PLANNED GIFTS - What are they?

Most contributions to the Red Cross are outright gifts: a donor writes a check, feels great about what they are accomplishing through their contribution and gets a tax deduction. But there are special kinds of contributions called "planned" gifts that bring surprising additional benefits to donors, such as...

• income for life
• increased retirement income
• capital gain tax avoidance
• unusually high rates of return
• income for others, such as children or other loved ones
• stable income that avoids stock market volatility, for people at a stage in their lives where they can't tolerate big swings in the stock market
• the ability to make a much larger contribution than one would think possible
• estate tax avoidance (for estates of $2 million and up for 2006-08)

We look forward to doing our wonderful work in this community for a long, long time, and planned gifts are an important part of strengthening the local Red Cross for the long term. And if designated to "the Endowment Fund of the American Red Cross of the Susquehanna Valley," they even provide a way to "live forever".

The world's foremost humanitarian organization, built entirely on human goodness, is very much alive right here in our Susquehanna Valley. Please join other good friends of the Red Cross from our community who help us and themselves through a planned gift.

In planned giving, the emphasis is on meeting needs of the donor. Ed Winters would welcome a phone call or email to discuss the variety of planned giving opportunities. Contact Ed at 257-1822 ext. 202 (Harrisburg and Mifflin-Juniata) or 299-5566 ext. 202 (Lancaster), or email Ed.