Legacy Gifts: Lasting Solutions
A gift through your estate will have a lasting impact in ending homelessness in Colorado. Different options for planning your gift provide flexibility to maintain control of your assets, provide for family and loved ones, and help further lasting solutions to homelessness.
The Lasting Solutions Society Honoring those who have included the Coalition in their estate plans.
The Colorado Coalition for the Homeless created the Lasting Solutions Society to honor and thank those who remember the Coalition with a gift in their estate plans, supporting the critical work to end homelessness even after the donor is gone. Some donors name the Coalition to receive a gift in their will or living trust; others have named us as a beneficiary of a life insurance policy, retirement account, or charitable trust.
If you have already made provision for the Coalition in your estate plans, please let us know and allow us to recognize you as a member of the Lasting Solutions Society. As a member of the society, you will receive access to special virtual and in-person briefings with Coalition leadership on topics of interest to you, and your name will be recognized on the Coalition’s honor roll of society members.
With your estate planning, there is flexibility to prioritize family and loved ones first, providing for the Coalition after those needs are met. There are many options to accomplish all your wishes in this planning.
Each estate gift, large or small, helps strengthen the Coalition in permanent ways.
All estate gifts will be used to support our work to end homelessness throughout Colorado. Gifts may be designated to one of these funds:
Area of Greatest Need
Gifts supporting the Greatest Need will further our work to meet current year needs in delivering healthcare, placing people into stable housing and offering supportive services that help people maintain stability. In the absence of specific instruction, future legacy gifts will be directed to this fund. The board may designate the funds to the Lasting Solutions Fund.
Lasting Solutions Fund
This board-restricted fund supports affordable and supportive housing development to prevent and end homelessness. A gift to the Lasting Solutions Fund will be used to create new housing by:
- Funding the purchase of land to be developed, enabling the Coalition to plan our work for several years ahead.
- Fund predevelopment costs, like site preparation, engineering and architecture, accelerating project plans before construction begins.
- Provide critical matching funds needed to attract federal tax credit and other funding to cover construction.
Support of a current Coalition program
Support the work of a specific current program or area (e.g., health care delivery, family services, vocational services) with your designated gift.
We will be glad to help you explore the different ways a future gift could impact the Coalition. For more information, please contact Liesl Thomas, Director of Philanthropy, at lthomas@coloradocoalition.org or call 303-312-9634.
All inquiries are held in strict confidence.
Please know there will never be any expectation or obligation to complete a gift.
There are many ways to support the Coalition with an estate gift, options that help you balance planning for family and loved ones with a chance to give back. The following provides a brief introduction:
Gift Planning for Maximum Flexibility
Most people like to preserve their full control over their assets during life, protecting against future uncertainties. You can still create a legacy gift today while simultaneously retaining control over these assets for the balance of your life. Such gifts are called revocable gifts. These gifts include:
Charitable Bequest
By naming the Coalition in your Will or Living Trust, you create a gift today that we will receive when your estate is settled.
IRA or Retirement Plan
Naming the Coalition as a beneficiary of your IRA or workplace retirement plan is easy and does not require an attorney’s help to do so. To include the Coalition, simply request a “beneficiary change” form from your IRA custodian or Human Resources department, complete the form, and then return it according to their instructions. Beneficiary change forms are often available online.
Life Insurance
You can name the Coalition as the beneficiary of a new or existing life insurance policy. To include the Coalition, simply request a “beneficiary change” form from your life insurance company, complete the form, and return it according to the instructions provided. Again, most companies make beneficiary change forms available online.
The IRS provides important tax incentives to encourage support for charitable organizations. To qualify for any given tax benefit, a gift typically must be irrevocable. Stated another way, a gift must be complete and not one a donor could ‘reclaim’ in any way.
An irrevocable gift only should be made after proper reflection and consultation with your legal and financial advisors. However, with proper planning, such gifts can provide important income and tax benefits for you and your heirs. Examples of these gifts include:
Charitable Remainder Trusts
In the right situations, a charitable remainder trust can provide powerful financial, tax, and estate planning benefits. You donate assets into trust for the eventual benefit of the Coalition. In the interim, the trust pays income to you and/or your designated income beneficiaries.
Charitable Lead Trust
A charitable lead trust can provide support for the Coalition, while transferring assets in the future to your heirs with little or no gift or estate tax.
Retained Life Estate
You can donate future ownership of a residence to the Coalition, while still retaining the right to live there for the rest of your life.
For more information about any of these options, please contact Liesl Thomas, Director of Philanthropy, at lthomas@coloradocoalition.org or 303-312-9634.
All inquiries are held in confidence. There is never an obligation to complete any gift.