Become a LegacyBuilder of A Better Chance!

Making a Planned Gift

By including A Better Chance in your planned giving, you are taking an important step toward creating equal educational access in America. Our work would not be possible without the generous annual support of individual donors. The A Better Chance LegacyBuilders Program allows donors to make a major gift to the organization in their lifetime or at the time of passing, as part of a donor’s overall financial and/or estate planning. This will help provide A Better Chance with the resources necessary to help us reach our goal of serving 3,500 Scholars annually by 2020. Please consider the organization’s tremendous legacy, unparalleled impact and enduring commitment to youth of color.

For additional information, please contact Mr. Sunil Oommen, at (646) 346-1356 or soommen@abetterchance.org.

A Planned Gift Can Take Many Forms…

Cash: A gift of cash is a simple and easy way for you to make a gift. You will receive a charitable tax deduction that will provide you with savings on this year's tax return. Checks and money orders should be made payable to A Better Chance and delivered to its New York City headquarters, Attn: Director of Development.  Secure gifts may also be made on line via our website:  www.abetterchance.org

Publicly Traded Securities:  Gifts of appreciated stocks, bonds, or mutual funds held for more than one year can provide special tax advantages. You may be able to claim a charitable tax deduction for the full fair market value of the securities donated to A Better Chance and never have to pay capital gains taxes on the appreciation. It is possible that securities held for less than one year can be donated, but the deduction will be limited.

Tangible Personal Property: Gifts of tangible personal property can take many forms, including: art, furniture, coin and stamp collections, jewelry, equipment, cars, boats, clothes, and almost any other personal property you own. Tangible personal property is frequently given on an outright basis but it can also be transferred through planned giving vehicles such as various types of trusts. Please contact the Director of Development before initiating a gift of personal property.

Life Insurance: You can name A Better Chance as a primary or contingent beneficiary of a life insurance policy. If you retain any control over the policy, no income tax deduction is allowed; however, if A Better Chance is named both the sole owner and beneficiary of a paid-up policy, you may receive an immediate charitable deduction.  Additional premiums that you pay may also be tax deductible.

Retirement Plans: Naming A Better Chance as a primary or contingent beneficiary of a retirement plan (e.g. IRA, 401(k), 403 (b), or other pension or other tax-deferred plan) may enable you to make a larger gift than you anticipated because income and estate taxes are not imposed when plan assets are distributed to A Better Chance. If left to an heir, the plan assets are subject to income tax. Your retirement account's plan administrator (the company that manages the account) can help you designate A Better Chance as a primary or contingent beneficiary on the plan's beneficiary designation form. (Please send A Better Chance a copy of this form.)

Charitable Lead Trusts: A charitable lead trust can be used to transfer assets to children or others at a significantly reduced tax liability. The trust makes a fixed payment to A Better Chance for a specified term (the “lead” interest), measured either by someone's life or a selected number of years. After the trust term ends, the assets of the trust are either returned to you or passed on to children or other loved ones (the “remainder” interest). If the assets are to be returned to you, you receive an income tax deduction when the trust is created. If the assets are passed on to heirs, applicable estate or gift taxes on the value of the gift may be reduced or completely eliminated. The tax savings from a charitable lead trust may allow you to provide significant support for A Better Chance at little or no cost to heirs in terms of ultimate inheritance.

Charitable Remainder Trusts: A charitable lead trust is a trust that provides for payments of income and/or principal to one or more non-charitable beneficiaries, such as children or others, for a fixed number of years or for life (the “lead” interest). At the end of the lead interest, the remainder of the trust assets passes to A Better Chance (the “remainder interest”). This is an example of a so-called "split-interest trust" whereby the present interest (“lead” interest) goes to non-charities and the remainder interest goes to charities.

Bequests: The most common form of deferred gift to support A Better Chance is a bequest contained in a person's will or revocable (living) trust.  We are pleased to provide sample bequest language upon request.

Other Charitable Gifts: A Better Chance may be able to accept other types of gifts in consultation with donors on a case by case basis.

None of the above descriptions are intended to be formal or legal advice. These descriptions are for informative purposes, we encourage you to seek professional advice for your specific planned giving requests.