Planned Giving
In what way would you like to support Cooper University Health Care? Working with you and your professional advisors, The Cooper Foundation can tailor gift plans to fit your specific needs, assets and goals.
If you have any questions about your giving options or to notify The Cooper Foundation of an impending gift, please reach out to us on 856-342-2222 or cooper-foundation@cooperhealth.edu
Giving Plans
A charitable bequest in your will or revocable trust allows you to invest in future generations of care at Cooper University Health Care without affecting your cash flow during your lifetime.
Benefits:
- You maintain control of your assets.
- If your situation changes, you can revise your will at any time.
- You can claim unlimited estate tax deductions for your bequests.
What to consider:
- If you've already written your will, you can easily amend it with a simple document called a codicil prepared by your attorney.
- Donating the remaining balance of your retirement plan makes for a tax-wise gift. To avoid including such a plan in your taxable estate, we recommend using your successor beneficiary form to name The Cooper Foundation your beneficiary rather than including the plan in your will.
Please contact us if:
- You intend to bequeath real estate, a business interest or other specialized property to The Cooper Foundation.
- You need help structuring your bequest to support a specific program or purpose. (Please note: Narrow restrictions on your bequest run the risk of supporting a program that is vital today but no longer necessary when we receive your gift in the future.).
A charitable gift annuity allows you to make a meaningful contribution to Cooper University Health Care and receive guaranteed fixed payments for life in return. Payments begin immediately or at an agreed-upon future date.
Immediate charitable gift annuity
When you make a gift of cash or other appropriate property as an immediate charitable gift annuity, you and/or up to two others you name receive generous fixed payments for life. When the annuity is funded, we work with you to determine the frequency and amount of each payment.
Benefits:
- You may immediately deduct a portion of your gift off your taxes.
- Your annuity payments are part tax-free income, part ordinary income and part (15%) capital gains income.
- You have the satisfaction of making a gift that benefits you now and Cooper University Health Care later.
Deferred charitable gift annuity
The deferred charitable gift annuity lets you defer the start of income payments to a future date. It's worth considering if you're in your high-earning years and looking to save on income tax now while building an additional source of revenue for retirement.
Benefits:
- Since you decide when your annuity payments begin, you can plan for them to coincide with important life events, such as retirement or helping a grandchild with tuition.
- The longer you defer payments, the higher the effective rate you'll receive — and the larger your charitable deduction. Also, a portion of each annuity payment is tax-free as the return of principal.
- You have the satisfaction of planning for a gift that benefits you now and Cooper University Health Care later.
What to consider:
- Your charitable gift annuity is a contract between you and The Cooper Foundation. Your annuity payments are an obligation backed by a reserve and the full assets of our institution.
- Your charitable income tax deduction is based on the market value of the assets you contribute minus the present value of the life-income interest you retain.
- If you fund your deferred annuity with appreciated securities, you won't pay an upfront capital gains tax. Only a portion of your gain is recognized, with the tax spread over your annuity payments.
A charitable lead trust holds your appreciating assets and pays income to The Cooper Foundation for a period of years. When this period concludes, the remaining principal is returned to you, your children or other heirs.
Consider this giving option if you hold appreciating assets, are in a high income tax bracket and need tax relief, and want Cooper University Health Care to be able to use your gift right away.
Benefits:
- Your gift/estate tax will be reduced by the present value of the income payments to The Cooper Foundation.
- Your heirs won't be taxed on any appreciation that occurs in the trust.
- You can determine the amount and term of payments to The Cooper Foundation so that your heirs pay fewer or even no transfer taxes when the principal reverts to them.
What to consider:
- A lead trust can pay The Cooper Foundation a fixed amount of income every year (a charitable lead annuity trust) or a fixed percentage of the value of the trust principal, which is revalued annually (a charitable lead unitrust).
- A grantor lead trust holds your gift of appreciating assets, pays income to The Cooper Foundation for a period and then returns the balance of the principal to you. You receive an upfront charitable tax deduction equal to the income payments received by The Cooper Foundation. The annual earnings distributed to you will be taxable to you.
- A non-grantor lead trust can be funded with shares in a growing family business and reduce the cost of passing ownership to the next generation. The income earned by a non-grantor lead trust while in operation is not taxable to you. The balance of the principal is paid to children or other heirs.
