Making the Cultural & History Center a Reality
with Charitible Giving
By now all members are sure to be aware that the Mt. Horeb Area Historical Society needs to find a new home for its archives and collections. A major fundraising campaign is in progress.
Planned giving can make this the perfect opportunity for a win-win situation. There is no doubt that the Historical Society will be a winner because charitable gifts will allow for an expanded, climate-controlled facility for housing its thousands of objects and archival materials.
Donors are rewarded with tangible and intangible benefits. Not only do charitable gifts provide a tax deduction that helps to reduce income taxes and lessen the impact of other taxes, but they also provide the donor with a feeling of having made a difference.
An expanded office area will benefit the Society’s curators and visitors who come to do research. Other winners include the businesses and residents of Mt. Horeb and surrounding communities and, of course, let us not forget that future generations might be the biggest winners of all. So, you see, everyone’s a winner!
Now may be a good time for potential donors to begin thinking about the various options that can be used to support the Society in its efforts to preserve local history.
1. Cash: The Mt. Horeb Area Historical Society receives most of its financial support in the form of cash – from membership dues, memorials, grants, matching donations, the donation box at the museum and various other sources. The Society could not exist without these cash gifts, yet it’s the easiest way to give while receiving a tax deduction.
Click Here > For Donation Form
2. Appreciated Securities: Gifts of this type are becoming increasingly popular. By donating stock or mutual fund shares that have increased in value, the donor can take a charitable deduction for the fair market value of the securities and avoid paying the capital gains tax. The Mt. Horeb Area Historical Society has established an account at Edward Jones that can be used for making transfers of securities as easy as possible.
3. Distributions from IRAs: Individuals have always had the option of naming charitable organizations as beneficiaries of their retirement accounts at the end of their lifetime. But only until the end of 2007 can donors, who are at least 70-1/2, make a distribution directly from their IRA to a specified charity or charities. These distributions are tax-free and satisfy the required minimum distribution requirements.
4. Other Non-Cash Items: This may include a paid-up life insurance policy that is no longer needed, remnants of an estate or an entire estate that can be turned into liquid assets, or even real estate.
Whether during the donor’s lifetime or through the donor’s estate, planned giving helps to create winners for years to come.
If you would like to discuss any of these possibilities, please contact Brian Bigler at 437-7776 or Darlene Nowak at 437-4809. Before making any major financial decisions, please consult a financial advisor or attorney.
