Planned giving

Goodwill Houston’s Legacy Society honors those who have chosen to make a lasting impact by making a donation through their wills, estates, or retirement plans.  By becoming a member of the Legacy Society, you are ensuring that individuals with barriers to employment will be supported for years to come.

Here are a few examples of Planned Gifts:

Bequest: This is the most common form of planned giving.  The donor leaves property (cash, stocks, bonds, art or anything of value) to Goodwill Houston in his or her will.  This can either be a dollar or percentage.

            Sample bequest language:  "I, [name], of [city, state ZIP], give, devise and bequeath to Goodwill Houston, located at 1140 West Loop North, Houston, Texas 77055, [written amount or percentage of the estate or description of property] for its unrestricted use and purpose."

Charitable Gift Annuity: A contract between a donor and Goodwill Houston in which Goodwill pays the donor a fixed amount of income for the life of the donor.  In exchange, money or other assets are transferred to Goodwill. 

Charitable Lead Trust: A donor gives interest or annuity for a specified period to Goodwill and then either gets the assets back or they are given to heirs. 

Gifts of Life Insurance policies and IRA’s: Goodwill can be named as the primary, secondary or final beneficiary of an individual’s plan or the recipient of a percent of the proceeds.  Gifts of IRA’s and 401k’s are one of the easiest and most tax efficient ways to give.

Goodwill Houston recommends consulting with professional financial advisors when creating a planned gift. If you would like more information about Goodwill Houston and the Legacy Society, please contact:

Will Lufburrow
Interim Manager of Development and Special Events
713.699.6383
W_lufburrow@goodwillhouston.org

Other resources:
Goodwill Houston’s Tax Exemption number: 74-1285095
Why leave a legacy: http://www.leavealegacy.org/why_give.asp
IRS official website: http://www.irs.gov/