Frequently Asked Questions
The Quad Cities area has a rich history of community involvement, and our goals at the Trinity Health Foundation are no different. The information and assistance we can provide may help you reach financial and charitable goals that you may never have thought possible. Every plan we offer is unique…just like you.
If you don't see the answer you're looking for, please e-mail
foundation@ihs.org or write to the Trinity Health Foundation at
2121 1st Street A, Moline, IL 61265. All inquiries are handled promptly and confidentially. We suggest you consult with your professional advisor before committing to any plan.
Can I include the Trinity Health Foundation in my will?
Many of our supporters make charitable gifts by naming the Trinity Health Foundation as a beneficiary in their wills. The federal government encourages these gifts or bequests, by allowing an unlimited estate tax charitable deduction.
To make a bequest to the Trinity Health Foundation, the following language will be helpful to your lawyer:
I give, devise, and bequeath to the Trinity Health Foundation for the benefit of the _________________ the sum of _______ (or otherwise describe the gift or specify a percentage of the estate).
There are three ways you can make a bequest:
- Specific Bequest: You designate a specific dollar amount or percentage, or specific property to the Trinity Health Foundation.
- Residual Bequest: Your estate will pay all debts, taxes, expenses, and specific bequests. The remaining amount will be transferred to the Trinity Health Foundation.
- Contingent Bequest: You can ask that the Trinity Health Foundation receive all or a portion of your estate only under certain circumstances. For example, you can name the Trinity Health Foundation as a beneficiary of your estate only if there are no surviving close family members.
When you are a planned gift donor, the Trinity Health Foundation will honor you with membership in the Heritage Society. If you have already made a plan to give to the Trinity Health Foundation in your will or estate plan, please contact us. We realize that with your special gift, you consider us to be part of your family, and we want to do our best to keep you informed as to how your gift will be used and to give you the opportunity to share with us your wishes.
How do I establish a life income gift?
Family obligations and the need to provide for retirement, coupled with the high cost of living, make it difficult for many people to consider substantial charitable gifts now. But there is a way to have the satisfaction of making a meaningful lifetime gift without sacrifice in what is called a life income gift. You irrevocably transfer some assets to the Trinity Health Foundation now, and in return, you (and a survivor, if you wish) receive income for life. As a result, the assets are used to carry out our mission.
By making a life income gift to the Trinity Health Foundation, you will receive the following benefits, in addition to the comfort of knowing your gift will do good work for your community. The benefits include:
- A charitable deduction, in the year you make the gift, for the present value of our right to eventually receive the assets.
- You free-up appreciated investment to maximize yield, diversify, or both, often without paying tax on the capital gain.
- Your effective yield is increased by substantial income tax savings.
- Income can be taxed more favorably in some plans.
- You unburden yourself of investment concerns.
- Your probate and estate administration costs may be reduced.
What are examples of life income plans?
- Charitable Gift Annuity: In exchange for your gift of cash or marketable securities to the Trinity Health Foundation, we agree to pay you (and a survivor or other beneficiary) a fixed amount annually for your lifetime. The transfer is part gift and part purchase of an annuity. The rate of return is attractive and the payments are guaranteed for life. The Trinity Health Foundation uses the charitable gift annuity rates recommended by the Council on Gift Annuities (link to http://www.acga-web.org/giftrates.html). We would be happy to walk through specific income scenarios with you and/or your family.
- Charitable Remainder Trust: This life income plan is created by transferring assets to a trust that pays you (and another beneficiary, if you wish) income for life. At the end of the trust, the remaining trust assets are transferred to the Trinity Health Foundation. A bank or trusted advisor can serve as trustee. The type of charitable remainder trust you choose determines your annual payments:
- Charitable Remainder Annuity Trust: The charitable remainder annuity trust pays you a fixed dollar amount annually for life. The fixed payments are determined by the payout percentage selected at the beginning of the trust. You can claim a charitable deduction on your income tax form the year that you create the trust. The payments you receive are taxed as ordinary income, and in some cases as capital gain or tax-free return of principal
- Charitable Remainder Unitrust: The charitable remainder unitrust pays you a fixed percentage of the fair market value of the trust assets, as revalued each year. Like the annuity trust, you can claim a charitable deduction on your income tax form the year that you create the trust. The payments you receive are taxed as ordinary income, and in some cases as capital gain or tax-free return of principal.
What other opportunities are there to give to Trinity Health Foundation?
We also accept gifts of life insurance, lead trusts, pooled income fund, and today’s very popular planned giving technique, gifts of retirement plans.
- Some of our supporters no longer need their life insurance that was purchased years ago to provide for children or other family members, and they consider donating the policy to the Trinity Health Foundation. You may claim a charitable deduction for approximately the policy's cash surrender value, and the proceeds are completely removed from your estate.
- Your gift of money, marketable securities, or both to the Trinity Health Foundation’s pooled income fund is invested together with similar gifts from other supporters. Each year, you receive your share, which is taxable as ordinary income, of the fund's earning.
- Individuals with very large estates can use a charitable lead trust to benefit the Trinity Health Foundation and pass principal to family members with little or no tax penalty. You transfer assets to a trust that provides payments to the Trinity Health Foundation for a term of years. Then the trust principal goes to your children, grandchildren, or others free of, or at greatly reduced, federal gift and estate tax.
- Many individuals today have large qualified retirement plans such as an IRA, 401(k), or Keogh plan. These assets have been growing tax-free for years. Once the owner begins to receive payments from the qualified plans, the distributions are taxed. The plans are also included in the owner's taxable estate. A retirement plan may be an excellent source of funds for making a gift to the Trinity Health Foundation.
- Finally, you can make a gift of your retirement plan is to create a charitable remainder trust through your will. Your IRA assets will be transferred to a charitable remainder trust. There is no tax due because the charitable remainder trust is a tax-exempt entity. The trust will provide life income to the beneficiary (for example, your child) with an eventual gift to the Trinity Health Foundation. The beneficiary will pay income tax on the distributions from the trust. Your estate will receive an estate tax charitable deduction for the value of the Trinity Health Foundation's right to eventually receive the trust assets.