An Easy Way Using Your IRA
Your individual retirement account (IRA) is an excellent tool for saving for your retirement years. Once you are retired, your IRA is an easy, worry-free way to support the Radio Arts Foundation that doesn’t affect your future financial security.

Option 1: If you are between 59½ and 70½:
Once you hit 59½, you may begin taking money out of your IRA without paying a penalty. You’ll pay income tax on the amount you decide to withdraw, even if you use this money to make a gift to the Radio Arts Foundation. But if you itemize your tax deductions, you are eligible to take an income tax charitable deduction for the full value of the gift, reducing your overall tax bill.

Option 2: If you are 70½ or older:
This is the age where you must begin taking the required minimum distribution from your IRA. If you don’t need this income for your day-to-day expenses and would like the satisfaction of seeing your gift make a difference to those we serve today, you may make a contribution of up to $100,000 without paying income tax on the transaction. Just contact your financial organization to make a direct donation to the Radio Arts Foundation.

The Ease of Beneficiary Designations
If you like keeping things simple, then consider using beneficiary designations for important accounts where you can designate a certain percentage or amount from the account. This can be done at any time regardless of your age.

Life Insurance Policies
You can use a beneficiary designation form to name an organization to receive proceeds from your life insurance policies.

Banks and Brokerage Accounts
For banks and brokerage accounts most states* allow you to designate a beneficiary for these types of accounts in one of two ways:

• Payable on death (POD): You name one or more charities as the beneficiary of your checking, savings, or certificates of deposit once you, the account owner, pass away.
• Transfer on death (TOD): You designate one or more charities to receive proceeds from your brokerage or investment account after your lifetime.

Also, with both POD and TOD accounts, the beneficiary has no rights to the funds until after your lifetime. Until then, you are free to use the money in the account, to change the beneficiary or to close the account.

Keep It Simple

Naming the Radio Arts Foundation as a beneficiary of a bank, brokerage account or life insurance policy is a simple and straightforward way to support our work. It also simplifies estate planning and administration because the executor of your estate won’t have to take any action to ensure your account transfers to whomever you designated.

*State laws govern payable-on-death accounts and transfer-on-death accounts. Please consult with your bank representative or investment advisor if you are considering these gifts.

Wills and Living Trusts
Interested in helping the Radio Arts Foundation with our mission but feel overwhelmed by the thought of writing another check or giving up your assets today? A simple, flexible and versatile way to ensure we can continue our work for years to come is a gift in your will or living trust, known as a charitable bequest.

By including a bequest to the Radio Arts Foundation in your will or living trust, you are ensuring that we can continue our mission for years to come.

If you are interested, meet with your attorney and revise the bequest language, so that your gift to the Radio Arts Foundation can be setup as a percentage of your estate or a specific amount.

Contact Us
Be sure to let us know that you have named us as a beneficiary, so we can contact your administrator at the appropriate time and put your gift to work as you intend. If you have any questions, please contact Linda Shedlofsky at 314-881-3523 or email her at lshedlofsky@rafstl.org.