When you establish a charitable remainder annuity trust with a gift to The Cooper Foundation, your beneficiaries receive a fixed percentage of the initial value of your gift for their lifetime and/or a 20-year term — and the income is tax-exempt. Consider this giving option if you want to make a significant gift of assets to The Cooper Foundation while keeping or increasing the income you receive from these assets.
Benefits:
- You receive an immediate income tax deduction for a portion of your contribution, based on the full, fair market value of the assets you contribute.
- You pay no upfront capital gains tax on any appreciated assets you donate.
- You or your designated income beneficiaries receive stable, predictable income for life or a term of up to 20 years.
- You have the satisfaction of making a significant gift that benefits you now and Cooper University Health Care later.
What to consider:
- Annuity trusts pay beneficiaries a fixed percentage of the initial value of the assets that funded the annuity.
- Annuity trusts are well-suited for gifts of long-term tax free bonds.
Selecting a trustee:
- An annuity trust is a separate legal entity administered by a trustee. Either you, your financial advisors or The Cooper Foundation can serve as trustee. We administer a significant portfolio of charitable trusts where the trust pays for any fees. At your request, The Cooper Foundation will serve as trustee for annuity trusts established with a minimum gift of $50,000. To help you decide which option is best for you, we can share sample trust illustrations and discuss details with you and your advisors.
A growth and income fund (or pooled income fund) is like a charitable mutual fund. Your irrevocable gift of cash or securities is combined and invested with gifts from other donors. In addition to making a significant gift to The Cooper Foundation, Each quarter, you or your beneficiaries receive a proportional share of its net income each quarter.
Benefits:
- A portion of your gift is immediately eligible for a gift credit and an income tax deduction.
- Your donation of appreciated assets won't incur any capital gains tax.
- When you donate your securities to a Cooper Foundation growth and income fund, the income you receive from your gift can exceed dividends you might otherwise earn on these same securities.
- You enjoy the benefits of mutual-fund investing: a diversified portfolio, professional management and simplified reporting.
What to consider:
- You can join our growth and income fund with a gift of $25,000 or more.
- Your quarterly payments will vary with the fund's performance.
- The fund is invested for income and modest capital appreciation. At your request, we can provide the annual report with past performance and current objectives.
- Your payments are taxed to you as ordinary income.
A charitable bargain sale occurs when you sell your residence or other property to The Cooper Foundation at a price below the fair market value. The difference between the market value and what we pay to you is the charitable gift amount you may deduct from your taxes.
Benefits:
- You qualify for an immediate income tax deduction equal to the appraised value of the part of the property you donate.
- You don't owe any capital gains tax on the donated portion of the property.
- You receive cash from the sale portion.
- You have the satisfaction of making a significant gift to The Cooper Foundation.
What to consider:
- You must have an independent appraisal of the property to determine fair market value.
- You and The Cooper Foundation agree on a purchase price that is below the fair market value as determined by your independent appraiser.
- Your gift is the difference between the fair market value and the purchase price.
- As with all gifts of real estate, we must review and approve the transfer.
- If there is a mortgage or lien on your home, it could result in taxable income to you and complicate the transfer so unencumbered real estate is preferred.
Retained life estate allows you to donate your personal residence, such as home, cabin or farm, to The Cooper Foundation while retaining the right to live on and use the property for the rest of your life and/or a term of years.
Benefits:
- You receive gift credit and an immediate income tax deduction for a portion of the appraised value of your property.
- You can terminate your life estate at any time and take an additional income tax deduction.
- You have the satisfaction of making a significant gift that benefits Cooper University Health Care later.
What to consider:
- As with all gifts of real estate, we must review and approve the transfer.
- You must have an independent appraisal of the property to determine fair market value.
- If there is a mortgage or lien on your home, it could result in taxable income to you and complicate the transfer so unencumbered real estate is preferred.
Giving Assets
Want to make a tax-free distribution from your IRA to The Cooper Foundation? You can! Simply contact your IRA administrator to request that a charitable distribution be transferred to the Cooper Foundation.
Benefits:
- Avoid federal and, in many cases, state income taxes.
- Satisfy your required minimum distribution.
- Provide critical support to Cooper University Health Care.
- Designate your gift to support the program or department that is most meaningful to you.
Guidelines for charitable IRA rollover gifts:
- You must be at least 70½ years of age when the gift is made.
- Transfers from traditional IRAs or Roth IRAs are eligible.
