Planned Giving
Would you like the music to play on for future generations? Would you like the Windsor Symphony Orchestra to carry on with its education, music therapy and community outreach programmes? You can help guarantee the financial stability of the WSO by making a “planned gift.”
What is a “Planned Gift?”
It is a way for you to leave a legacy to our community. It is a way for you to make a significant gift to the WSO without significantly affecting your portfolio or resources in the present. It is an opportunity for you to support the symphony in ways that might not be possible during your lifetime. And, there may be significant tax benefits to these gifts.
There are many ways that you can make a planned gift to the Windsor Symphony Orchestra. The most basic way would be to leave a bequest in your will. Or you may choose to name the WSO as beneficiary of a new or existing life insurance policy. Below are some options to consider as you carry out your financial planning.
How to make a “Planned Gift”Bequests
In your will, you can specify a dollar amount or percentage of your estate that you would like to leave as a legacy to the WSO. You could also donate specific assets such as real estate, automobiles. It is your choice to contribute to the general operating fund or to leave specific instructions as to how you would like your gift to be used.
Life Insurance
It is a simple matter to name the Windsor Symphony Orchestra as a beneficiary of a new or existing life insurance policy. The small premiums which you would pay now, would return an exponentially larger sum as your legacy gift to the WSO. This is a terrific way to make a significant gift without greatly impacting your current financial resources. The tax benefits of leaving a life insurance gift have proven beneficial to many patrons of the arts.
Endowments
Endowing a musician’s chair in your name or in memory of a loved one is a special way to immortalize your gift. Your donation would be placed in an endowment fund and the interest earned would be used to pay that player’s salary. Click here to learn more about endowments.
Stocks & Securities
You can choose to make a gift in your lifetime of stocks or shares. This has important tax advantages to you as a donor, which can greatly reduce the actual cost of the gift. Click here to learn more about the advantages of donating stocks and securities.
Top 10 things you can do today to leave a legacy
- Prepare a will. Without a will you lose control over your property at death.
- Leave a gift in your will for the not-for-profit organizations that made a difference in your life. Imagine the positive impact on our community if everyone made a gift from their estate to their favourite not-for-profit.
- Leave a specific dollar amount or a percentage of the assets in your will to a not-for-profit of your choice.
- Consider using assets for your charitable gift. These include but are not limited to cash, stocks, bonds, mutual funds, term deposits, real estate, vehicles, art, jewelry, or insurance. Such gifts may even provide tax savings.
- Name a not-for-profit as a beneficiary of your RRSP, RRIF or pension.
- Name your favourite not-for-profit as the beneficiary of an existing or paid-up life insurance policy.
- Purchase a new life insurance policy naming your favourite not-for-profit as the beneficiary.
- Remember loved ones with memorial gifts.
- Encourage family and friends to leave gifts to not-for-profits in their wills.
- Ask your financial or estate planning advisor to include charitable giving as part of their counsel to clients.