Skip to content
Home
Endowment Fund & Estate Planning

Endowment Fund & Estate Planning

The library receives income from AACA National Headquarters, monetary contributions from club members, and interest from our Endowment Fund. We would like to grow our Endowment Fund so that interest income will one day defray our entire operating budget. By contributing to the library’s Endowment Fund you can ensure that the library will continue to provide extensive research material and services for future researchers.
NOTE: Regardless of which of the following types of gifts you make to the Endowment Fund, there are certain limitations on the tax benefits that you accrue, depending upon circumstances. Therefore, it is vital that you consult with your attorney and/or tax consultant before you contribute.

Bequests

Bequests are the most commonly used method of making planned gifts. It is advisable that you consult with an attorney when you are preparing your will or making changes to an existing will. There are numerous ways in which you can include the AACA Library & Research Center in your estate plans. A few examples are listed below.

Outright Bequests

Anything you own can be left to the AACA Library & Research Center in your will. You may designate a specific dollar amount or percentage of your estate, or articles of property (automobiles, jewelry, art, literature, real estate, etc.). If you are one of the many members of AACA who make an annual contribution to the library, you can continue that contribution forever. For example, a bequest of $2,000 when invested in the library’s Endowment Fund at a return of 5% will provide an annual gift of $100. As with any bequest to the library, the amount you give will be free of federal estate tax as the library is classified under IRS 501(c)(3).

Percentage and Remainder Bequests

You can specify that a percentage of your estate be designated for the Library & Research Center. That is, rather than designate a specific amount in your will to gift the library, you can specify that a percentage, such as 10% or 20% of your estate, be willed instead. Alternatively, you may specify that the library be the recipient of the remainder of your estate after all your other specific bequests have been honored.

Contingent Bequests

If none of the beneficiaries in your will are living at the time of your death, the distribution of your estate will be determined by the state in which you live. If you would prefer that your estate be used to help future generations of automotive researchers, you can name the library as a contingent beneficiary. Of course, you can do both if you wish: you can make a specific bequest to the library, and also name the us as a contingent beneficiary.

Life Estate Plans

You may give a personal residence or land to the library, reserving the right to live in the house or continue to use the property during your lifetime and, if desired, the lifetime of a surviving spouse. This is known as life estate retained. In the year the title is transferred, you are allowed an income tax deduction for a portion of the fair market value of the property. Another tax advantage is realized at the death of the donor, since the value of the home will not be included in the calculation of estate taxes.

Life Insurance

Life insurance can be used in a number of ways to benefit the library. You may apply for a new policy, naming the AACA Library & Research Center as owner and beneficiary, and may deduct the premiums paid as a charitable contribution for income tax purposes.

On the other hand, you may find that you no longer have need for a policy or policies that you purchased some time in the past. For example, you may have purchased a policy when your children were younger to assure their education, and are now still paying premiums on that policy. Or perhaps you purchased a policy to protect a home mortgage that has since been paid. Whatever the case, such policies are ideal gifts to the library. The cash value of the policies at the time of the transfer will be considered a charitable gift for income tax purposes. Should you decide to continue paying premiums on the policy, the premium payments also qualify for additional charitable gift deductions.

You may also name the library as a partial beneficiary of one of your existing policies, or as a contingent (secondary) beneficiary if the primary beneficiary is not living at the time of your death. In these cases, no deductions are allowed against current income taxes, but any proceeds paid to the library after your death would be considered charitable deductions for purposes of determining your estate taxes.

Life Income Plans

You may desire to make a substantial gift to the library but still have need for income from the funds, securities, or other property you wish to contribute. Through one of several life income plans, you may retain an income for yourself and one other individual from assets you give to the library. Life income plans include the Gift Annuity and the Charitable Remainder Trusts (annuity trust and unitrust) among others. While each plan has its own unique features, they are all similar in several important aspects.

Through these arrangements you may:

  • Make a generous gift
  • Take an income tax deduction at the time the gift is established
  • Avoid paying tax on any appreciated property used to establish the gift
  • Receive an income for life (and/or the life of another designated beneficiary)

A life income plan may also be established through your will, thereby providing income for your heirs with the assets eventually going to the AACA Library & Research Center.

Additional Information

Part of the responsibilities of the AACA Library & Research Center Committee is to obtain necessary assets for the Endowment Fund. This committee is prepared to work with you and your legal and/or financial advisor to determine the most suitable giving method for you. If you would like additional information or have any questions concerning a gift to the Library & Research Center, please contact:

Jen Wolfe, Library Director
AACA Library & Research Center
800 W Hersheypark Drive
Hershey, PA 17033
717-534-2082 ext. 1410
jwolfe@aaca.org