A written will protects and distributes your assets following your death. It is the best means to ensure that your wishes are carried out. A percentage of your estate can be donated to MHA in DE.

This form of gift allows you to help the many people we serve here at MHA in DE while earning a guaranteed income from your gift. It also provides significant tax savings in the year the gift is made and in subsequent years as interest is paid to you.

You can donate an appreciated asset such as securities, bonds or real estate to MHA in DE. This method of giving avoids the capital gains tax which can make converting an asset to cash a very expensive process and it can provide a reliable source of interest income to you. Often this income is higher than what was being earned from the original investment.

MHA created an endowment fund at the Delaware Community Foundation to provide for the long-term stability of our agency. We can either spend a portion of the interest that is earned each year or allow the interest to build up over a period of years to increase the size of the fund. In either case, our endowment fund is permanent. The initial investment that created the fund, along with the gifts that are added over the years, will always be at the Delaware Community Foundation to generate income to meet our future needs.

The Delaware Community Foundation was created in 1996 to provide a lasting source of income to meet community needs. It administers hundreds of charitable funds for individuals, families, organizations and businesses and awards grants to nonprofit organizations to enrich the lives of Delawareans. The Delaware Community Foundation has close to $130 million in assets.

• Our endowment fund benefits from the Foundation’s investment expertise and from being part of a large portfolio.

• The DCF handles all administrative, as well as investment responsibilities for our fund, freeing our staff to concentrate on our mission.

• The DCF employs gift planning professionals who will help our donors make current and deferred gifts to our endowment fund.

Our endowment fund at the Delaware Community Foundation gives donors – some of whom already support current operations and programs – the opportunity to provide for the future needs of MHA. There are many types of gifts and giving vehicles that provide donors with the maximum tax and financial benefits. They include:

• A gift of non-cash assets, including appreciated stock, retirement plan assets and life insurance.

• A bequest, which is a deferred gift given through a donor’s will.

• A life income gift, which allows a donor to make a charitable gift and also receive a stream of income for life. The two most common types of life income gifts are charitable gift annuities and charitable remainder trusts.

• A charitable lead trust, which helps a donor reduce gift and estate taxes when passing assets onto heirs. Trust income is paid to charity annually for a period of years; at the end of the term, the trust principal passes to family members.

Please call Roberta Fishgold, at (302) 654-6833 or email at rfishgold@mhainde.org to discuss other gift options, such as gifts of stock or planned giving opportunities. You may also contact the The Delaware Community Foundation.