Mountain Park Environmental Center

Planned Giving

Give Real Estate
An outright gift of real estate (a vacant lot, residence, vacation home, farm or commercial property) that has been held for more than one year qualifies you for an income tax deduction for its full fair-market value, and allows you to avoid capital gains tax on the appreciated portion. Alternatively, you can give real estate and receive a lifetime income (a charitable remainder trust) or give the property while retaining lifetime use (donating your home or farm while reserving lifetime use).

If you would like further information or would like to find out if your property would make a suitable gift, please contact Michelle Potts at michellempec@fone.net or by phone at 719-485-4444.

Leave a Legacy
A testamentary gift to the Mountain Park Environmental Center is a powerful and thoughtful way to share your dedication to environmental literacy with future generations. An individual may bequeath a particular asset, a dollar amount, or a stated percentage of one's estate or residual estate after other debts and other bequests have been paid. It is also possible to name the Mountain Park Environmental Center as a contingent beneficiary in the event that your named beneficiary is no longer alive at the time of your death. Bequests are deductible for estate tax purposes, and there is no limit on the amount that can be deductible for charitable bequests. Our tax identification number is 84-1526595. For gifts that take effect after your lifetime, we suggest you name the Mountain Park Environmental Center as follows: ...the Mountain Park Environmental Center, a nonprofit membership organization, incorporated by the laws of the State of Colorado, having as its principal address 9161 Mountain Park Road, Beulah, Colorado 81023. Many advisors recommend that their clients make charitable gifts through revocable living trusts instead of, or in addition to, their will. Assets are often transferred to a living trust during one's lifetime, and one's will generally provides that assets not already in the living trust at the time of death be transferred to it. You receive an estate tax deduction for the full value of your charitable gift.

Many charitable people wish to create a legacy for the Mountain Park Environmental Center, but have no interest in writing a will or trust. You can also reduce estate taxes by making the Mountain Park Environmental Center a beneficiary of your IRA or 401(k) plan, bank account, investment account, or life insurance policy.

If you would like further information or would like to find out how to name the Mountain Park Environmental Center in your will or living trust or how to change your beneficiary, please contact Michelle Potts at michellempec@fone.net or by phone at 719-485-4444.

Receive Life Income
Life income gifts provide income payments to you and/or others, an immediate income tax deduction, and avoidance of capital gains tax liability on gifts of appreciated assets held long term. Life income gifts include charitable gift annuities, deferred gift annuity, and charitable remainder trusts.

A charitable gift annuity enables you to make a gift of $10,000 or more to the Mountain Park Environmental Center in cash, stocks, bonds, or mutual funds, and receive an immediate income tax deduction for a portion of the value of your gift. The Mountain Park Environmental Center then pays you and/or another beneficiary of your choosing a set dollar amount for life. The annual payment depends on your age at the time the gift is made.

A deferred gift annuity gives you an immediate income tax deduction and a fixed income stream beginning at a future date, such as when you plan to retire. This arrangement is most attractive to individuals 40-60 years old who are able to take advantage of a large charitable deduction at the time of the gift, and are interested in supplementing their future income.

When economic conditions are favorable, a charitable remainder trust can accomplish a variety of personal financial goals while providing long-term support for the Mountain Park Environmental Center. You may establish this type of trust with a gift of $100,000 or more in cash, securities, real estate, or collectibles. Charitable remainder trusts allow you to diversify your assets without capital gains tax liability. When economic conditions are favorable, they have the potential to provide a hedge against inflation by generating increasing income payments over time. Charitable remainder trusts can be tailored to each donor's financial objectives. For example, you can create a trust which will: enhance lifetime income, replace the value of a gift to the Mountain Park Environmental Center for your children, or help pay a grandchild’s tuition.

If you would like further information or would like to find out about life income gifts, please contact Michelle Potts at michellempec@fone.net or by phone at 719-485-4444.