text: Legacy gifts and planned giving allow you to provide meaningful, lasting support for MCF through thoughtful estate planning. A planned gift as part of an overall estate plan takes your needs as well as the needs of your loved ones into consideration, while helping support a cause or a charity that is personally meaningful to you. A planned gift may enable you to make a much more significant impact than you may have thought possible, while creating potential savings on capital gains taxes or estate taxes that may benefit your family. By planning ahead, you can be certain that you are making an enduring commitment to the people of Maine and a cancer-free future.
  Wills and Bequests: Through your will or living trust, you can designate a specific percentage, dollar amount, or item to be donated to Maine Cancer Foundation. You can also designate that after other specific bequests have been fulfilled, the remainder can be directed to MCF.
  Retirement Plan Assets: Retirement plan assets are subject to income taxes during your lifetime and upon your death. If you leave retirement assets to a non-spouse beneficiary, they may be subject to both income and estate taxes. Many people prefer to avoid this double taxation by directing retirement plan assets as a gift to charity, in which case the gift is fully tax deductible from the estate as a charitable gift. Other assets that are not subject to income taxes when received can be left to family members.
  Charitable Gift Annuity: A charitable gift annuity is a simple contract between you and the Maine Cancer Foundation. In exchange for your gift of cash, real estate, stocks or bonds, the foundation will pay a fixed income to you or other named beneficiaries for their lifetime. You receive an immediate charitable income tax deduction.
  A deferred gift annuity allows you to delay receiving fixed income payments to a future date while receiving an immediate charitable income tax deduction. Deferring the payments increases the payout rate, thereby providing higher annuity payments. Additionally, a portion of the income payments are considered a nontaxable return on investment and not subject to income tax.
  Life Insurance: You can name Maine Cancer Foundation as a beneficiary, or owner and beneficiary, of a life insurance policy. You can change the owner and/or beneficiary designation of an existing policy or purchase a new policy with such designations.
  Planned giving is a major decision. We encourage you to talk with your family and your financial advisor about your goals and how Maine Cancer Foundation might fit in your planning. Feel free to call us at 207.773.2533 and we’ll be glad to provide any information you need.