Planned Giving

YOU CAN BE THE REASON FOR THEIR FUTURE

When you designate a Planned Gift to Humane Fort Wayne through your will or trust, you become part of our Forever Friends Society, ensuring that pets know love and warmth today and far into the future.

Gift planning helps you turn your savings into lifesaving while meeting your personal, financial, and estate-planning goals.

Here are some asset types you can use to make a current or future gift to save and serve pets in need.

Expand below to see more information relating to each type of planned gift.

Will or Trust

Ways to give through your will or trust

To help you get started on your plans and legacy, you can use FreeWill, an online tool that guides you through the process of creating your will or trust.

It’s easy to use, accessible online, and can be completed in 20 minutes. You can use this resource on its own, or use it to document your wishes before finalizing your plans with an attorney.

Have you already included a gift to Humane Fort Wayne in your will or trust? Please fill out this form to let us know! We would love to thank you for your generosity.

It is important to check with your legal and financial advisors to ensure your plans benefit both the people and causes you care about in the most strategic way possible.

You can make a gift through your will or trust to suit your goals, including a specific gift and a contingent gift.

Specific gift

You describe exactly what kind of gift you want to leave to a specific individual or organization and the designated source. If you want to leave a specific dollar amount from a specific source or a particular item, this is the type of bequest you would use.

Here’s an example: Jean states in her will: “I leave my stamp collection to my grandson, Greg. I leave my beach house to my daughter, Maria. I leave my securities to Humane Fort Wayne.”

Contingent gift

This type of bequest is fulfilled if certain conditions are met. For instance, if your primary beneficiary does not survive you, you can indicate your next choice through a contingent bequest. Here’s an example:

Robert states in his will: “I give all the rest, residue, and remainder of my real and personal estate to my wife, Susan, if she survives me; if not, then I give 50% in equal shares to my children who survive me and 50% to Humane Fort Wayne.”

For your convenience, we’ve provided some suggested language below that you could use in your will or trust. Please feel free to adapt this language with your attorney to fit your individual situation.

Suggested language:

“I give to Humane Fort Wayne, an Indiana-based charitable organization located in Fort Wayne, Indiana, with offices at 4914 S Hanna Street Fort Wayne, IN 46806, (the sum of $_____) (all or _____% of my residual estate) to be used for its general purposes.”

Humane Fort Wayne is a charitable organization located in Fort Wayne, IN, exempt from federal taxation under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Tax identification number: 35-6042135

Retirement Assets

Ways to give through your accumulated retirement assets

A gift from your IRA, 401(k), 403(b), pension, or other tax-deferred plan is an excellent way to help the animals for years to come.

If you’re like many people, you probably will not use all your retirement assets during your lifetime.

One of the most flexible and inexpensive ways you can make a difference for the animals is by designating Humane Fort Wayne as a beneficiary of your financial accounts.

Your pensions, retirement plans, or other financial accounts can be a practical way to help companion animals in need and can even save you at tax time. Typically, retirement plan balances are subject to both income and estate taxes. But because Humane Fort Wayne is a nonprofit organization, we won’t pay income tax on the distribution, nor will the gift be subject to estate tax. Your retirement assets may be transferred to Humane Fort Wayne by completing a beneficiary designation form provided by your plan custodian.

Making a beneficiary designation

Check with your legal and financial advisors to ensure your plans benefit both the people and causes you care about most strategically.

You have a variety of options for giving to the animals.

You can add Humane Fort Wayne as a beneficiary of any percent or amount you choose through a simple beneficiary designation form.

Another approach is to name Humane Fort Wayne as a secondary or contingent beneficiary in case someone you’re providing for can’t claim their portion.

To name Humane Fort Wayne on your beneficiary designation form, please use the following address: Humane Fort Wayne
4914 S Hanna Street Fort Wayne, IN 46806
Tax identification number: 35-6042135
Relationship: 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization

Beneficiary Designations

Ways to give through your life insurance

Do you have an IRA, 401(k), life-insurance policy, or any other assets not included in your will? If so, these are called non-probate assets, and you must plan your beneficiaries for them separately. Use this online tool to make your plans and designate Humane Fort Wayne as a beneficiary of one or more of these assets.

You may name Humane Fort Wayne as a full, partial, or contingent beneficiary of any policy. Don’t forget employer-sponsored life insurance offered at no cost to you.

