The BMC Legacy Society
You don’t have to be wealthy to make a big difference in the future of the Brattleboro Music Center and to realize significant benefits for you and your family. The simplest way to include the BMC in estate planning is by making a charitable provision in your will or trust.
Have you remembered the Brattleboro Music Center in your estate plans? If you have, kindly let us know so we can say thank you now and welcome you into the BMC Legacy Society, a group of donors with a shared interest in sustaining the BMC for future generations. Below are several simple ways to include the BMC in your estate plans.
Remember the BMC in Your Will or Trust
This kind of charitable bequest can take several forms. It can be a designated dollar amount, or a percentage of the estate, or “the residual” – that is, the amount remaining in the estate after all other obligations and payments have been made.
If you are interested in leaving a gift to the BMC in your will or trust, please make sure to speak with your attorney. We encourage you to provide your attorney with this sample language:
“I hereby give and bequeath __________________ (dollar amount, or percentage of my estate, or residual of my estate after other bequests) to the Brattleboro Music Center, 72 Blanche Moyse Way, Brattleboro VT 05301 for its general purposes.”
Beyond your will, there are other options as well:
Naming the BMC the Beneficiary of Your IRA or Other Retirement Funds
Retirement plan assets include tax-deferred retirement saving accounts, like Individual Retirement Accounts (IRA), 401(k), 403(b), annuities, Keogh, and pension plans. Retirement funds can be a perfect asset to leave to charity, because, unlike your heirs, charitable beneficiaries do not have to pay any income taxes upon receiving these funds.
To leaving IRAs and other retirement assets to charity, you simply need to notify the custodian of your retirement funds that you want all or part of a particular fund to pass to the designated charity or charities. Please consider naming BMC a full or partial beneficiary of one or more of your retirement funds.
Qualified Charitable Distributions
Qualified Charitable Distributions (QCDs), also known as IRA Charitable Rollovers, are an excellent way for individuals age 70½ or older to use their IRAs to maximize their charitable impact. Funds that are distributed from a Traditional IRA are included in your taxable income, which is likely to increase your overall tax burden.
QCDs are an exception to this rule—funds go directly from your IRA to your chosen charitable organization without going to you first, thereby lowering your adjusted gross income and effectively reducing your income taxes.
QCDs can also satisfy Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs). RMDs are amounts that you must withdraw annually from your Traditional IRA once you’re eligible at age 73 (or, beginning in 2033, age 75). If you do not withdraw your RMD, you will face a penalty tax. QCDs can be used to meet this requirement and avoid penalties.
Naming the BMC the Beneficiary of Your Insurance Policy
If you have a life insurance policy and you and your family no longer need the benefit, please consider naming BMC the full or partial beneficiary.
Naming BMC the End Beneficiary of Your Donor-Advised Fund
More and more of our supporters have created donor-advised funds (DAFs) to manage their charitable giving. Donors can tell their DAF sponsor where to distribute the assets in their DAFs if funds remain after the end of their lives. Please consider including BMC as a beneficiary.
When considering these options, please consult your tax advisor.
We believe that a healthy community depends upon having a variety of cultural resources including music, dance, theater, and visual arts. We view supporting the arts locally as an investment in our community, to ensure there will be ongoing opportunities for others to experience and explore music and the arts.
We see legacy giving as just that–giving with no expectation of direct return to us, but the knowledge that the BMC continues to be a cultural resource in a thriving community for our children, their friends, and for future generations.
— Sara Coffey and Dave Snyder
For more information please call Margaret Atkinson at (802) 257-4523
