Pet Helpers - Donate
Planned Giving
In 1978, Carol Linville started Pet Helpers with her dream to save all adoptable animals from euthanasia. Today, 45 years later, Pet Helpers has saved more than 54,000 animals and Carol’s dream has become a legacy of love.
Wouldn’t you like to leave your legacy of love by making a planned gift to Pet Helpers? The work we have accomplished over the last four decades, and the many lives we have saved, are a direct result of our supporters’ generosity. We are always grateful when a supporter chooses to make a planned gift or to remember Pet Helpers in his/her estate planning, and are honored to consider any gift of any type, in any amount.
Like Carol Linville, you want to give to the causes you care about, and you want to balance between giving today and planning for future needs. Whatever you are able to give today helps, and your future plans do, too. Fortunately, there are many choices that allow you to help with our work, both today and tomorrow.
Request a copy of our legacy brochure, or if you have made plans to leave a gift in your will, please notify us of your intention by emailing Melissa Susko, Executive Director, at msusko@pethelpers.org or calling (843) 531-6164.
LEAVE YOUR LEGACY THROUGH PLANNED GIVING
There are many opportunities to donate through planned gifts. Your donation to Pet Helpers is an investment in our community to help us save abused animals of the Lowcountry and support our community. We appreciate your gifts to support and strengthen Pet Helpers’ many excellent programs. By structuring future gifts with tax benefits and income opportunities in mind, you may be able to achieve some additional financial goals as well. Several options for giving are listed below to help you plan for your personal needs.
Tax-Wise Planned Giving Options
Bequest: This is the most popular form of planned giving because it is relatively straightforward. To make a bequest, all you have to do is make a simple designation of a given amount or a percentage of your estate that you would like donated in your will or trust. It costs nothing during your lifetime and is easily revocable if your situation changes. Because there are many “Humane Societies,” be sure that your designation clearly states “Pet Helpers Adoption Center.” Outright gifts allow donors to see gifts at work during their lifetime. All outright gifts can result in income tax savings, but donors may realize multiple benefits by carefully structuring such gifts. Donors may give unrestricted funds or choose to target a gift to a particular program. We offer various programs, (see below) such as structured gifts of cash, personal property, real estate, securities, closely held stock, and founders stock.
Cash - Always the Simplest Way to Give
A cash donation is always greatly appreciated. If you wish to make a straightforward gift of cash, your gift is tax-deductible in the year in which it is made.
Personal Property - Your Valuable Possessions Can Benefit Pet Helpers
Any type of asset can be accepted by Pet Helpers as a charitable contribution, including personal property such as art, automobiles, jewelry, and antiques. However, donors can deduct the fair market value of the gift only if it is related to Pet Helpers’ function as an animal care institution. For gifts that Pet Helpers must sell to support its animal care mission, donors can deduct only the cost basis. Call us to discuss the appraisal and classification of a donation of personal property. (The restriction regarding direct relationship to Pet Helpers’ animal mission does not apply to bequests, only to lifetime gifts.) Your estate can deduct the fair market value of any bequest of personal property.
Securities – Enjoy Double Tax Savings
Gifts of appreciated securities can provide substantial income tax savings. If you have held securities for more than a year, you are allowed to deduct the market value of the securities without paying tax on the appreciation, for an amount up to 30% of your adjusted gross income in the year you donate. Amounts over 30% can be used over the next five years. Transfer the stock to Pet Helpers to make full use of potential tax savings.
Real Estate – Maximize the Value of Your Property Regardless of the Market
A gift of real estate is often an excellent way to support Pet Helpers. During the year that you transfer title to Pet Helpers, you can take a charitable income tax deduction for up to 30% of your adjusted gross income. Amounts over 30% can be carried over for use during the next five years. To take advantage of potential tax deductions, it is important that you transfer title to appreciated real estate that you have held more than a year to Pet Helpers rather than selling and donating the proceeds. You can then use the fair market value to establish your charitable deduction without being subject to capital gains tax on a sale.
Real estate gifts can offer many benefits to donors, but they can be complicated. We ask that you discuss your situation with your financial advisor who can evaluate your potential give to decide if the gift can be accepted, with marketability an important factor, and can insure that you structure the gift to your advantage.
Life Insurance – A Good Way to Insure Many Lives for Years to Come
A gift of life insurance that you no longer need is another way to fulfill your charitable goals. You can receive a current income tax charitable deduction when you assign ownership of a policy to Pet Helpers and name us as the beneficiary of a life insurance policy. If the policy is not paid in full, you can take a deduction for the annual premiums. Even if you wish to continue to hold your life insurance policy, you can still name Pet Helpers as a beneficiary or contingent beneficiary of the policy.
Charitable Bequests: Remembering Pet Helpers in Your Will
Charitable bequests allow you to contribute to Pet Helpers without giving away assets you may need during your lifetime. Your legal advisor can provide you with language to include in your will that ensures that your wishes will be carried out. As with any gift, you can designate a program to support or make an unrestricted bequest and let Pet Helpers determine the best use for the donation. One popular option is to make a bequest in memory or in honor, of a loved one. Another is to establish an endowment that will provide income in perpetuity. It is helpful if you inform Pet Helpers of your bequest so the shelter can assure that your gift is properly structured and can be used as you wish. We honor those who remember Pet Helpers in their wills with a plaque in our Adoption Center.
Cash and Real Property
Your will can designate Pet Helpers as the beneficiary of either a specific amount or a bequest that is a fixed percentage of your estate. You can bequeath securities, real estate, or other property. If your first priority is your family’s well-being, you can make your gift contingent that other conditions of the will be fulfilled before Pet Helpers receives a gift. You can also bequeath the assets that remain after other bequests are met. Your estate receives the benefit of freedom from federal estate taxes for the full value of the gift. This option allows flexibility in planning. If your needs change, you can alter a bequest at any time by signing a new will or amending your will or trust.
Retirement Plan Assets
Assets you hold in an individual retirement accounts, such as IRAs, can be bequeathed to Pet Helpers. This can be done by individual account or in total. The advantage of bequeathing such retirement assets to a charitable institution is that the bequest escapes both deferred income tax and estate tax that comes due if the assets are transferred to individuals.
Resources for Executors, Attorneys and Family
If you are helping to administer an estate or trust or have information regarding an asset in which Pet Helpers, Inc. is named as a beneficiary, please contact us.
Legal name: Pet Helpers, Inc.
Address: 1447 Folly Road
Charleston, SC 29412
Federal tax ID# 57-0802283
Pet Helpers is recognized as a tax-exempt organization under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.
Pet Helpers, Inc. does not provide tax, legal or accounting advice. This material has been prepared for informational purposes only, and is not intended to provide, and should not be relied on for, tax, legal or accounting advice. You should consult your own tax, legal and accounting advisors before engaging in any transaction.