Barbara G. Golden
Director of Planned Giving
1733 Sixteenth St., Washington, DC 20009–3103
Tel. 202-777-3163; Fax 202-387-1843; Or call 866-448-3773
bgolden@srmason-sj.org

Gifts of real estate provide a wonderful way to support Scottish Rite charities.

With real estate prices having appreciated substantially over the years, a gift of real estate is a great way to support the Scottish Rite's Foundations. If you own property that you acquired many years ago, and you sell it, you may have to pay capital gains, if you have used up all of your exclusion amounts (i.e. the $250,000/$500,000 amount you don't pay tax on under IRS rules) or if you have held the property as a rental unit. But if you make a gift of that property to a charity, either directly by deed or through a charitable remainder trust, you can avoid or spread out recognition of the gain and get a tax deduction.

Additionally, if you have an income-producing property that you ultimately want to pass to your children or grandchildren, but you do not currently need the cash flow from the property, you could donate the property to a non-grantor charitable lead trust for a specific term. During the term of that charitable lead trust, the income from the property is paid to the charity of your choice. The trust manages the property while it is in trust. You reduce your taxable income and get a gift tax deduction (but not a charitable income tax deduction). When the term of the trust is over, the property passes to your children or grandchildren, and the appreciation is not taxed to them. Suppose you have property that is currently worth $500,000 and that produces $25,000 of net income from rentals per year. You grant the property to a non-grantor charitable lead trust for ten years, and then it passes to your child or grandchild. During the ten years of the trust, the charity gets $250,000. At the end of ten years, the property is worth $1.2 million. It passes to your children or grandchildren, and they do not pay the capital gains on the $700,000 of appreciation. Not a bad way to increase your children's ultimate inheritance while benefiting the Scottish Rite's charities!

Another intriguing idea is for a donor to gift his home, subject to a life estate, to the Scottish Rite Foundation, S.J., USA, Inc., in exchange for a charitable gift annuity, commonly called a charitable gift annuity for remainder in the home. The donor and the charity get independent appraisals of the real estate and an environmental audit of the property. Then, the donor and charity enter into a gift annuity contract, whereby the charity agrees to pay the donor a fixed annuity for his life (and up to one other life). During his lifetime, the donor receives a fixed rate of return from the annuity contract, and he continues to live in his home for his life. The charity and the donor agree for the donor to maintain the property and pay taxes on it. After the donor passes away, the home goes to the charity, which can sell the home and use the funds to support its charitable work. The donor gets a charitable donation for making the gift of property at its fair market value, less the present value of the annuity he gets and the life estate that he retains. The Scottish Rite appreciates a very nice gift to fund its charitable purposes, and the donor has the satisfaction of knowing that he has helped support such philanthropies as the RiteCare Childhood Language Program.

We can also do charitable gift annuities that a donor funds with cash or appreciated securities. Remember that you can name as the charitable remainder beneficiary the Scottish Rite Foundation, Southern Jurisdiction, or any local Scottish Rite Foundation. If you would like an analysis of a charitable gift annuity or information on any of our other planned giving ideas, please call Earl Ihle at 1-866- RITECARE (1-866-748-3227) or Barbara Golden at 1-866-GIVESRF (1-866-448-3773). We will be happy to assist you.

Scottish Rite Foundation, S.J., USA
Charitable Gift Annuity Rates: Single Life

Note: The rates shown here are subject to change and not available in all states.

Barbara Golden is the Director of Planned Giving for the Development Office of the Supreme Council. Barbara is an attorney with experience in tax, corporate, and commercial real estate law. She managed a non-profit legal services organization for several years and has extensive experience in fundraising, grant writing, and program operations.

Ill. Thomas M. Boles, 33°, G.C. (left in photo) has worked extensively in fund-raising for children's programs throughout our Fraternity. For more information on planned giving, call Bro. Tom at 562–691–4227 (Fax 562–691–5327) or the Scottish Rite Foundation, Southern Jurisdiction, U.S.A., at 202–232–3579, ext. 143. Ill. Earl E. Ihle, Jr., 33°, is our development team's Director of Major Gifts. He has been a member of the Fraternity for 25 years and served in 1978 as Master of Lafayette Lodge, No. 111, Baltimore, Maryland. He is also a member of Boumi Shrine Temple in Baltimore, the York Rite, and a dual member of the Scottish Rite Valleys of Baltimore and Washington, D.C. You can reach Bro. Ihle toll free at 1–800–486–3331, ext. 143.