giving through your estate plan

Kalamazoo Community Foundation

Giving throughyour estate plan

There’s no place like home. For us this means there’s no place like Kalamazoo County.

Here in our corner of the world you can enjoy a leisurely day on a sandy beach or a hike in a lush forest. You can run a marathon, visit a farmers’ market, cheer on professional athletes, play a round of golf, or take in a concert or play. You can sample a tasty offering at a locally-owned winery, brewery or restaurant; discover a new artist at a monthly art event or annual art fair; or explore an award-winning nature center, museum or library.

Our corner of the world is home to farms that feed people around the country, greenhouses that beautify communities near and far, and companies that make medicines and devices people the world over count on every day.

There’s no place like home

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Our corner of the world is home to the first public high school in the state, nationally-recognized universities and colleges, a revolutionary scholarship program, and an education initiative that is creating a culture of learning in homes, schools and workplaces throughout Kalamazoo County.

But you know all that. That’s why you love living here.

The truth is, our community still has needs. But we believe by working together, as a community, we can make Kalamazoo County — our home — a place where every person can reach full potential.

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You can make a difference

With a planned gift to the Community Foundation, you can make a difference and help us make our community, our home, a place where every person can reach full potential.


A bequest or other planned gift to the Kalamazoo Community Foundation is a simple way to make a tremendous difference. It could even enable you to give far more than you ever thought possible.

Your planned gift will become part of a permanent endowment, protected and invested to help our community forever. Your gift will grow and be used to address needs that are important to you.

We offer a variety of ways for you to honor your family and this one-of-a-kind place we call home. We can help you design a fund that will address a particular community need or support a specific organization. We also can help you establish a fund that can adapt to help address Kalamazoo County’s ever-changing needs.


What you can do

Bequest When you include us in your estate plan, you may reduce your estate taxes while supporting our community. This can be a specific dollar amount, a percentage of your estate, or what remains after other bequests are made. No bequest is too small.

Retirement Assets Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs) or other qualified retirement plans are often the best types of assets to leave to charity. When you leave retirement plan assets to the Community Foundation, 100 percent of the gift will support your charitable interests.

Real Estate You can turn your property’s value into community good by making a gift of real estate to us. Your real estate gift can be your primary residence or vacation home, or even rental property, farm land, commercially developed land or vacant land. If you would like to continue to live in or otherwise use the property, we can help you create a retained life estate. When you create a retained life estate, you deed the property to the Community Foundation, continue to use it during your lifetime, and enjoy a tax deduction for the value of the remainder.

Insurance Policies Many people find in later years they don’t need all the insurance they did when they were younger. Giving a gift of life insurance is an inexpensive way to make a substantial contribution. You can name the Community Foundation as a beneficiary of an insurance policy or donate the policy outright and receive a current income tax deduction.

Here are a few options for you to consider for your planned gift.


Charitable Gift Annuity A charitable gift annuity guarantees you income for life and provides immediate income tax benefits. The annuity payment depends on the annuitant’s age: the older you are, the higher the payment. If you choose, you can receive an income tax deduction now and defer receiving the annuity payments until a future date of your choosing. After you receive annuity payments for life, the Community Foundation will use the remainder to support the community needs most important to you.

Charitable Remainder Trust A charitable remainder trust provides payments to you or another beneficiary for life or a specified number of years. At the end of the trust term, the remainder is distributed to the Kalamazoo Community Foundation to benefit the organizations or community needs you specify. You may set up a charitable remainder trust during your lifetime or through your estate plan.

Charitable Lead Trust With a charitable lead trust, you donate income from the trust to the Community Foundation and retain the principal. Through the trust, you determine how much will be paid to the Community Foundation and for how long. When the trust terminates, the principal is returned to you or distributed to others you designate. The trust assets pass to the recipients at a reduced tax cost — sometimes even tax-free.


What you can expect

Here’s what you can expect from us when you make a planned gift.

Stability We have been honoring the intent of our donors since 1925 and we will continue to do so forever.

Knowledge We possess an unparalleled base of knowledge and connections built through nearly a century of community involvement and leadership. We apply this knowledge to ensure your gift is used as you desire, and that the needs and community you care about are supported.

Impact We give grants to Kalamazoo County nonprofits addressing immediate community needs, as well as those collaborating with others to create long-term, transformative change.


Your planned gift will create opportunities that touch lives in every corner of Kalamazoo County.


How we can help

We are here to help you create a legacy that will make Kalamazoo County — your home and ours — a better place.


Whether you have a crystal clear concept of what you hope to accomplish with your planned gift, or only an idea that is just beginning to take shape, we can help.

It only takes a simple phone call or email to set up a time to talk with a member of our Donor Relations team. We are happy to welcome you to our office in downtown Kalamazoo or meet you in a setting that is convenient and comfortable for you. To get in touch with our Donor Relations team:

Call 269.381.4416

Email [email protected]

Visit www.kalfound.org/ourteam


402 East Michigan Avenue Kalamazoo, MI 49007-3888

269.381.4416 www.kalfound.org

PhotographyThis publication was photographed by Robert Neumann of Big Event Studios. The Kalamazoo Community Foundation is committed to environmental sustainability.This publication was printed locally with soy inks on recycled paper. When you are finished with it, please support our commitment to the environment by recycling it or passing it along to a friend. 2014

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