Giving to Harmony School Education Center

Your gift plays a critical role in keeping Harmony School Education Center a vibrant and growing independent school. Here are descriptions of a few kinds of gifts that can provide substantial tax savings to donors while helping the school. Another way for you to multiply your impact is to check if there is a corporate matching gift program where you work.

Gifts of Cash

Cash is the gift of choice for most donors, either as an annual gift or pledged over a period of several years. A cash gift entitles the donor to a charitable deduction of up to fifty percent of adjusted gross income. It is possible to carry over deductions for up to five years if gifts are large.

Gift of Appreciated Assets
Appreciated stocks and bonds can be an easy way to give and to help at tax time. If you have been holding one of these assets for a long time you are entitled to a charitable deduction for the fair market value of the donated asset, and you don't have to pay capital gains tax on the gift to Harmony. For such a gift, the tax deduction may total up to 30 percent of adjusted gross income, and any amount over this limit may be carried over as a deduction for five years.

It is also possible to give Harmony School Education Center gifts of real estate which, like stocks and bonds, have a big tax benefit to donors. The benefit could be as much as full fair market value of the asset. Real Estate can be given outright, in trust, as an undivided fractional interest, or as part of a will.

Bequests
There are basically three ways you can make a gift by will to Harmony. The first way is to give a specific amount. The second method is to give a percentage of your total estate. You can designate that, once all other considerations are taken care of in your will, the remainder goes to Harmony School Education Center.

Life Income Plans
If you wish to make a substantial gift to Harmony School Education Center you can do so and guarantee yourself an income for a fixed amount of time or for your lifetime. In this case the donor transfers assets to Harmony and in return Harmony provides the donor an income.

Here are a few examples of how this works:

• Charitable Remainder Trusts - The first trust is an annuity trust where the income is determined initially and never varies. The other trust is a unatrust where income is annually reevaluated. Trusts are managed as separate accounts like personal bank accounts.
• Charitable Gift Annuities - This is a simple contract where you give Harmony an asset or cash and we agree to pay a given annual amount. The cash payment to you is determined by an actuarial table.
• Pooled Income Funds - Your gift is pooled with other gifts in a common trust. Mutual funds are handled in the same way.
  

We recommend that if you are going to consider any of these gifts to Harmony you consult with your financial advisor or lawyer. If you would like additional information about giving to Harmony School Education Center please contact Steve Bonchek, Executive Director , Harmony School Education Center, P.O. Box 1787, Bloomington, IN 47402. You can always reach the Director via e-mail at harmony@indiana.edu or call (812)334.8349.