By Carol Wolff and the YouthZone Development Team
Opportunity for Planned Giving: Join the YouthZone Legacy Club
YouthZone’s staff and programing continue to fuel generational change for families from Aspen to Parachute since 1976. It is our passion to foster positive youth development for teens through intervention, prevention, and volunteerism. Shifting the psychology of our community from dependency to ascendancy is key, which builds a culture of hope, respect, and impartiality.
As we focus on our youth – the future of our community – and the longevity of YouthZone, one of the most impactful ways you can support these efforts is through helping us build our endowment fund. Building an endowment through planned gifts, bequests, stocks, real estate, life insurance payouts, annuities, and trust agreements creates financial stability for YouthZone while ensuring the continuation of our mission, vision, and goals.
An endowment is commonly understood as a gift of cash, asset, or property donated to an organization in perpetuity. Typically, the gift is transferred into cash and placed into an endowment fund, where the principal isn’t touched but invested to generate income. This income is then utilized to support the mission and vision of YouthZone. A portion of the income can be added to the principal, which grows the endowment over time. In essence, the endowment fund becomes a saving’s account that earns interest and is forever available to support your community through YouthZone programs.
Expanding your charitable giving is as easy as writing a checking, which is fully tax deductible up to 50% of your adjusted gross income. If you have stocks, this is a very tax-wise way to contribute as you avoid paying any capital gains tax on the increased value of the stock and you receive an income tax deduction for the full fair market value of the gift. If your stocks are paying you low dividends, you can make a life-income gift by establishing a Charitable Remainder Annuity Trust for a greater annual return. You can also name YouthZone as a beneficiary in your Will designating a dollar amount and/or percentage of your estate or gifting a portion of your IRA. Gifting real estate, such as a residence, vacation home, farm, acreage, or vacant lot, would help you avoid the capital gains tax and receive a charitable deduction for the full fair market value of the property. Also, gifting of life insurance can provide a significant charitable deduction as well.
We can’t do it without you! Just recently, YouthZone received a significant legacy gift of $635,800. This generous gift has allowed us to prioritize strategies for sustainability and a substantial contribution to our endowment. Please consider joining the YouthZone Legacy Club by contributing to the endowment and help us match that gift by Dec. 31st 2023. Always check with your financial advisor to plan your giving and take advantage of the financial benefits of doing so. Your planned giving provides real hope to teens and stability for YouthZone. By expanding your charitable impact, you ensure that your community’s youth and families are receiving the support they need in difficult times. It is only with the generous support of our community members that YouthZone can serve over 2,000 youth and families annually.
YouthZone provides comprehensive assessment and advocacy to inspire healthy relationships between youth, families, and communities from Aspen to Parachute. If you would like to learn more about YouthZone and our services, please give us a call at 970-945-9300.
Carol Wolff is Director of Development. Carol brings to YouthZone years of experience as Executive Director of the Rocky Mountain Repertory Theatre in Grand Lake, Colorado, for 11 years, and then of the Colorado Honor Band Association in Denver, Colorado, since 2015. Carol’s degree is in Elementary Education from the University of Northern Colorado. Carol has been with YouthZone since March 2020.