Planned
GIVING

WILL
Naming Misty Meadows Equine Learning Center as a beneficiary of your will is one of the easiest ways to ensure that charitable giving is part of your life’s legacy.  In as little as one sentence, you can complete your gift: “I (we) hereby give, devise, and bequeath the (sum of $x or percentage of or residual of my estate) to Misty Meadows Equine Learning Center, 55 Misty Meadows Lane, West Tisbury, MA, tax ID 81-0774854 or its successor organization, for (its general purposes or specific purpose). This type of donation to MMELC in your will or living trust helps ensure that we continue our mission for years to come. 

IRA OR RETIREMENT PLAN
Make a difference today and save on taxes.  It’s possible when you designate Misty Meadows Equine Learning Center as the beneficiary of your retirement funds.  Retirement plans left to charities are not subject to income or estate tax.

No matter your age, you can designate MMELC as the beneficiary of all or a percentage of your IRA and it will pass to MMELC tax-free after your lifetime.  It’s simple, just requiring that you contact your IRA administrator for a change-of-beneficiary form or download a form from your provider’s website.

Tip:  It’s critical to let us know of your gift because many popular retirement plan administrators assume no obligation to notify a charity of your designation.  The administrator also will not monitor whether your gift designations are followed.  We would love to talk to you about your intentions to ensure that they are followed.  We would also like to thank you for your generosity.

LIFE INSURANCE

Designate Misty Meadows Equine Learning Center as the beneficiary of life insurance proceeds, allowing these assets to pass to the beneficiaries outside of your will.  This gift is as simple as updating your beneficiary designation form with the policy holder. You can designate MMELC as the primary beneficiary for a percentage or specific amount.  You can also make MMELC the contingent beneficiary so that MMELC will receive the balance of your policy only if your primary beneficiary doesn’t survive you.

BANK AND INVESTMENT ACCOUNTS

Make a charitable gift by naming Misty Meadows Equine Learning Center as the “payable on death” beneficiary of your bank and investment accounts.  MMELC also accepts gifts of stock.  Securities and mutual funds that have increased in value, and have been held for more than one year, are one of the most popular assets to use when making a gift to MMELC.  Making a gift of securities or mutual funds offers you the chance to support our mission while realizing important benefits for yourself.  When you donate appreciated securities or mutual funds that you have held for more than one year in support of our mission, you can reduce, or even eliminate, federal capital gains taxes on the transfer.  You may also be entitled to a federal income tax charitable deduction based on the fair market value of the securities at the time of the transfer.  Our account is with Vanguard.  Securities can support MMELC’s mission in two ways:

• When you donate securities to MMELC, you receive the same income tax savings that you would if you wrote MMELC a check but with the added benefit of eliminating capital gains taxes of the transfer, which can be as high as 20%.

• A transfer on death (TOD) account*:  By placing a TOD designation on your brokerage or investment account, that account will be paid over to one or more persons or charities after your lifetime.