Leave a Legacy

Gift planning with Adoption Network Cleveland is a creative process that adapts to the changing philanthropic needs and wishes of our supporters. Successful gift planning allows you to make charitable contributions in ways that maximize personal, family, and philanthropic goals. A range of charitable giving options can be tailored to meet your needs.

What to Give

Philanthropy should not be complicated, nor should it require great wealth. When you give to Adoption Network Cleveland, your gift should be simple to make. You choose what to give, how to give, and how your gift will be used. A planned gift may be designated to a specific program, to our endowment fund at the Cleveland Foundation, or to general operations for the organization's most pressing need.

A variety of options are available to achieve your financial and philanthropic goals. You can choose a testamentary gift (which will occur after your lifetime), a deferred gift (a gift which will happen at a future date set by you) or a life income gift (a type of gift that will pay you and/or your spouse an income for life).

Assets you can use to make a gift:

• Cash/Check
• Stocks, Bonds, Mutual Funds
• Real Estate
• Tangible Personal Property of Value (art, jewelry)
• Life Insurance Policy
• Retirement Plan Assets and/or IRAs
• Business and/or Partnership Interests

Ways to Give

Bequests

After you have provided for your family and loved ones in your will, a bequest would enable you to offer a gift of support to Adoption Network Cleveland. An example of language that you could use is, “I give and bequeath to Adoption Network Cleveland, Inc. (the sum of $___ or ___%) to support its exempt purposes (or insert name of the designated program).”

Life Insurance

You can make a gift of your paid-up life insurance policy or you could purchase a new policy and name Adoption Network Cleveland as the owner and beneficiary. With a gift of a paid-up life insurance policy, you can deduct the cash value of the policy at the time of the gift. If there are premium payments that remain to be paid, you could make annual gifts to the organization to help cover the cost of the premium, which would also be tax-deductible to you.

Retirement Plan Assets

As with a life insurance gift, naming Adoption Network Cleveland as a beneficiary designation can offer you significant value. Due to applicable estate and income taxes, family members usually only receive 25 to 30 percent of the value of an IRA or retirement plan. Much of this tax can be avoided if the assets are instead used to fund a bequest to Adoption Network Cleveland.

Deferred or Life Income Gifts

Gift Annuity

A charitable gift annuity (CGA) is a simple agreement in which we promise to pay you, or you and your spouse, a lifetime income in exchange for a gift of an asset. The payment is fixed at the time you establish the gift and can be paid to you in monthly, quarterly, semi-annual, or annual payments.

Charitable Remainder Trusts

A charitable remainder trust (CRT) is generally used when there are multiple beneficiaries. A CRT can provide income to you, you and your spouse, or your spouse and your children for life or for a term of years, in exchange for a gift. The payment can be fixed (annuity trust) or variable, based on the year-end market value of the trust (unitrust).

Retained Life Estate

A retained life estate is a gift plan that allows you to donate a home to Adoption Network Cleveland while retaining the right to live in the home for the rest of your life. A gift to Adoption Network Cleveland of the remainder interest in a personal residence provides you with a current charitable deduction and may allow reduction or elimination of capital gains tax on the property’s appreciation. You retain the right to live on the property, but continue to be responsible for all routine expenses, maintenance fees, insurance, property taxes, repairs, etc.

Join Our Legacy Circle

Members of Adoption Network Cleveland's Legacy Circle have made or have committed to making a planned gift to Adoption Network Cleveland through a bequest, retirement assets, or deferred gift.

• Linda Bellini & Terrence Evans
• Kimberley Donato
• Margaret Kacerek
• Dottie Klemm
• Betsie Norris
• Murray & Susan Van Epp

For More Information

This is just a sample of the many planned giving options available to you. We encourage you to discuss these options with your financial advisor. If you do not have a financial advisor or would appreciate additional planned giving assistance, Adoption Network Cleveland is an organizational partner with the Cleveland Foundation, whose professional staff can provide additional expert guidance on planned giving options to donors. Information on our endowment fund at the Cleveland Foundation can be found on their website.

For more information on making a planned gift to Adoption Network Cleveland, please contact:

Carol Ryan

Director of Development & Communications

carol.ryan@adoptionnetwork.org

(216) 482-2316