Ways to Give

Making a gift to FFT in your will or living trust is easy to arrange and costs nothing to make now. Your gift is revocable and remains under your control during your life. You can leave a specific property, a dollar amount or a percentage of your estate to FFT.

Sample Bequest Language

The most common way people remember Food For Thought in a will or living trust is through a charitable bequest. You do not have to rewrite your current documents. You simply add an amendment, called a codicil, to your will or living trust. Here is some suggested language you can have your attorney review:

“I give, devise and bequeath to Food For Thought (tax I.D. #68-0181095), located in Forestville, California, the sum of _________________ dollars ($ _______________) (Or state a percentage of your estate, or describe real or personal property, including exact location) for the benefit of its general purposes (or specify the Food For Thought program you wish to support).”

Your bequest is entirely under your control during life and becomes irrevocable only at death. If you have questions about bequests, contact donations@FFTfoodbank.org.

Upon completing your bequest, we will be honored to enroll you in Food For Thought’s Legacy Circle. Please let us know of your bequest by contacting donations@FFTfoodbank.org.

Distributions from tax-deferred retirement plans, like IRAs, are taxable to owners during life ­— and to heirs when inherited. This means that inherited IRAs can become a tax liability for children and loved ones. When used to make a charitable gift to FFT, however, retirement plan assets are transferred tax-free. By naming FFT as a full or partial beneficiary of your retirement plan and leaving other, less tax-vulnerable assets to your heirs, you can reduce or eliminate taxes for your heirs while knowing 100% of your gift to FFT will be used to provide healing nutrition and compassion to people affected by serious medical conditions in Sonoma County forever.

Donating a life insurance policy you no longer need can be a powerful strategy to make a larger gift than you might otherwise afford, while receiving immediate tax benefits. Perhaps your grown children are financially independent and your other assets meet your retirement needs. Or maybe you have a policy your parents purchased for you years ago. If you assign and transfer ownership of a fully paid policy to FFT during life, you’ll receive a tax deduction for your gift. You can also make a gift of life insurance by designation. Simply request a beneficiary designation form from your life insurance company and name FFT as a full, partial or contingent beneficiary.

In addition to recommending immediate or recurring grants to FFT from your donor advised fund (DAF), you can name FFT as the full or partial beneficiary of your fund — ensuring future support for FFT’s mission.

A charitable gift annuity provides you with fixed, annual payments for as long as you live, an immediate income tax deduction and the satisfaction of making a generous gift to FFT. Gift annuities can supplement retirement income with no surprises. And, if you fund your gift annuity with long-term appreciated securities, you won’t owe capital gains tax on any associated gain.

A charitable remainder trust allows you to bypass the capital gains tax on the sale of appreciated assets (like real estate and securities) and receive lifetime income, an immediate tax deduction — and the satisfaction of making a significant future gift to FFT.

A charitable lead trust allows you to give trust income to FFT for a term of years after which trust assets are passed to non-charitable beneficiaries, often family members. For donors who want to ultimately pass assets they expect to appreciate to loved ones, but would like to provide FFT with significant current support, charitable lead trusts can be an excellent option. You decide which assets to transfer to a lead trust and the term of years during which FFT will receive trust income as a charitable gift.