Is creating or updating your will or estate plan on your 2025 to-do list? Fewer than one-third of all Americans have a will or trust, meaning that most of us haven’t gotten around to attending to this important task. Estate planning gives us the opportunity to think about supporting the people and the causes we care about most.
Building Your Legacy with Planned Giving
Planned Giving can help meet your financial goals while supporting our region’s affordable housing resources now and in the future. But what is Planned Giving? Here’s a helpful explanation:
Planned giving—sometimes called legacy giving—refers to a charitable donation that is arranged in advance and typically made as part of an individual’s overall financial and estate planning. It allows people to support their favorite charitable organizations in a way that fits their financial goals and long-term plans. The goal of planned giving is to create a mutually beneficial arrangement between the donor and the organization, in which the donor’s gift helps support the charity’s mission, while also providing the donor with tax benefits, financial benefits, and a sense of fulfillment.
Types of Planned Gifts
Bequests
Many people choose to name one or more charitable organizations in their will or trust. Below, you’ll find simple language you can use to name Mountain Housing Opportunities as a beneficiary of your estate:
“I bequeath $___(amount) OR ___% (percentage) to Mountain Housing Opportunities, Inc., a nonprofit corporation organized and existing under the laws of North Carolina, with the principal business address of 64 Clingman, Suite 101, Asheville, NC 28801 and federal tax identification number 58-1816998.”
Endowments
Mountain Housing Opportunities is a non-profit fundholder at the Community Foundation of Western North Carolina (CFWNC) and is working to build an endowment that will help contribute a predictable, steady stream of income to support affordable housing programs and services for our neighbors in need. Consider supporting the Mountain Housing Opportunities Fund at the CFWNC through a gift or bequest.
Beneficiary Designations
You can name Mountain Housing Opportunities as a beneficiary of a life insurance policy, retirement plan, or revocable trust, potentially saving on income and estate taxes.
Gifts that Provide Income
Charitable Gift Annuities and Charitable Remainder Trusts can provide lifetime income for yourself or loved ones while offering other potential benefits such as a potential increase in the income from your investments, an immediate tax deduction, and avoiding capital gains.
Celebrating Your Commitment
Have you already included MHO in your estate plans? Please let us know! Consider completing a Statement of Intent, which will allow us to recognize and celebrate your contribution. Click Here to find our Statement of Intent form.
It’s never too early to start planning your legacy. But you can be too late…
Need to establish a will, living will, or living trust? Visit Freewill.com to create a simple will or trust at no cost today. Or please contact Allison Rollison, Director of Philanthropy, at 828.254.4030 ext. 136 or allison@mtnhousing.org for more information on planned giving options at MHO and for more local resources for estate and tax planning.