Wills & Trusts

The most straightforward way to plan a gift with California Homebuilding Foundation is to make a charitable bequest, which can be completed in as little as one sentence in a will or trust.

The donor can make a specific bequest (“I bequeath the sum of $100,000 to...”), a percentage bequest (“I bequeath 20% of my estate to...”), a bequest of the remainder or residue of the contribution (“I bequeath the remainder of my estate to...”), or a contingency bequest (“In the event that ____, I bequeath...”).

Beneficiary Designation

Designate the California Homebuilding Foundation as a beneficiary in your IRA or other retirement plan, or life insurance policy. Limitations apply to both retirement plan and insurance policy contributions, so please consult with your accountant or financial advisor about these options.

IRA contributions make excellent testamentary gifts! Make sure to ask your plan distributor to designate IRA funds to be directly transferred to a charity upon death to avoid income tax.

Gifts of life insurance is another powerful and flexible way for donors to leave a legacy. Irrevocably designating California Homebuilding Foundation as a life insurance beneficiary can give you a current income tax deduction, and continuous payments of the insurance premium to the charity will also be tax-deductible.

Stocks & Bonds

Next to cash, appreciated securities are the most commonly donated assets to the California Homebuilding Foundation. These securities can be stocks, bonds, or mutual fund shares.

Because a gift of appreciated securities generally avoids capital gains taxes, this type of gift may have a lower after-tax cost to you than an equivalent gift of cash. Download the gifts of securities form here.

You may also be eligible to receive a federal income tax charitable deduction for the securities’ full fair market value under certain circumstances.

Donor Advised Funds

Donor Advised Funds are increasing in popularity as a planned giving option. Donor Advised Funds are essentially their own public charities, typically established within large financial institutions, such as Charles Schwab or Vanguard.

The donor then creates a specially named fund to which contributions are made and distributed at the direction of the donor. Since the contribution is made directly to the public charity, the tax deduction is eligible for the higher AGI limits.

Please note: California Homebuilding Foundation does not manage Donor Advised Funds internally, so you will need to establish one with a separate public charity to designate funds to California Homebuilding Foundation.