MPVA offers a variety of planned giving options to our friends and supporters. A planned gift is an arrangement between the donor and MPVA that promises support to our mission through the donor’s estate. These gifts help Michigan’s paralyzed veterans while providing income and tax benefits to the donor.

The MPVA development office has free publications available on charitable giving and planning your will. If you would like information on any of these programs or would like to make a gift to MPVA, please contact our Director of Development and Communications at 1-800-638 MPVA (in Michigan), or 248-476-9000. You can also e-mail Jaclyn Kochis here.

Charitable Bequests:  If you are unable to make an outright gift but would like to contribute to MPVA, you may want to consider a bequest. This option allows you to designate MPVA as a beneficiary in your will. This gift will not affect your current income, and may help reduce the estate taxes owed after your death.

Charitable Gift Annuities:  A charitable gift annuity is a legal contract where the donor transfers assets to MPVA. In exchange for the donor’s irrevocable gift, MPVA will provide fixed, annual payments to the donor or their designated recipient. The size of the payments depends on the age of the recipient at the time of the gift. In addition to guaranteeing annual income to the donor, these gifts help the donor to reduce their tax liability.

Charitable Remainder Trusts:  These gifts provide lifetime income to a donor through a contribution of cash, stocks or other appreciated property to a trust. The income is paid based on a fixed amount (charitable remainder annuity trust) or an amount based on the trust’s assets (charitable remainder unitrust). These trusts provide a tax deduction and capital gains tax advantages while allowing the donor to enjoy a continued but limited interest in the asset.

Charitable Lead Trust:  A donor creates a charitable lead trust by transferring the ownership of an asset to a trust. The trust gives the income, or a percentage of the income to MPVA each year for a period of years (usually a minimum of five). At the end of this period, the trust assets are given back to the donor or named beneficiaries. The lead trust typically is used with assets with a potential for continued high appreciation. By utilizing the lead trust, a donor may leave a significantly larger inheritance to his or her heirs than he or she could have left via a will or other trusts.

Securities, Bonds and Other Appreciated Property:  Gifts of appreciated stocks, bonds or other appreciated property have the same positive benefit to MPVA as a gift of cash, but these gifts usually are more beneficial to the donor than a cash gift.

Insurance Policies:  Michigan Paralyzed Veterans of America can be named as the beneficiary of the donor’s life insurance policy. It is also possible to assign the policy’s dividends to MPVA as current, tax-deductible gifts.