- Transfers must be made directly by the IRA administrator to The Cooper Foundation.
- A maximum of $100,000 per taxpayer, per year qualifies for the tax-free status.
- IRA rollover gifts can be used to pay a pledge.
- Contributions for life income gifts, such as charitable gift annuities or charitable remainder trusts, do not qualify.
- Transfers must be made by December 31 to qualify for the current tax year.
Steps to make a Charitable IRA Rollover gift to The Cooper Foundation:
- Contact your IRA administrator to request that a charitable distribution be transferred to The Cooper Foundation or use our sample letter.
- To ensure your gift is properly recognized, instruct your IRA administrator to indicate the donor’s name on the check and specify the gift is a charitable IRA distribution.
- Inform us of the designation of your gift by contacting Lisa Morina, Senior Vice President & Chief Philanthropy Officer, at (856) 963-6709 or morina-lisa@cooperhealth.edu
Your Individual Retirement Account (IRA) or other retirement plan — e.g., such as 401(k), profit-sharing plan, money purchase plan — qualifies as a planned gift when you name The Cooper Foundation as a beneficiary of the remaining assets.
Benefits:
- You can avoid both income and estate tax on the residue left in your retirement account.
- You can continue to take withdrawals during your lifetime.
- You can change the beneficiary if your circumstances change.
- You can balance your estate by leaving the most-taxed asset to The Cooper Foundation and the more favorably taxed property to your heirs.
What to consider:
- You can make The Cooper Foundation a partial beneficiary of your plan and direct the balance to your heirs.
- Make sure to direct your retirement assets to The Cooper Foundation on your beneficiary designation form rather than through your will. Otherwise, your retirement assets will be included in your taxable estate.
- Retirement assets can be used to fund a charitable life-income gift. Talk to your professional advisors to understand what will benefit your heirs most.
Whether you have an older policy you no longer need or you're taking out a new policy, you can make a gift of your life insurance by naming The Cooper Foundation as the beneficiary and assigning irrevocable ownership to us.
Benefits:
- You receive gift credit and an immediate income tax deduction for the cash-surrender value of the policy.
- In some cases, you can use the cash value in your policy to fund a life-income gift, such as a deferred charitable gift annuity.
- You gain the satisfaction of making a significant gift to The Cooper Foundation without adversely affecting your cash flow.
What to consider:
- You make your gift by naming The Cooper Foundation the irrevocable owner and beneficiary of a paid-up whole life insurance policy.
- Your charitable deduction will be either the policy's fair market value or the total of your net premium payments — whichever is less.
- We reserve the right to keep a donated insurance policy in force during your lifetime or to terminate it sooner for its cash-surrender value.
When you transfer stocks, bonds or mutual funds that have risen in value to The Cooper Foundation, you make a significant gift. Furthermore, you avoid capital gains tax and are eligible for a charitable income tax deduction based on the fair market value of your shares.
With this giving option, you can make an outright gift or a gift that will return payments to you for a lifetime.
Benefits:
- You receive gift credit and a charitable income tax deduction for the fair market value of the securities on the date of transfer, no matter what you originally paid for them.
- You pay no capital gains tax on the securities you donate.
- You can direct your gift to a specific fund or purpose.
- You have the satisfaction of making a gift now or funding a gift that provides income for you now and benefits Cooper University Health Care later, such as charitable gift annuity.
What to consider:
- We recommend transferring your appreciated securities to The Cooper Foundation rather than selling them and donating the proceeds. Your sale will be subject to capital gains tax, and you'll lose the key tax benefit of this type of gift.
- We recommend selling securities that have lost value and claiming the resulting tax loss as a deduction. You can then make a tax-deductible cash gift to The Cooper Foundation with the proceeds.
- To give stock of a closely held corporation is to make a gift of a business interest. Gifts of business interests have different tax benefits and considerations. Please contact us for further information.
- Each company has its own requirements, but plan to allow at least one month to transfer mutual funds.
How to transfer securities:
- Consult your financial advisors first. Then let us know the gift is coming and where you'd like to direct it.
- Inform your broker in writing that you'd like to make a gift of appreciated securities. Let your broker know when you'd like the transfer to be made. Your broker will need to call us at (856) 342-2655 for account information.
If you enjoy surplus cash flow and want a charitable deduction to offset the largest possible amount of your taxable income, consider making a cash gift to The Cooper Foundation.
