Giving Cash
Cash gifts are the most popular charitable gift. You can deduct cash gifts to AIDB up to 50 percent of your adjusted gross income, as long as you itemize deductions on your federal income tax form. Any deductions exceeding the 50 percent limit are eligible for a five-year carry-over.
Gifts may be restricted to a designated program or project or used in an unrestricted fund, to be applied wherever the need is greatest. You can also make a donation now online!
Giving Stock and Property
Stocks, many bonds and certain other non-cash properties can make excellent gifts to AIDB.
Gifts of appreciated property are ordinarily deductible up to 30 percent of your adjusted gross income with a five-year carry-over for any excess. Always check with your tax advisor to make sure that you understand your tax result.
Planned Giving
Planned giving can be an important part of your overall estate plan allowing you to create a legacy for future generations. These gifts can reduce income taxes, reduce estate and gift taxes and reduce the cost of probate on your estate. If gifts are made with property that has increased in value, you may also avoid capital gains taxes on the appreciation of the property. You can also make a long-term gift to AIDB by donating money or property to us and retaining the income or other benefits for as long as you live, or for the life of another beneficiary you name.
We would be happy to talk with you about creating a planned giving strategy. You might consider one or more of the following options:
A charitable remainder annuity trust is an irrevocable trust that provides you or someone you name with an income stream determined by you -- not less than 5 percent -- and that pays the remainder to AIDB at the end of the trust term.
A charitable gift annuity is a simple agreement involving a gift to AIDB in return for fixed payments for life. The payments are determined by age; the older a person is when he or she establishes a gift annuity, the larger the payment.
Gift annuities can also be structured so that payments are deferred to a later date. If you defer the beginning of the payments, the amount of the charitable deduction is increased as well as the size of the payment.
A charitable lead trust is yet another way to make a gift to AIDB using a trust. This trust pays income to charity for the term of the trust at a rate established by you. At the end of the trust, the property is either returned to you or transferred to individuals you name, as you choose. The charitable deduction and tax results of this trust are more complicated. You should consult with your tax advisor to see if a charitable lead trust might work for you.
You can help AIDB beyond your lifetime by remembering us in your will or trust. This is a thoughtful and widely-used method of giving that is appropriate for almost anyone. Gifts to AIDB through your will can be for a specific dollar amount, an item of property, a percentage of your estate, or all or part of the residue after providing specific bequests for other beneficiaries.
When planning a gift by will, please use our legal name: The Alabama Institute for Deaf and Blind Foundation, Inc.
In some cases, life insurance no longer fills the same financial need for our families or ourselves as it did when we purchased it. If this is the case, you may wish to consider a gift of a life insurance policy to AIDB.
You may make the AIDB Foundation the irrevocable owner and beneficiary of a policy. This allows you an immediate income tax deduction based on the market value of the policy. You may also continue to pay the premiums on your policy. You would then be entitled to a charitable income tax deduction for the amount contributed to pay the premiums.
Charitable Giving Fact: The average household donates $1,620 annually to charities, or less than $3 a day. The average adult volunteers 3.5 hours a week.
Endowments
For AIDB, an endowment is similar to any sound investment and savings plan. The process begins when a friend of the Institute makes a gift or bequeath earmarked for a specific endowment such as those listed below. We invest those funds through the guidance and oversight of the Foundations Finance and Investment Committee, along with other gifts and existing resources, to insure the maximum total return on the investment. The return is a combination of interest, dividends and capital appreciation.
A portion of the total return of each endowment gift is then distributed according to our policy each year, and the remainder is reinvested. This reinvestment of a portion of the earnings provides protection against the eroding effects of inflation. Over time, the endowment should increase in value, thereby providing an increasing stream of future financial support. As our endowments expand through new gifts and prudent investment management, they will help to secure AIDB's future by providing strength and stability.
Behind every endowment gift is a personal motivation -- to honor a loved one, to help students, or to make a positive impact on society. Donors receive recognition for their gifts, and can even name their gift. But best of all is the knowledge that an endowment lasts forever. Since only the income is used and never the principal, you can know that you've made a positive and lasting difference in the lives of our students at AIDB.
Endowments for Excellence
AIDB Presidential Endowments for Excellence provide unrestricted income to enable the President of the Institute to address important issues on an annual basis wherever the need is greatest.
The Academic Program Endowment provides income annually to make possible guest faculty and special programs, leadership series, artists-in-residence, student honors and achievement programs, and academic research.
The Student Life Endowment makes possible student participation in field trips, summer camps, special weekend experiences, sports and recreation and arts and crafts.
The Learning Resource Endowment makes possible the purchase of more braille books, talking dictionaries, computer work stations for students who are deaf and blind, optical scanners and educational software for individuals with hearing and/or vision loss.
The Institute Outreach Endowment supports AIDB's Regional Centers, adult services, publications, seminars and conferences and long-distance learning programs.
The Human Resources Endowment funds faculty sabbaticals, professional development and employee recognition programs.
The Marianna Greene Henry Special Equestrian Center Endowment funds support of the therapeutic and recreational activities provided by the arena.