Luanne Paquette and her husband Bob have included REA3D in their estate planning. Luanne retired from Proctor Public Schools as a Family and Consumer Science Instructor in 2004. She says, “As we look ahead to the future, we want to empower others to embrace the love of learning.”
The REA3D Legacy Initiative is made up of individuals and families who have included the Rail Endowment for Academic, Art and Athletic Development in their wills and estate plans. This act of generosity ensures that the giving power of REA3D will be sustained for generations to come.
How Does It Work?
There are many ways to make a lasting gift which helps assure REA³D’s operation into perpetuity:
- naming REA³D in a will or revocable trust agreement
- listing REA³D as a beneficiary on a retirement account or life insurance policy
- setting REA³D as the payable on death (“POD”) designation for financial accounts or stock portfolios.
An example of gift language is:
“I give _____[the sum, percentage, or description of property] to the Rails Endowment for Academic, Art and Athletic Development, Inc., a Minnesota non-profit corporation, to be used for its general tax-exempt purposes, but without other restriction as to use.”
Types of Bequests
Your will can include gifts in the following forms: cash, stock, property (specific or by percentage), real estate (developed or undeveloped), a gift in trust to benefit family members during their lifetimes, with the principal conveyed to REA³D at their passing, or a gift of the remainder of an estate when other specific bequests have been fulfilled.
Are you approaching age 70 1/2 and having to take a required distribution from an IRA?
As many are becoming aware as that numerical event unfolds in their lives, the government is saying it is time for them to collect their share of the savings that have grown tax free to that time…thus the Required Minimum Distribution (RMD). In most cases, the account holder will notify you of the minimum amount that must be withdrawn and declared as regular income. However, if you choose, any or all of that amount (or more) can be directly given to REA3D as a tax free donation, referenced on your tax form as a Qualified Charitable Distribution (QCD). As REA3D is a qualifying nonprofit organization, we are eligible to receive these gifts. “It’s quite simple,” recalled Sherm Carlson after requesting a consent form from his investment company. “I simply signed the form, and they made the required direct monetary mailing to the organization I chose.” A request for more information can be answered directly by calling Louise Lind at 218– 428-7327 or emailing rea3d.org.
REA3D can’t give you legal advice or tax advice, but we can provide information for you to use in consultations with your attorney and financial/tax advisors. We can also provide you with our federal tax identification number which is necessary in directing bequests.
REA3D 