Planned Giving

Bequests Made Through Wills or Revocable Living Trusts 
A bequest is often the most realistic way for many donors to make a significant contribution to the Great Plains Food Bank. We are pleased to provide the following information to help you and your attorney establish your estate plans. 

Why Create A Will or Revocable Living Trust? 
Wills and revocable living trusts are very important estate planning tools. Either allows you to name guardians for your minor children and to determine who will receive your property after your death, in what amounts and proportions and under what circumstances. Tax considerations also may affect the provisions of your will or living trust. 

You have an opportunity in your estate plan to provide not only for your family and friends, but also for charity. Besides cash, you may also leave stocks, bonds and other types of property to charity. 

Engage Legal Counsel 
Most experts agree that hiring an attorney with experience in estate planning will save you and your beneficiaries time and money in the long run. While you determine what goes into your will or trust, your attorney will make sure it is a proper legal statement of how you wish your possessions to be distributed. 

Types of Bequests 
When writing or updating your will, you can also make a real difference in the fight against hunger by naming the Great Plains Food Bank as a beneficiary. 
Here are some common bequest options you can use: 

• Specific bequest: Determine a specific dollar amount or asset that you wish to leave to the Great Plains Food Bank. 
• Residual bequest: After you have provided for your loved ones, name the Great Plains Food Bank to receive a percentage or all of your residuary estate. 
• Contingent bequest: Great Plains Food Bank receives a bequest only in the event of the death of other beneficiaries. 

Gifts of Beneficiary Designations 
A beneficiary designation is the simplest way to make a legacy gift to the Great Plains Food Bank. When you complete your beneficiary designation form, just name the Great Plains Food Bank as a full or partial beneficiary and provide our tax identification number. In addition, these gifts bypass probate and go directly to all beneficiaries. 

Here are some common designation options: 

Retirement plans: Including the Great Plains Food Bank as a beneficiary enables you to avoid substantial income taxes that would have been due if a retirement plan were left to non-spousal heirs. It is strongly advised that you name the Great Plains Food Bank the beneficiary of a retirement plan through your designation form and not through your will, which may jeopardize tax benefits. 
Insurance policies: There are a number of ways you can name the Great Plains Food Bank as a beneficiary of an insurance policy, whether through your employer or a separate policy that you hold. Such a gift may provide you with current and future tax benefits. 
Savings accounts: Designating the Great Plains Food Bank as a beneficiary of a savings account is simple and allows full use of savings during your life. 

Donating Real Estate 
Our staff will work closely with you and your advisors to facilitate a gift of residential or commercial real estate or time shares. Through a retained life estate arrangement, you can donate a remainder of interest in your home to the Great Plains Food Bank and retain lifetime residency rights for you and your partner. A gift of real estate may result in significant tax benefits while providing major support for our hunger-fighting work. 

Endowment and Memorial Gifts 
You can pay lasting tribute to loved ones through gifts made in their names to the Great Plains Food Bank Hunger-Relief Endowment Fund. Unrestricted gifts to our endowment fund will sustain our core programs and be listed in our annual report. Cash, stock, mutual fund shares, life insurance, real estate or other property may be used to fund endowment gifts. 

Stocks, Securities and Mutual Funds 
Each year, many of our committed donors support the Great Plains Food Bank with gifts of stock or mutual fund shares. These gifts may enable you to realize tax benefits while giving you the satisfaction of helping North Dakota’s largest and most effective hunger-relief charity. 

If you own appreciated securities (stocks, bonds or mutual funds held by you for more than one year), donating them to the Great Plains Food Bank may allow you to reduce or avoid more capital gains taxes and receive a federal income tax charitable deduction. 

You can also designate the Great Plains Food Bank as the beneficiary of your securities; please contact your broker for more information about this simple way to support domestic hunger relief. 

This type of gift can be especially appealing if you are holding shares that have appreciated significantly in value but yield a low dividend.