Gifts you can make today

A donation via cash or check is the easiest way to give. It may also provide you with a tax deduction, as well as the benefit of knowing that your philanthropy is making an immediate impact.

In some cases, a gift of stocks, bonds and/or mutual fund shares held long-term (more than one year) can be more beneficial to you than a gift of cash. It may provide you with a federal income tax charitable deduction for the full, appreciated value of the securities. In addition, you will pay no capital gains tax on the transaction.

If you are over age 70 ½, you may make a gift from your IRA as a tax-free distribution to a qualified charity. An amount up to $100,000 annually may be transferred directly from your IRA to the Spectrum Health Foundation and/or Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital Foundation. This gift will count towards your required minimum distribution (RMD) and will not be counted as taxable income for you.

Please note that you may still be subject to state income tax, given your individual financial situation. Additionally, IRA gifts cannot be used to create life-income gifts, nor can they be added to donor advised funds.

If you have created and funded a donor advised fund at another charitable organization such as a community foundation, the National Philanthropic Trust, or the charitable arm of a brokerage firm such as Vanguard, Fidelity, Schwab, etc., you can make a gift in three ways:

• Recommend a grant from your DAF through your fund administrator.
• Se-up recurring grants from your DAF.
• Name Spectrum Health Foundation and/or Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital Foundation as the beneficiary of your DAF.

Generous gifts and grants from family foundations, community foundations, and corporate foundations provide critical support for the lifesaving work at Spectrum Health and Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital.

If you are interested in learning more about foundation giving and grants, or would like more information, we invite you to contact us.

A charitable lead trust reverses the income payment pattern that is common to life-income gifts, such as a charitable gift annuity or charitable remainder trust. You, the donor, transfers property into trust and puts the charity in the ‘lead’ of receiving fixed annual payments either for a term of years or for your lifetime. The remaining assets are then returned to you, your family, or others that you designate as beneficiary.

Depending on your individual financial situation, you may greatly reduce or avoid possible gift and estate tax on trust assets passing to family, should some trust income go to charity for a term of years. We recommend that you seek the advice of your financial planner, attorney, and/or tax advisor to determine if a charitable lead trust aligns with your overall circumstances and planning.

If you would like to learn more about how to include Spectrum Health or Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital in your charitable estate planning, or if you intend to/have already remembered the hospital in your plans, we would love to hear from you.

Kristin Long MPA, CFRE, CAP®
Kristin.Long@corewellhealth.org
616.486.6590

We are here to help and share the many ways you can make a difference through your philanthropy, now and in the future.