Planned Giving
PLANNED GIVING
Make a planned gift to Best Buddies and help continue more than 30 years of supporting people with and without intellectual and developmental disabilities.
A Legacy of Friendship, Inclusion & Opportunity
When you include a gift to Best Buddies as part of your legacy, you help continue an effort spanning more than 30 years — supporting people with and without intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD), and educating young women and men to act in the service of others.
Below are some of the most common ways to give — including gifts from an estate, gifts that provide income for life, and gifts using creative funding assets.
Ways to Give
Include Best Buddies in Your Planning
Click any topic to expand and learn more about how each option could shape your legacy.
Bequests
One of the simplest ways to create a legacy with Best Buddies is through a bequest in your will or trust. You can leave a specific amount, percentage, or all or a portion of the remainder of your estate to BBI in general, or to a specific program that has meaning to you.
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Bequest
Bequests are the most common way to make a gift through your estate. Simply add a provision in your will or trust designating either a specific amount, a percentage, or all or part of the residue of your estate to Best Buddies International. You can designate your bequest to benefit a specific program that is meaningful to you or provide unrestricted support — gifts of any size are appreciated.
Bequests provide flexibility: you can make a gift now while preserving the right to make changes at any time should your circumstances change. There are also potential tax benefits, which may allow you to make a more significant gift to Best Buddies from your estate while still taking care of family and loved ones.
Sample Language
Below is sample language to share with your attorney:
I bequeath to Best Buddies International (Tax ID #52-1614576), a nonprofit organization with headquarters in Miami, Florida,
- The sum of __________ dollars; or
- An amount equal to ________ percent of the net value of my estate; or
- All the rest, residue, and remainder of my estate.
If you would like to designate your gift to a specific BBI program, you may also want to include: “It is my request that this gift be used for the benefit of [specify program] at Best Buddies International as directed in my most recent statement of intent with BBI.”
Beneficiary Designations
Naming Best Buddies as the beneficiary of a retirement account, insurance policy, or bank or brokerage account may offer significant tax benefits and is easy to update should your plans change in the future.
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Beneficiary Designations
Naming Best Buddies as the beneficiary of a retirement account, insurance policy, or bank or brokerage account is a tax-smart way to make a gift that leaves a lasting legacy.
Retirement accounts may grow significantly over time, leading to a built-in tax liability. Leaving these assets to loved ones, other than a spouse, may result in up to 70% of the value being lost to taxes. Instead, if you leave other assets to family and use a retirement account to make a gift to Best Buddies, the funds are transferred tax-free and Best Buddies realizes the full value of the gift.
How a beneficiary designation can impact your tax liability
“John Smith” names his children as the beneficiaries of his IRA worth $100,000. After federal and state income and estate tax, the kids might only receive $30,000.
Alternatively, if “John” names Best Buddies as the beneficiary of the IRA, this leaves a larger amount of the estate available for gifts to his children, and the estate may receive a charitable deduction. Because Best Buddies is a charity, it does not pay federal or state income tax on the distribution — meaning the full $100,000 is available to support a program important to “John” and his family.
Designating Best Buddies as a beneficiary
Legal Name: Best Buddies International
Address: Office of the Chairman, Suite 2200,
100 SE 2nd Street, Miami, FL 33131
Tax ID: 52-1614576
Phone: (305) 374-2233
Life Insurance
There are two ways to create a legacy with Best Buddies through your life insurance policy. To retain maximum flexibility, name Best Buddies as the beneficiary of your policy. You may also donate your policy during your life by naming Best Buddies as the irrevocable owner of your paid-up policy.
SECURE Act Changes for Retirement Accounts
If you are still earning income, you can keep making contributions to your IRA. Prior to the SECURE Act, the age cutoff for contributions was 70½. Please be aware that if you are making contributions to your IRA and using your IRA to make QCDs, the contribution amount is excluded from the QCD that can be used for the special RMD offset treatment.
The SECURE Act eliminated the stretch IRA for non-spouses, which means that most IRA beneficiaries are required to take the full account payout within 10 years of the death of the original account holder. Previously, distributions from the IRA could be taken over a beneficiary’s lifetime, allowing a longer time frame over which to pay tax. This is a significant change that will affect estate planning, particularly in situations where you are considering naming children or other family members who are not a spouse as beneficiaries of a retirement account. There may be an even bigger tax incentive to use retirement accounts for gifts to charity and leave assets with a lower tax burden to loved ones.
If you’re 70 ½ or older, this is a tax-smart way to make a gift to Georgetown while decreasing your taxable income. If you are 73 or older, these gifts will also help meet your Required Minimum Distribution.
Gifts of Real Estate
A gift of real estate such as a residence or commercial property may be a meaningful way to make a gift to Best Buddies.
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Real Estate
A gift of real property — a residence, vacation home, or commercial property — can be used to make a significant gift. This can be accomplished through a simple bequest in your will or trust leaving the proceeds from the sale of the property to Best Buddies, or during your lifetime through a charitable remainder trust or a charitable lead trust. Gifts of real estate must be free of debt and readily marketable.
Potential tax benefits of making a gift of real estate include reducing income and estate taxes, receiving a charitable deduction, and avoiding capital gains tax. If used to fund a charitable remainder trust, there may also be financial security and a lifetime income stream for you and/or loved ones. With all gifts there is the benefit of leaving a lasting legacy at Georgetown that supports a school or program that is meaningful to you.
Important to Know
Gifts of real estate require careful planning. Any gift must comply with Best Buddies’ real estate acceptance policy and be reviewed and approved by its Gift Acceptance Committee.
Appreciated Securities
Use appreciated stock, bonds, or mutual funds to make a gift that provides a charitable deduction while avoiding capital gains taxes.
IRA Qualified Charitable Distribution
If you’re 70½ or older, make a tax-smart gift directly from your IRA — and help meet your Required Minimum Distribution if 73+.
Complex Assets
Careful planning helps unlock the power of illiquid assets, allowing you to reach your philanthropic goals while realizing additional tax benefits.
Charitable Gift Annuity
Charitable Remainder Trust
Charitable Lead Trust
A creative way to pass on assets to your family while reducing or eliminating gift or estate taxes.
Personal Property
Gifts of art, collections, or other personal property may provide a creative way to make a gift to Best Buddies.
Donor Advised Funds
Use your existing Donor Advised Fund to make a gift, or include BBI as a remainder beneficiary of your fund.
Free Resource
Request Our Creating Your Legacy Guide
Our complimentary estate planning guide is a helpful resource as you put together your plan — with insight on bequests, beneficiary designations, charitable trusts, and more.
Get the guide
We’ll mail or email it — your choice.
Contact Us
We’re here to answer any questions you may have about making a planned gift or maximizing your philanthropy with Best Buddies. For more information, contact John Carlin at the Office of the Chairman.
(305) 490-4603
The information on this website is not intended as legal, financial, or tax advice. Please consult an attorney, financial advisor, or tax advisor in your planning.