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Follow in These Footsteps: Make a Memorial Gift

Establishing a memorial is a twofold gesture. First, you honor a loved one or yourself. Second, your charitable gift serves as an endorsement of our good works.

Here are just a few of the ways people have used memorial gifts to honor important people and organizations in their lives:

An Alabama businessman founded a Reading Is Fundamental chapter named after his late wife. The chapter has served hundreds of thousands of children.
An Iowa woman created a veterinary scholarship in honor of the two veterinarians who lovingly cared for her cats for many years.
A New York couple funded a city park in remembrance of their son, who died at age 21.
Members of an Alabama YMCA camp constructed a chapel on the camp grounds in memory of four young counselors who were killed in a car-train collision.

Aside from the emotional rewards that a memorial gift brings, you may receive significant financial benefits from your contribution depending on the type of gift, including:

Income and capital gains tax savings
Reduced estate taxes

Many methods can be used to create memorials. Common methods include outright gifts and gifts made through a will or trust. Other alternatives, however, are also effective, such as through a life insurance policy or a gift upon death from an IRA or retirement plan.

Charitable organizations honor memorial gifts in many ways, such as associating an honoree's name with a report or program, or inscribing it on a plaque. Grants, scholarships and prizes to deserving individuals or causes could also be awarded in memory of the person. For a larger gift, his or her name could appear on a room, auditorium or building.

The Honor Is Yours
You may feel reluctant to condition your gift upon personal recognition. Yet allowing us to use your name or the name of a loved one can inspire philanthropy in others and further a cause that's important to you.

To make certain your gift or future bequest will receive proper recognition, we invite you to meet with our representative to discuss your wishes.

Please call Julie Snyder at 716-862-1992, or e-mail us at jsnyder@chsbuffalo.org, for more information.

The information in this Web site is not intended as legal advice. For legal advice, please consult an attorney. Figures cited in examples are for hypothetical purposes only and are subject to change. References to estate and income tax include federal taxes only. Individual state taxes and/or state law may impact your results.