You may donate outright a life insurance policy that is no longer needed. Humane Fort Wayne could either hold or surrender the policy to receive the current cash value. You may donate a policy that is paid up or one with ongoing premium payments.

Contact your insurance carrier to request a beneficiary form.

For example, Art bought a life insurance policy years ago that he now wants to donate to Humane Fort Wayne. Since he gave the policy to us, Art can claim an income tax charitable deduction. The total amount of the policy is removed from his estate, and we will use the gift to help pets in need through Humane Fort Wayne programs and services.

Ask your insurance provider for more details, or consult your legal or financial advisor to help you decide which option is best for you.

Charitable Gift Annuity

This is a creative way to help you meet your financial and charitable goals while also helping the animals for years ahead.

When you make a charitable gift annuity, you can realize tax savings, secure your retirement by receiving reliable annual income, and support the future of Humane Fort Wayne and the animals.

To set up a charitable gift annuity with Humane Fort Wayne, you may donate cash, appreciated securities, or funds from your IRA*.

In return, you receive an income tax deduction and a steady stream of income for life for you or someone you designate. This way of giving will also help you save on capital gains taxes for gifts of appreciated securities.

IRA Rollover

Making a gift through your individual retirement account

A charitable individual retirement account (IRA) rollover is a wonderful option for people 70 ½ and older. That’s because it allows you to make a gift to the animals — from $100 to $100,000 — without the distribution counting as taxable income.

This giving option is a direct contribution made from your traditional or Roth IRA to a public charity like Humane Fort Wayne, and it is a great option if you don’t normally itemize your charitable deductions.

Please discuss with your tax adviser or other financial professionals whether an IRA charitable rollover could benefit you.

Here are some key features of a qualified charitable distribution:

You must be at least 70 ½ years old.
You may transfer up to $100,000 per year directly from your traditional or Roth IRA to Humane Fort Wayne or other qualified charitable organizations.
Married couples can each gift up to $100,000 per year from their IRA if they each meet the requirements above.
You may not receive any goods or services in return for your IRA rollover gift.
New legislation effective in 2023 makes it possible to use qualified charitable distributions to fund life-income gifts like charitable gift annuities and charitable remainder trusts.

Legal name: Humane Fort Wayne
Tax ID number: 35-6042135
Address: 4914 S Hanna Street, Fort Wayne, IN 46806

Please notify us when you request an IRA charitable rollover gift so that your gift can be matched to you when it arrives. It is helpful to let us know the financial institution that will be issuing the check and the contribution amount. Many financial institutions do not include the donor name on the check.

Consult with your tax adviser or other financial professional to determine whether an IRA charitable rollover could benefit you. In addition, please feel free to contact a member of the Humane Fort Wayne Director of Development, Rachel Burkholder at 260.609.3472 or [email protected].

Stock Gifts

Making your gift of stocks, bonds, and mutual funds

Making a gift of appreciated stock, bonds, or mutual funds is easy with the help of your tax or financial professional.

As always, we recommend you consult your tax or financial professional before making charitable donations. The first step in making a gift of this type is to provide your broker with the following transfer information:

DTC code: 5409
Account number: 61-0569-01-4
Account name: Humane Fort Wayne, INC INVEST AGY
Humane Fort Wayne EIN: 35-6042135
Receiving institution: Lake City Bank Wealth Advisory Group

When you make a gift to Humane Fort Wayne by transferring stocks into our account, we do not receive any information that identifies you as the donor. To ensure that you receive a proper tax acknowledgment of your gift, please email Rachel Burkholder, Director of Development at [email protected].

You can also download our stock transfer form to get started. (Coming Soon!)

Become a Forever Friend

Unleash your legacy as a Forever Friend

When you leave a gift to Humane Fort Wayne through your estate plan, you become a Forever Friend — to us and to the animals.

Leaving a gift to Humane Fort Wayne comes with the peace of mind of knowing that your savings will continue, leaving a legacy of kindness for dogs and cats in need, even after you’re gone. Connect with us to learn more about how you can become a Forever Friend!

To those who have recognized Humane Fort Wayne in their memorials and those who have honored others with a donation to Humane Fort Wayne—your dedication to our mission is the foundation of our work.

We would like to include you in our Forever Friends Society. Please let us know about your future gift to Humane Fort Wayne by contacting Rachel Burkholder, Director of Development at [email protected] or 260.609.3472.