Planned Giving


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Planned Giving

Planned Giving allows individuals to make a charitable gift of estate assets, which helps ensure ASI's long-term future. With such gifts, donors can make a satisfying and, usually, substantial contribution while meeting their own personal and financial objectives.

Browse Planned Giving Options...

Gifts Through Wills & Living Trusts

You can make a gift (bequest) to a charitable organization through your will or living trust in the following ways

A percentage of your total estate--In using this approach, your gift adjusts with changes in the size of your estate.

The residue or a percentage of the residue of your estate--After your specific gifts to loved ones have been made, you may designate that the entire residue or a percentage of the remainder shall go to one or more charitable organizations. With this approach as well, your gift adjusts with changes in the size of your estate.

A gift of a specific amount--You specify a dollar amount to be given to one or more charitable organizations. With this kind of gift, it is especially important to keep your will or trust up-to-date.

Sample bequest language for your attorney:
"I give [________% of my estate] [the residue of my estate] [___% of the residue of my estate] [$________] to African Scientific Institute, a California nonprofit corporation, for its general uses and purposes.

Charitable Gift Annuities

How They Work

A charitable gift annuity can be established with a gift of $10,000 or more to the African Scientific Institute (ASI). In exchange for your gift, ASI will pay you, and a second beneficiary if you wish, income for life. Both income beneficiaries must be at least 65 years of age, unless payments are deferred.

The income you receive is determined by the amount of your gift and your age(s). With a deferred gift annuity, because the payments do not begin until a specified future date that you choose, you receive even higher life income payments than those listed in the rate table and a higher immediate income tax deduction.

Gift annuities can be established using cash or appreciated securities held for longer than one year. When cash is used, more of your income is tax free.

Your Benefits

Generous, partially tax-free income for life

An immediate income tax deduction

Reduced capital gain taxes if appreciated securities are used to establish the annuity

Gifts of Real Estate

Donating marketable real estate such as a personal residence or vacation home, commercial property, or even vacant land, can be a creative way to make a significant gift to the African Scientific Institute (ASI) and at the same time receive important tax benefits and even income. The benefits include a charitable income tax deduction, avoidance of capital gain tax on the property's appreciation at the time the gift is made, and removal of the property from your estate, potentially reducing estate taxes and probate costs. A gift of your real property can also relieve you of the burden of managing or selling the property. Real property gifts can be made in several ways.

Gifts of Stock

If your investment portfolio includes highly appreciated, low-yielding stock or mutual funds and you're considering a membership gift to the African Scientific Institute (ASI), you may want to think about making a gift of stock or mutual funds. It's a tax-wise way to support ASI.
Gifts of appreciated securities held longer than one year are exempt from capital gains taxes and entitle the donor to a tax deduction equal to the market value of the securities at the time of transfer.

To avoid exposure to capital gain tax, the stock must be transferred toASI. We then sell the stock from our account, and you receive credit for a gift of the net proceeds.

Retirement Plans & Life Insurance

Retirement plans, when passed on to heirs, can incur as much as 80 percent in taxes, because this asset faces double taxation. Not only is the amount of the plan reduced by estate taxes, but the recipient must also pay income taxes on the plan.

If you plan to make this type of gift to the African Scientific Institute (ASI), you may want to consider naming us the beneficiary of your 401(k), pension or other retirement plan and leaving other assets to your family. Naming us the primary beneficiary avoids all income and estate taxes on the retirement plan.

To make the designation, advise your plan administrator of your decision and complete and sign the appropriate form.

Life Insurance

Many individuals have life insurance policies whose benefits they no longer need. If this applies to you, you may want to consider naming ASI the beneficiary and assigning us ownership of the policy. In doing so, you will receive a charitable deduction; and in removing the life insurance policy from your estate, you may also reduce your estate taxes.

African Scientific Institute Endowment

Your legacy gift will live on forever...


