Planned Giving

No matter how much you give, every little bit counts.  When we all work together to make our community a better place, that’s when real progress is made.  Join hands and open your heart; think of ‘we’ before ‘me’.  United Way of SLO County raises funds locally from individuals and businesses to continue its work.  We do not receive financial support from United Way Worldwide and we invest our locally raised funds into our local community – what’s raised here stays here.

Consider investing in your community through bequests, charitable gift annuities, and more. Visit the United Way’s “Ways to Give” website for more information. You can also download a brochure about United Way Charitable Gift Annuity. To discuss your interest in arranging a planned gift, donating stock or donating real estate, please contact Rick London at (805) 541-1234 ext. 11 or rlondon@unitedwayslo.or.

When possible, United Way accepts in-kind donations and facilitates the redistribution of items to other local nonprofit agencies for their clients. Donations generally come from one of two sources:

Individuals - individuals with items they wish to donate should contact the United Way office; we will list the donation on the Opportunity Exchange via our monthly eNewsletter and any agency that is interested in receiving the item will contact the donor directly for additional details or pick-up information.

Businesses - when we receive donations from businesses (such as overstock clothing from outlet stores) we will let our agency partners know what is available; items are picked up from our office on a first-come, first-served basis.  Due to our limited storage options, we generally cannot directly accept donations of very large items (such as furniture) or items in very large quantities (such as multiple pallets or estate items); however we will do the best we can to help facilitate a donation directly to an agency.

IRA Charitable Rollover

Among the items included in the Tax Relief Act, signed into law by President Obama on December 17th, was an extension of the Charitable IRA Rollover provision through the end of 2011.  The tax provision offers you a wonderful opportunity to help with your donation between now and the end of the calendar year.   The provision is a significant opportunity for donors who hold assets in their IRAs that they do not need; would like to make a large one-time gift; are subject to the 2% rule that reduces itemized deductions; do not itemize; or plan to leave part or all of their IRA to United Way or any other charitable organization upon passing away.  There are several important points to be aware of:

• Individuals age 70 1/2 and older may once again request direct transfers of funds from Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs) to UWSLOC without income tax on gifted funds
  
• The funds must be directly transferred from IRA accounts to United Way or any other charity (donors should ask their IRA custodians for special forms to make these requests)
  
• Each individual is entitled to make a total of $100,000 in gifts to charities through 2011 under this provision
• These contributions do not qualify donors for an additional charitable income tax deduction, as not being taxed on the withdrawal is worth even more than a standard charitable deduction
• Only standard IRAs and Roth IRA accounts qualify under this law; other retirement accounts such as 401(k), 403(b), SEP, KEOGH, and SIMPLE IRA plans cannot be used to make an IRA rollover gift
• Donors of IRA rollover gifts must receive no personal benefits from this gift nor are they available for planned gifts such as charitable remainder trusts or gift annuities

In other charitable giving news, President Obama’s current budget proposal seeks to limit a vital incentive for charitable giving, the charitable deduction in the federal tax code. Click here to read an opinion piece by Brian Gallagher, President & CEO of United Way Worldwide, about preserving the charitable deduction.