Legacy Circle

Watch the Video: Our Legacy and Yours

The Legacy Circle has been created to honor and remember you as one of our own and to keep our relationship with you alive! We hope it provides you with an opportunity to give in a way that is driven by what you value in your present day connection to the school.

When you join us in the Legacy Circle (by letting us know about your future gift—in any amount), you help us ensure a vibrant future with the same WSA spirit you’ve been contributing to for years.

Your estate plan can evolve over time, allowing us to work together to create solutions that benefit you, your family, and the Woodstock School of Art. From a simple designation in your will to a charitable trust or other plan, we welcome finding a way to join your legacy to ours.

There are many ways to become a member of Legacy Circle.

• Name Woodstock School of Art as a beneficiary in your will, of your IRA, retirement plan, or life insurance policy
• Allocate a current gift to endowment from your annual IRA distributions
• Create a trust to receive an annual payment for life in return for your future gift
• Donate appreciated stock and enjoy a tax savings
• Donate your house, continue to live there, while receiving a tax benefit

BEQUESTS – Bequests are the simplest way to make a significant and lasting gift to Woodstock School of Art without affecting your cash flow. You may gift an amount of money, a percentage of the remainder of your estate after it is settled, or specific property such as stock or real estate. There is no upper limit on the estate tax deductions that accrue to charitable bequests.

GIFTS FROM AN IRA – You can watch the growth of tax-deferred IRA earnings and enjoy knowing no one will ever have to pay taxes on them if you name Woodstock School of Art as the beneficiary. The process is simple: you only need to name the school as the beneficiary on a form obtained from your financial institution.

LIFE INSURANCE – You may want to donate to Woodstock School of Art a paid-up policy that you carried while your children were dependent; the gift may make you eligible for a charitable deduction equal to the lesser of the premiums you paid over the life of the policy or the cost of a comparable replacement policy.

You may want to purchase a policy, naming Woodstock School of Art as the irrevocable beneficiary, and claim the annual premiums as a charitable deduction.

You may wish to make Woodstock School of Art the beneficiary (or a contingent beneficiary) of a life insurance policy while retaining ownership of the policy—keeping the right to cash it in, borrow against it and change the beneficiary. A gift of this nature is treated much like a bequest made through your will. The policy’s proceeds will be included in your gross estate, which may take an estate tax charitable deduction.

LIFE INCOME GIFTS – Charitable Gift Annuities CGAs allow you to support Woodstock School of Art and receive reliable fixed payments—part of which are tax-free—in exchange for your irrevocable gift of assets. The income amount depends on your age and the amount of your gift. Minimum initial gift is $25,000. Minimum age to establish a deferred annuity is sixty; minimum age for payments to begin is sixty. Woodstock School of Art uses the rates recommended by the American Council on Gift Annuities.

Charitable Remainder Trusts – A CRT is an irrevocable trust that can provide you with a fixed income from the sale of appreciated assets without immediate capital gains and qualify you for a charitable income tax deduction, while also making a provision for Woodstock School of Art. In addition to the value of the gift, a CRT reduces your taxable estate.

PERSONAL LEAD TRUSTS – Charitable Lead Trusts
A CLT is a trust that “leads” with fixed annual payments to Woodstock School of Art before the asset reverts to your beneficiaries. You may wish to see your gift benefit Woodstock School of Art while making a transfer of an asset to your heirs free of gift taxes. Now is a great time to establish a CLT, as the monthly rate the IRS uses to calculate the remainder interest in charitable trusts has dropped to historic lows. The lower the rate, the larger the tax benefit
in a CLT.

GIFTS OF REAL ESTATE – Woodstock School of Art will consider a gift of real estate. And without leaving home, you can generate an income tax deduction for something you may leave to the Woodstock School of Art anyway. You may take a significant deduction for gifting your home to the school, while continuing to live in it for the rest of your life. Additionally, the residence is removed from your taxable estate.

GIFTS OF STOCKS OR SECURITIES – You may transfer stock and securities to the Woodstock School of Art by electronic transfer, mail, or hand delivery.

For more information please contact WSA Executive Director, Nina Doyle, at 845-679-2388 or nina.doyle@woodstockschoolofart.org