	Investing for the Future Annual support from loyal members keeps the African Scientific Institute (ASI) vibrant year to year. A Endowment Gift through your will or living trust or other planned gift options goes an important step further. All planned gifts (including bequests, life income gifts, and gifts of retirement plans) are added to the ASI Endowment, unless otherwise designated. They provide the foundation of ASI's long-term financial security, thus ensuring that its services will be will be enjoyed by generations to come. The African Scientific Institute (ASI) Endowment is invested strategically to preserve forever its principal value. Earnings generated each year by the Endowment support ASI's programs and operations. As our Endowment grows, it provides an expanding source of stable funding to help us weather the ups and downs of the economy and keep ASI strong and creative. To receive immediate tax benefits and enjoy the satisfaction of giving during your lifetime, you may wish to consider your gift be made payable to ASI Endowment, in addition to your regular annual support. With an outright gift of cash, you receive a charitable income tax deduction, which may help offset current income. By donating appreciated stock or other securities held longer than one year, you receive a double tax benefit: an income tax deduction for the fair market value of the securities and avoidance of capital gain tax on the appreciation.

Endowment Types

The ASI Board-Designated Endowment

Gifts for the ASI Endowment that are made without restrictions are, by ASI Board policy, directed to the ASI Board-Designated Endowment. We prefer this kind of gift because it gives ASI flexibility in future years. Specifically, it allows the Board, in the remote case of a financial emergency, to access the principal for ASI's immediate needs.

Suggested bequest language for Board-Designated Endowment:
"I give [________% of my estate] [the residue of my estate] [___% of the residue of my estate] [$________] to the African Scientific Institute, a California nonprofit corporation, for its general uses and purposes".

The ASI Permanent Endowment

Gifts to the ASI Permanent Endowment are restricted so that only the earnings may ever be used. The original gift value cannot be spent. Please contact us for bequest language should you wish to make a gift to the ASI Permanent Endowment.

Your Personal Interests

We understand that you may have special programming or other interests and may want your gift used in a specific way. ASI is pleased to honor your wishes.

ASI Endowment Program Fund

We encourage those with strong program preferences to designate their gift to one of the program areas of the ASI Endowment Program Fund. If you choose one of the following program areas for your Endowment gift, ASI will direct your gift to the ASI Board-Designated Endowment to support that type of programming. These categories are broadly described to ensure that your gift can still be used in the way you intend far into the future.

•ASI Fellows
•Publications production and distribution
•Africa Input
•Children and Lifelong Learning

Suggested bequest language for program funds:

"I give [________% of my estate] [the residue of my estate] [___% of the residue of my estate] [$________] to the African Scientific Institute (ASI), a California nonprofit corporation, to be used to support [select one of the above program areas]".

Other Restricted Purpose Designations

If your interests are even more specific, our Gift Planning and Endowment staff would be pleased to work with you and your professional advisor to develop or review any special gift language you desire. Our mutual goal is to ensure that your gift is described in a flexible enough way that however far into the future the funds become available, they can be used in the manner you intend.

Named and Memorial Endowment Funds

With your Endowment gift of $100,000 or more, the African Scientific Institute (ASI) will establish, at your request, a named Endowment bearing the name(s) you designate. In this way, the remembrance of your generous gift and/or the memory of your loved one will live on in perpetuity. Individuals and families or other groups may combine gifts made over time to meet the minimum amount. While we prefer that named Endowment gifts be unrestricted, they may be restricted as to purpose and/or directed to the ASI Permanent Endowment. These gifts will be recognized ASI produced media, if you wish.

Management of the ASI Endowment

The African Scientific Institute (ASI) Board of Directors has determined that our primary long-term ASI Endowment management objective is to preserve purchasing power, while providing an available, stable, and constant stream of earnings to help meet ASI's operational needs. The Board has established asset allocation guidelines and performance benchmarks, and the Endowment is regularly reviewed by the ASI Investment Review Committee, a sub-committee of the Board Finance Committee. The Board's current spending rule for the Endowment provides that withdrawals may not exceed 5% of the Endowment's market value averaged over the prior 12 quarters.

Please let us know your plans

By informing the African Scientific Institute (ASI) of your Gift, or by making a current Endowment gift, you help us prepare for our future.