Invest in tomorrow

As we look at our lives, we often want to make an impact on the future and planning how to direct your financial assets is the easiest and most effective way to ensure that your financial assets will be used to do good for your community even after you are not here to do so.

Many of our donors not only support our work in northern Lancaster County by giving annually, monthly, and volunteering, but they also help ensure REAL Life’s Christ-centered ministries can continue to impact our community for the future.

If this interests you, the best first step is to create a will that explains your long-term goals to those who will make sure they are carried out.  We have resources to walk you through that process.

Are you interested in Planned Giving?

We here in Lancaster County are known for our generous character.  One tool to make sure that all of our neighbors are enjoying the same lifestyle as us is through QCDs, or qualified charitable distributions form your IRA.

A qualified charitable distribution (QCD) allows individuals who are 70½ years old or older to donate up to $105,000 total to one or more charities directly from a taxable IRA instead of taking their required minimum distributions.

Once you reach age 72, you must take a Required Minimum Distribution (RMD) from your taxable retirement accounts.  This RMD is included in your taxable income.  Most retirees are no longer able to deduct their charitable giving due to the increased Standard Deduction.  This is where the Qualified Charitable Distribution (QCD) comes in.  You can satisfy the IRS requirement to withdraw from your IRA (without paying tax on the withdrawal) by making a charitable contribution and designating REAL Life Community Services directly from the fund company.  In this way, you can donate out of your IRA account from money you haven’t paid tax on rather than from your bank account.  The retiree does not get taxed on the Qualified Charitable Distribution and therefore is able to keep more money in his/her bank for living expenses.  With your QCD, you would give your donation once a year rather than weekly or monthly.  It’s like giving your donation in advance.

It has been reported that 70% of the wealth in Lancaster County never makes it past eh second generation.  We know that you want to leave a legacy and want to make sure your family has the best chance at a successful wealth transfer.  Consider naming REAL Life Community Services as a beneficiary in your IRAs, Annuities, and other retirement plans.  Proceeds from these accounts are fully taxable to your heirs but are tax free to a nonprofit ministry.  Beneficiaries my be updated at any time with just the cost of a postage stamp.  We have resources to help meet that need.

What Are the Tax Benefits of Planned Gifts?

• Donors can contribute appreciated property, like securities or real estate, receive a charitable deduction for the full market value of the asset, and pay no capital gains tax on the transfer.
• Donors who establish a life-income gift receive a tax deduction for the full, fair market value of the assets contributed, minus the present value of the income interest retained; if they fund their gift with appreciated property they pay no upfront capital gains tax on the transfer.
• Gifts payable to charity upon the donor’s death, like a bequest or a beneficiary designation in a life insurance policy or retirement account, do not generate a lifetime income tax deduction for the donor, but they are exempt from estate tax.