Elon Homes and Schools for Children

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We appreciate the generous support of the many people who make Elon Homes and Schools for Children one of their philanthropic priorities.

The choice of how to give to our programs can be important when determining how much you can contribute. The alternatives outlined below may make it possible for you to make charitable gifts while preserving your personal economic security.

Planned gifts may take many forms, such as:

Many people discover that their long-range estate and financial plans provide a thoughtful way to make a gift in perpetuity, as a legacy for themselves or in honor or in memory of a loved one or special friend. Following are a few possibilities to consider.

A gift included in your will or living trust can establish a lasting legacy.
A gift of excess retirement funds, such as pension plans or Individual Retirement Accounts (IRA), may allow you to give more while eliminating taxes that may otherwise largely deplete these assets. In addition, the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 includes the immediate and retroactive extension of the popular Pension Protection Act provision which allows taxpayers over 70 ½ to make tax-free distributions from their traditional and Roth IRAs (Individual Retirement Accounts) directly to charity in 2008 and 2009.
A gift of life insurance that has fulfilled its original purpose may offer excellent tax benefits. Policies that you purchased to protect a loved one who no longer needs that protection can be an excellent way to make a gift in honor of that person.

$studying$ Bequest Language
To create a bequest by will to a school or other charitable organization, simply inform your attorney when you are reviewing your plans. Often the change does not necessitate a new will but simply the addition of a codicil to your existing will.

To name Elon Homes and Schools for Children, or any charitable organization in your will or trusts, give your attorney its full legal name to use. To make a bequest to Elon Homes and Schools for Children use the following statement: "I leave to Elon Homes and Schools for Children, $____ (or ____% of my estate or specific property) (or, all remaining assets and residue from my estate)."

Gifts made in any of these ways may serve to honor or remember special loved ones.

Please contact Jane Grosse at (336) 584-0091 ext. 205 for information about making a gift to Elon Homes and Schools for Children or for further information about any of the above giving options.

Memorial Gifts
What better way to remember a beloved or special person in your life than to give a gift to help a child? Families often express to us their appreciation for these thoughtful gifts and say they are a comfort to them. Each memorial gifts is acknowledged to the family in the quarterly newsletter. Memorial gifts benefit the children, youth and families served by the Family Foster Care Program, Our Elementary Program, Kennedy Charter School and Kids Central of the Carolinas.

Honor Gifts
Honor gifts are a wonderful tribute to special personal, business and professional relationships. The honored individual is notified promptly with a handsome card and is recognized in the quarterly newsletter. Hundreds of children and youth benefit each year from the Elon Homes and Schools for Children core programs which these gifts support. Honor gifts are a meaningful way to honor someone helping children.

What better way to honor or remember a special person in your life than to give a gift in their name to help a child in need?

Through charitable gift annuities, you can arrange for additional income that is predictable and will continue for as long as you and/or another loved one live. This popular plan helps donors increase spendable income, provide for asset management, and reduce gift, estate and income taxes.Under the terms of a charitable gift annuity, you make a gift of cash or appreciated securities through a simple agreement that provides for regular, fixed payments that are designed not to decrease in size or frequency, regardless of interest rate changes or stock market fluctuations.

Gift annuities provide additional tax and financial benefits:
	Freedom from worry about management of assets used to fund the gift annuity.
	A generous federal income tax deduction for a portion of the amount transferred.
	Part of each payment is received free from income tax for a period of time.
	Capital gains tax can be bypassed at the time of the gift.
	Estate taxes and probate expense and delay can be avoided on amounts used to fund your gift annuity.
	Payments that also benefit family or other loved ones if you wish.

After considering the properties you own, you may find giving something other than cash to be an appealing alternative. Giving non-cash property enables you to make a meaningful gift while conserving cash for other uses and enjoying what may be greater tax savings than those provided by gifts of cash.

Giving Appreciated Property
If you have non-cash property, such as stocks and mutual funds, that has grown in value (appreciated) and been held long-term (more than one year), you can generally enjoy greater tax savings from giving such property than from giving an equivalent amount of cash. That's because a gift of appreciated property lets you bypass capital gain tax that could be due if you sold the asset. You are also entitled to a charitable deduction based on the property's current value, including the "paper profits" you have earned since you have owned it.

Giving Depreciated Property
If you have stock or other property that has decreased in value, you will normally save more in taxes by selling them and giving the proceeds. You may then be able to claim a capital loss on your tax return. You can also deduct the cash proceeds you give as a charitable gift. The result can be to enjoy tax deductions that amount to more than the current value of the asset.

Trusts are used today to pass property to heirs and/or charitable organizations; manage property; and avoid probate and save taxes.

To name Elon Homes for Children, Inc. or any charitable organization in your will or trusts, give your attorney its full name to use.

In today's environment it is more important than ever to carefully consider your charitable gifts and make them in the most cost effective ways. Time devoted to deciding what to give, when to give and how to give can make a difference when considering how much you are able to give.

Three common themes can help ensure that your gifts have the greatest possible impact:

Giving the right property.
Giving at the right time.
Giving in the right way.

Please contact us to request a complimentary copy of "Your Guide to Effective Giving in 2012" for further information that can help you make gifts while meeting other important financial goals. This Guide can be a starting point to share with your advisors in discussing ideas you believe may be applicable to you. Be assured that your gifts to Elon Homes and Schools for Children are greatly appreciated and will be used wisely.

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