What is gift planning?
Gift planning or planned giving encompasses a variety of philanthropic strategies that help you provide for charity while also advancing your own financial and personal objectives.

How do I benefit from a planned gift?
Planned gifts can yield benefits such as:

• Ability to make a significant gift to the GBHS in line with your objectives
• Savings on income and capital gains taxes
• Savings on gift and estate taxes

What can I give?
Donors frequently think their only option is to make an outright gift of cash to their charity of choice. While this is a positive way to make your charitable gifts, there are a number of other ways for you to donate to charity. Planning your gifts is a way for you to take advantage of the tax, financial, and estate planning benefits of philanthropy.

A planned gift can be made with almost anything: cash, stocks, bonds, mutual funds, real estate- even property such as artwork and royalties. Please contact the GBHS if you have questions about a possible donation.

How does the GBHS benefit from a planned gift?
Your gift can make a significant impact on the Greater Birmingham Humane Society now and/or in the future, and you can choose to direct your gift to aid a specific area of the GBHS. We can assist you with the designation and legal language for the area(s) that you would like to support.

How do I name the GBHS in my will and/or living trust?
To name the Greater Birmingham Humane Society in your will, you can include the following language:

I give (___ dollars/ __ percentage or the entire residue of my estate) to the Greater Birmingham Humane Society, an Alabama charitable organization, for the benefit of the Greater Birmingham Humane Society.

To make a specific bequest, please contact the GBHS for further details and language.

How do I name the GBHS as a beneficiary in my retirement plan?
Leaving your retirement plan or IRA (or a portion of it) to the GBHS is a tax-wise gift. Naming the Greater Birmingham Humane Society as the recipient of your retirement plan after your lifetime (or at the death of the survivor of you and your spouse) avoids all estate and income taxes on the plan assets.

General Disclaimer
Of course, before you take any actions, please contact your financial planner or tax advisor.