Benefits:
- Use the simplest asset to make your donation — unlike with gifts of appreciated property, there are no appraisal or acceptance requirements.
- Deliver a gift that Cooper University Health Care can use immediately.
- Receive a full charitable deduction and apply it against a larger percentage of your taxable income than a deduction for a property gift.
What to consider:
- You can make your gift with a check, money order, credit card or wire transfer.
- You can claim a tax deduction for up to 50 percent of your adjusted gross income.
- You can claim excess deductions spread over the five tax years following your gift.
- You can also use a cash gift to fund a life-income plan, such as charitable gift annuity.
If you own residential, commercial or undeveloped real estate that has grown in value, you can make a significant contribution and receive important tax benefits when you transfer it to The Cooper Foundation.
Benefits:
- You receive an income tax deduction for the fair market value of the real estate, no matter what you originally paid.
- You pay no capital gains tax on the transfer.
- You no longer pay real estate taxes, liability insurance or maintenance costs on the property.
- You can direct the proceeds from your gift to a specific program at Cooper University Health Care.
What to consider:
- With a charitable remainder unitrust, your gift of real estate can return lifetime income to you or continue an income stream from a commercial property.
- If you sell your property to us at a discount, you'll have the benefits of a charitable bargain sale.
- When you give your real estate as retained life estate, you can donate your home or vacation property and still reserve the right to use it during your lifetime.
- As with all gifts of real estate, we must review and approve the transfer.
- You must have an independent appraisal of the property to determine fair market value.
- If there is a mortgage or lien on your home, it could result in taxable income to you and complicate the transfer.
Donate books, artwork, equipment or supplies to The Cooper Foundation and receive an income tax deduction.
Benefits:
- You receive gift credit and an immediate income tax deduction for the appraised value of your gift.
- You pay no capital gains tax, provided your gift satisfies the "related use" requirements of the IRS.
- In certain cases, you can use personal property to fund a gift that provides income and benefits The Cooper Foundation (for example, a charitable remainder unitrust).
- You can have the satisfaction of making a significant gift to The Cooper Foundation without adversely affecting your cash flow.
What to consider:
- For your items to be fully deductible, the IRS requires that The Cooper Foundation first determine whether we can use them. Please consult with us first.
- You must have an independent appraisal to determine fair market value for your deduction.
- If you instruct us to liquidate your donation of personal property for cash, the IRS will limit your charitable deduction to the cost basis of the property. We recommend your personal donations come without these instructions.
- If we can no longer use or properly care for it, The Cooper Foundation may sell or dispose of the property at a later date.
Support Cooper University Health Care by transferring an interest in a real estate, oil-and-gas or other investment partnership.
Benefits:
- You receive gift credit and an immediate income tax deduction for the appraised value of the donated partnership interest, minus any debt or liabilities it may have.
- Under certain conditions, you may be able to give a partnership interest to a life-income arrangement, such as a charitable remainder unitrust.
- You can have the satisfaction of making a significant gift that benefits both you and The Cooper Foundation during your lifetime.
What to consider:
- First consult with your professional advisors to make sure this is an advantageous gift for you.
- You must determine if the partnership allows the shares to be transferred.
- The Cooper Foundation must review and approve the transfer because of issues of marketability, taxation and liability.
- If the partnership is now making income for the partners, you may want to consider donating your interest. Your charitable deduction will be based on the difference between your share of the partnership's fair market value and its liabilities.
Gifts of business interests — like stocks in a closely held corporation or family business, or shares in an investment partnership — can be beneficial to you and Cooper University Health Care.
Benefits:
- You receive gift credit and an immediate income tax deduction for the appraised value of the business interests, minus any debt or other liabilities that may be related.
- You may be able to use a business interest to create a life-income arrangement, such as a charitable remainder unitrust.
- You can direct your gift to a specific fund or purpose.
- You have the satisfaction of making a significant gift now or funding a life-income gift that benefits Cooper University Health Care later.
What to consider:
- Since shares in a closely held business or an investment partnership are not traded publicly, you'll need to have an independent appraisal of your shares.
- Make sure there are no restrictions on the transferability of shares.
- Make sure the shares haven't been used to secure a loan from the corporation or partnership. If the loan is still outstanding, you will incur tax liability.
- Shares of an S-corporation are subject to additional IRS regulations.
- The Cooper Foundation must review and approve any such transfer before it occurs.