In addition to outright gifts of cash or securities, there are other ways of supporting the MDI Biological Laboratory. Planned gifts are excellent ways to minimize federal, state, and estate taxes while, in some cases, providing a revenue stream to you and your loved ones.
Popular forms of planned gifts include:
Bequests
The easiest way to make a planned gift is to include the MDI Biological Laboratory in your will. You may give a specific amount, a percentage your overall estate, or a percentage of the residuary of your estate. Including a bequest to the Institution may also result in beneficial tax consequences for your estate.
Sample bequest language:
I give and bequeath the sum of $____ [or ____% of my estate, or the following described property e.g. stocks, savings bonds, etc., or % of my residuary estate] to the Mount Desert Island Biological Laboratory (tax identification number 01-0202467), a nonprofit organization incorporated in Maine and located at 159 Old Bar Harbor Road, Salisbury Cove, Maine 04672, for the unrestricted purposes of the organization.
Life Income Gifts
If you would like to provide philanthropic support to the MDI Biological Laboratory while continuing to receive an income stream from your assets, you may consider a life income gift. Our staff can assist you in determining which life income option is best for you.
A relatively simple approach to this is the charitable gift annuity, which allows you, or you and your spouse, to establish a gift to the MDI Biological Laboratory and receive guaranteed fixed payments for life. We would be pleased to provide you with a personalized illustration to show you the income flow and tax savings you can expect to receive.
Gifts of Retirement Plan Benefits
Tax-deferred retirement plans are great sources of retirement income, but because of the estate and income tax treatment of retirement plan benefits, they are not always good choices for making estate gifts to children and grandchildren. However, retirement plan benefits can provide a wonderful opportunity to make a meaningful gift that will support scientific research and education at the MDI Biological Laboratory.
Gifts of Life Insurance
Typically, two types of life insurance policies are donated to the MDI Biological Laboratory: paid-up whole policies and newly issued policies. With this type of planned gift, you have several options:
- List the MDI Biological Laboratory as the beneficiary of an existing policy and earn an estate tax charitable deduction.
- Make the MDI Biological Laboratory the owner and beneficiary of an existing policy, thus removing it from your taxable estate and earning an immediate income tax deduction.
- Take out a new policy with the MDI Biological Laboratory as the owner and beneficiary (all premium payments are tax deductible).
- Use your policy in conjunction with a life-income gift to “replace” assets that would be transferred to your heirs.
To learn more about each of these options and to determine which one is best for you, please contact Jeri Bowers, Director of Development and Public Affairs, at jeri.bowers@nullmdibl.org or 207-288-3147.