Bequests

Planned giving is sometimes referred to as gift planning or legacy giving. It is a way to support non-profits that enable you as a philanthropic donor to make larger gifts than you could make from ordinary income.

Some planned gifts provide life-long income to you. Other gift plans use estate and tax planning to provide for charity and heirs in ways that maximize the gift and/or minimize its impact on the donor’s estate.

Whether you use cash, appreciated securities/stock, real estate, partnership interests, personal property, life insurance, a retirement plan, etc., the benefits of funding a planned gift can make this type of charitable giving very attractive to everyone concerned.

Karmê Chöling Shambhala Meditation Center is a Section 501(c)(3) charitable organization . Gifts are tax deductible to the full extent allowable under IRS regulations.

It is important to consult with your own attorney, accountant, and financial advisors to determine if any of the below gift options are appropriate for you. If you are planning to leave Karmê Chöling a lasting gift, please consider letting us know.

Make a bequest in your will:  A bequest to Karmê Chöling in your will is the easiest and most common method of making a planned gift; also, as a charitable bequest, it is deductible when calculating any estate taxes. There is no limit to the amount of a charitable deduction.

Make a gift of real estate property: Subject to meeting the criteria of its gift acceptance policies, Karmê Chöling will accept gifts of tangible personal property when the items are useful to Karmê Chöling in the pursuit of its non-profit mission or easily liquidated. Under the right circumstances, Karmê Chöling may also accept gifts of real estate, including a remainder interest, which allows you and your spouse to continue occupying the real estate for life.

Making a gift of life insurance:  You can contribute a policy which you no longer need or make Karmê Chöling a designated beneficiary for all or a portion of the proceeds, resulting in either an immediate income tax deduction or a reduction of your estate for purposes of estate taxes.

Name Karmê Chöling as a beneficiary of your IRA or retirement plan:  You can have a portion or all of your IRA or retirement plan paid out to Karmê Chöling. The tax advantage stems from the fact that most retirement plans (other than Roth IRAs) are subject to income taxes – and possibly estate taxes – if left to an individual beneficiary. However, a charity that is named as the beneficiary does not pay income or estate taxes on the distribution.

Charitable gift annuities:  Make a lifetime gift, generating income and tax deductions for you and a future gift to Karmê Chöling. You can create a charitable gift annuity CGA) or a charitable remainder trust (CRT) which will provide you and/or a loved one with a fixed annual income for life – often at a higher rate than provided by the securities donated; after which the remaining funds go to Karmê Chöling. In addition, you receive a charitable income tax deduction for part of your gift as allowed by the IRS. A charitable lead trust (CLT) allows you to provide Karmê Chöling with income from the CLT for a period of years or for the life of an individual. When the trust terminates, the assets are distributed back to you or to other individuals chosen by you.

Types of Bequests

There are a number of ways you can make a bequest to Karmê Chöling.

Specific Bequest: A specific bequest involves making a gift of a specific asset such as real estate, a car, other property or a gift for a specific dollar amount. For example, you may wish to leave your home or $10,000 to Karmê Chöling.

Percentage Bequest: Another kind of specific bequest involves leaving a specific percentage of your overall estate to charity. For example, you may wish to leave 10% of your estate to Karmê Chöling.

Residual Bequest: A residual bequest is made from the balance of an estate after the will or trust has given away each of the specific bequests. A common residual bequest involves leaving a percentage of the residue of the estate to charity. For example, you may wish to leave 30% of the residue of your estate to Karmê Chöling.

Contingent Bequest: A contingent bequest is made to charity only if the purpose of the primary bequest cannot be met. For example, you could leave specific property, such as a vacation home, to a relative, but the bequest language could provide that if the relative is not alive at the time of your death, the vacation home will go to Karmê Chöling.

Bequest Language

In order to make a bequest, you should speak with your attorney. Your attorney can help you include a bequest to Karmê Chöling in your estate plan. We have provided some basic bequest language to assist you and your attorney.

1. Specific Bequest

If you are considering making an outright bequest to Karmê Chöling, we recommend the following language:

Bequest of a Specific Dollar Amount:

I hereby give, devise and bequeath (X DOLLARS) to Karmê Chöling, a Colorado nonprofit corporation located at 369 Patneaude Lane, Barnet, VT 05821, Federal Tax ID #23-7081270, for Karmê Chöling’s general use and purpose.

Bequest of Specific Personal Property:

I hereby give, devise and bequeath (DESCRIPTION OF PROPERTY) to Karmê Chöling, a Colorado nonprofit corporation located at 369 Patneaude Lane, Barnet, VT 05821, Federal Tax ID #23-7081270, for Karmê Chöling’s general use and purpose.

Bequest of Specific Real Estate:

I hereby give, devise and bequeath all of the right, title and interest in and to the real estate located at (ADDRESS AND DESCRIPTION OF PROPERTY) to Karmê Chöling, a Colorado nonprofit corporation located at 369 Patneaude Lane, Barnet, VT 05821, Federal Tax ID #23-7081270, for Karmê Chöling’s general use and purpose.

2. Percentage Bequest

If you are considering making a bequest of a percentage of your estate to Karmê Chöling, we recommend the following language:

I hereby give, devise and bequeath ____ percent (___%) of my total estate, determined as of the date of my death, to Karmê Chöling, a Colorado nonprofit corporation located at 369 Patneaude Lane, Barnet, VT 05821, Federal Tax ID #23-7081270, for Karmê Chöling’s general use and purpose.

3. Residual Bequest

I hereby give, devise and bequeath to Karmê Chöling, a Colorado nonprofit corporation located at 369 Patneaude Lane, Barnet, VT 05821, Federal Tax ID #23-7081270, for Karmê Chöling’s general use and purpose.

4. Contingent Bequest

If (primary beneficiary) does not survive me, then I hereby give, devise and bequeath to Karmê Chöling, a Colorado nonprofit corporation located at 369 Patneaude Lane, Barnet, VT 05821, Federal Tax ID #23-7081270, for Karmê Chöling’s general use and purpose.

Karmê Chöling Development Department Contact Information

Please contact us if you have any questions.