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PLANNED GIVING
BEMF Can Help You Accomplish Your Charitable and Personal Objectives

Boston Early Music Festival offers many ways to support our organization in perpetuity while achieving your own financial goals, which may include life-long income for you and/or family members, significant tax advantages, and the chance for your gift to go further.

Planned Gifts include Bequests, Life Income Gifts (Gift Annuities, Charitable Remainder Trusts), and gifts of real estate and other tangible property. Planned Gifts are advantageous for both the charity and the donor.

Each of the links to the right will provide more information about how you might benefit from entering into a planned giving arrangement with BEMF. All information in this section is for educational purposes only. A life income agreement must be executed by a licensed practicing attorney, preferably one with experience in estate planning.

If you would like additional information on how to include BEMF in your planned giving arrangements, please contact Kathleen Fay by email at kathy@bemf.org or by calling 617-661-1812.

Bequest

• A bequest (a gift made through your will) allows you to designate Boston Early Music Festival as the recipient of a particular asset or a share of your total estate.
• You may specify how you wish your gift to be used. BEMF would be pleased to consult with you to determine how your legacy can best support a particular initiative.
• A bequest allows you to retain assets that may be needed during your lifetime.
• You may be eligible for estate tax savings.
• Download sample language that you may use to include a bequest to BEMF in your will.

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Charitable Gift Annuity

• A Charitable Gift Annuity (CGA) is a simple agreement between you (age 55+) and Boston Early Music Festival.
• In exchange for an irrevocable transfer of assets, BEMF will pay you, or the beneficiaries you choose, a fixed income for life. The amount of the payment is determined by the age(s) of the beneficiary(ies).
• A portion of this income is usually tax-free.
• Potential additional tax benefits include a charitable income-tax deduction, estate-tax savings, and partial avoidance of capital gains taxes.
• When the annuity matures following the death of the beneficiary(ies), the remaining principal comes to BEMF to be used as you have stipulated.

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Deferred Charitable Gift Annuity

• A Deferred Charitable Gift Annuity (DCGA) is a simple agreement between you (age 40+) and Boston Early Music Festival.
• In exchange for an irrevocable transfer of assets, BEMF agrees to disburse guaranteed lifetime payments (starting on a future date chosen by the donor) to up to two designated beneficiaries. The amount of payment is determined by the age(s) of the beneficiary(ies).
• When the annuity matures following the death of the beneficiary(ies), the remaining principal comes to BEMF to be used as you have stipulated.
• A portion of income is usually tax-free.
• Potential additional tax benefits include a charitable income-tax deduction, estate-tax savings, and partial avoidance of capital-gains taxes.

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Charitable Remainder Trust

• A Charitable Remainder Trust (CRT) is a tax-exempt irrevocable trust arrangement. If you can consider an investment of at least $100,000, a CRT will enable you to create personalized income and tax benefits while making a generous gift to BEMF.
• Transfer cash or (highly appreciated) assets to the trust, and you or your beneficiary(ies) receive income for life or, if you choose, a specified term of years (not to exceed 20 years). You may choose from a Charitable Remainder Unitrust (CRUT) for an annual payment that will vary based on the investment performance, or a Charitable Remainder Annuity Trust (CRAT) for a fixed annual payment. The amount of the payment must be at least 5% of the trust’s value and is negotiated so that both you and BEMF will benefit from the trust over time.
• Transfers to a CRT will generate an income tax deduction for you, the donor, in the year of the contribution. Potential additional tax benefits exist, including estate tax savings and avoidance of capital gains taxes.
• At the end of trust, the principal is used by BEMF for the purpose chosen in consultation with you.

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Retained Life Estate

• You use your primary residence as a gift vehicle, while retaining the right to live in it for life.
• A Retained Life Estate (RLE) permits you to keep your home or farm for as long as you choose.  You can live in it for life or until you are ready to move out, after which the property comes to BEMF. 
• When the property comes to BEMF, it will most likely be sold, with the proceeds used according to your wishes.
• You receive a significant charitable income tax deduction. In fact, if you create an RLE and later choose to move out of the home, you will get two tax deductions from your property.
• An RLE allows you to make a significant gift to BEMF while maintaining your lifestyle by retaining liquid assets (cash, securities, IRAs).
• An RLE may help with the disposition of an asset unwanted by family members, who wish to avoid the challenges of maintaining the property, including upkeep, taxes, and insurance.

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Charitable Lead Trust

• A Charitable Lead Trust (CLT) can be a good option if you have a substantial estate (e.g., one that could be subject to federal estate tax) and wish to transfer assets to family members while making a significant gift to BEMF.
• The purpose of the CLT is to reduce taxes on your estate while maintaining your family's control of the estate's assets. You place an asset in a CLT, which pays an income to BEMF for a specified length of time. At the end of the trust term, your designated beneficiaries receive the appreciated asset with no additional taxes.
• Like a Charitable Remainder Trust, a CLT offers current income tax deductions and a reduction of capital gains taxes. The difference is the CLT flip-flops the roles of the donor and the charity. BEMF becomes the income beneficiary, receiving a steady stream of income during your lifetime. At your death, beneficiaries you have named then receive the bulk of the CLT’s assets. Like the CRT, the CLT also receives the same preferential tax treatment, but unlike the standard planned gift arrangement that results in a charitable income tax deduction, the lead trust provides a gift and estate tax deduction.
• A CLT is an excellent way to transfer wealth to your heirs, in that taxes due for the transfer to heirs are paid when the CLT is created. At the end of the trust, the transfer is entirely tax-free.

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Other Planned Gift Vehicles

If you would like to discuss any form of Planned Gift that does not appear elsewhere in this section, or if you have questions about the most appropriate planned gift for your personal philanthropic and tax situation, please contact your personal financial advisor or tax planner, or contact Kathleen Fay by email at kathy@bemf.org or by calling 617-661-1812.