linked the legacy of Bob Mizer to the donors.  Owning a home, a vacation home, a commercial building, an undeveloped parcel of land or even a farm, provides one with a sense of comfort and financial security. But what about when you pass away, when you no longer have a use or need for owning real property? What will become of the property? How will the property be used?

By naming the Bob Mizer Foundation as the beneficiary of your real property, you will have the comfort of knowing that your real property will be used to support the Foundation’s mission related programs. By simply agreeing to give the Bob Mizer Foundation your real property at that time when you no longer have a use or need for it, you will forever establish your legacy of commitment to the Bob Mizer Foundation. Certainly there is no better way to be remembered and no better gift to leave behind.

To learn more about including Bob Mizer Foundation in your estate plans please contact Bob Mizer Foundation Director .

If you have already made a provision in your estate plans for the Bob Mizer Foundation please let us know so that we may recognize you and appropriately thank you for your commitment and support. 

We welcome the opportunity to show you the potential benefits of making a gift to support our work. Personal discussions, visits, or written presentations incur no obligation on your part, and of course, all information discussed is confidential. Contact us today. This website illustrates various ways of making a gift to the Bob Mizer Foundation. While we believe it to be accurate the information is not a substitute for legal advice from your tax advisor and/or your estate planning advisor.

SECURITIES AND MUTUAL FUNDS

Current tax laws make it possible for you to make a gift of appreciated securities to the Bob Mizer Foundation at remarkably low after-tax cost. When you give appreciated property, you not only receive a deduction for the full value of the asset, but you also avoid the capital gains tax that would have been due if you had sold the property. The treatment of capital gains varies from state to state so be sure to consult your tax advisor regarding capital gains in your state.

It is important to remember that in order to maximize the tax benefit available to you the shares you wish to donate MUST be transferred to the Bob Mizer Foundation first, before they are sold. The value of your contribution is determined by the date on which the gift of shares is complete - typically the date of transfer – or whenever the shares are under the control of the Bob Mizer Foundation. The value of the gift is calculated by averaging the high and low sales price per share on the date the transfer is completed and multiplying it by the number of shares transferred.

You can also contribute shares of a mutual fund. This typically takes a bit more time than a transfer of shares of stock but it is still an excellent way to make a gift of appreciated securities to the Bob Mizer Foundation. Generally, to donate shares of a mutual fund, you will be required to establish an account in the name of the Bob Mizer Foundation at the mutual fund company and then transfer the shares to this new account. As with stocks, the value of the contribution is determined by the date on which the shares come under the control of the Bob Mizer Foundation.

The Bob Mizer Foundation will also consider gifts of bonds, restricted stocks, closely held stocks and/or S Corporation stocks. However all of these will be evaluated on a case by case basis.

For more information on donating securities and mutual funds, please contact Bob Mizer Foundation's treasurer.

We welcome the opportunity to show you the potential benefits of making a gift to support our work. Personal discussions, visits, or written presentations incur no obligation on your part, and of course, all information discussed is confidential. Contact us today. This website illustrates various ways of making a gift to the Surfrider Foundation. While we believe it to be accurate the information is not a substitute for legal advice from your tax advisor and/or your estate planning advisor.