With a planned gift to UNOS, you can balance your charitable interests with your personal financial, tax and estate-planning goals.

Planned gifts to UNOS may include:

• bequests through your will or living trust
• retirement plan beneficiary designation
• life insurance policy beneficiary designation
• charitable trusts
• charitable gift annuities

You may designate your gift for unrestricted use, the Education, Research and Technology Fund, the National Donor Memorial, the Hume-Kauffman Transplantation Library and Archives, or any other aspect of our mission that matches your passion. Our staff is ready to work with you and your advisors, in confidence and without obligation, to help you explore the best possible method of giving for your circumstance.*

Bequests through your will or living trust

A bequest in your will or living trust is the most common planned giving arrangement for supporting UNOS. To include a bequest to UNOS in your will, the following language is suggested:

"I give, devise, and bequeath to UNOS Foundation, a qualified 501(c)(3) charitable organization located in Richmond, Virginia, the sum of ____ dollars (or ____% of my residual estate, or other personal or real property appropriately described) for the general purposes and uses of United Network for Organ Sharing."

Retirement plan beneficiary designation

Naming UNOS as a beneficiary of a qualified retirement plan is becoming an increasingly popular way to give. Because of the way qualified plans are taxed, beneficiaries often don't benefit from all assets in the plan. These assets are included in your gross estate for federal estate tax purposes, and are also taxed as income when received by the beneficiaries.

Funding a gift to UNOS with these assets generates an estate tax charitable deduction and UNOS will not have to pay income tax on the assets when they are received.

Life insurance policy beneficiary designation

You can also name UNOS as a beneficiary of a life insurance policy. A life insurance gift is a good option if you:

• wish to make a substantial gift through relatively modest annual payments
• have an existing policy that is no longer needed for its original purpose
• can utilize the resulting tax or estate planning benefits

To qualify for a tax deduction, certain requirements must be met:

• The policy must be a universal or whole life policy
• The policy must specify a level premium which is established when the policy is issued, and the premium must disappear in twelve years or less
• The policy must contain a waiver of premium provision
• Dividends, if any, must be retained as paid up additions
• UNOS must be named as both owner and beneficiary and have possession of the policy

Charitable trusts

A charitable trust is a good way to make a substantial gift to UNOS while providing lifetime income for yourself or your beneficiaries. You can choose from many forms of charitable trusts to suit your own needs, but the basic charitable trust begins with the transfer of a minimum gift of $xx,xxx of assets to a trustee. You then receive income from these assets for a predetermined length of time. Upon termination of the trust, the assets are transferred to UNOS and distributed according to your wishes.

Charitable trusts can be especially beneficial if you:

• wish to make a charitable gift to benefit UNOS and at the same time retain the income from the assets you give
• have highly appreciated assets which you hesitate to sell because of taxes
• need more income than the assets are currently providing to you

A charitable trust can take several forms. We recommend that you review your intentions with your financial and legal advisors.

Charitable gift annuities

With this gift option, UNOS and the donor enter into an agreement under which UNOS agrees to pay the donor or other beneficiaries a fixed income for life in exchange for a gift of cash, marketable securities, or approved real estate. The annuity rate is based on the age of the donor or other beneficiaries. contact your financial planner regarding current gift minimums.

You receive a charitable income tax deduction in the year you create your annuity and a portion of your annuity income is tax free. The tax implications of a charitable gift annuity fluctuate slightly according to IRS interest rates in effect during the month and year your gift is made.

*The UNOS Foundation does not provide legal or tax advice. We recommend that you seek your own legal and tax advice in connection with gift and planning matters. To ensure compliance with certain IRS requirements, we disclose to you that this information (including any attachments) is not intended or written to be used, and cannot be used, for the purpose of avoiding tax-related penalties.