To advance the independence of persons who are blind and visually impaired
Thanks for Caring.
The New Hampshire Association for the Blind relies on private support to help meet its mission to advance the independence of persons who are blind and visually impaired. Your support, no matter how large or small will go a long way to help your family members, friends and neighbors remain independent when challenged by a visual impairment or blindness.
There are a number of ways you can support the important work of the New Hampshire Association for the Blind. You may choose to make a gift to the Annual Fund, a gift in tribute or memory of a loved one, a gift for a special project or program or you can give through charitable gift planning such as a bequest, gift of real estate or a life income gift such as a charitable gift annuity. You can also now make a donation online.
The New Hampshire Association for the Blind is a 501 (c) (3) institution and your gift is tax deductible. We place the highest priority on protecting the privacy of our donors. Please review our Donor Privacy Statement.
There are a number of ways you can contribute:
- Annual Fund
- Memorial and Tribute Gifts
- Special Programs and Services
- Charitable Gift Planning
- IRA Rollovers for Charity
- Mail Your Donation
Annual Fund
Outright gifts of cash to the Association’s Annual Fund are the most popular type of gift, and are tax-deductible. These gifts can be made on line by using a credit card or you can mail a check to the New Hampshire Association for the Blind at 25 Walker Street, Concord, NH 03301.
Partners in Sight is a special giving program for donors who wish to make monthly donations to the New Hampshire Association for the Blind. This is a great opportunity for someone who would like to spread out their giving throughout the year. You have the choice of making payments by check or online. If you would like more information about becoming a member call Jane Roy at 224-4039, ext. 326 or e-mail jroy@sightcenter.org.
Please make your check payable to New Hampshire Association for the Blind. To make a gift using your credit card, please visit our on-line donation page.
Gifts of Stocks, Bonds, Mutual Funds
If you have investments that have grown in value since you first acquired them, then you may be able to take advantage of the income tax charitable deduction.
You will be entitled to a tax deduction for the full market value of your gift (Fair Market Value), as long as you have owned your investment for more than one year.
Your gift of securities is valued on the date it reaches our stock account if transferred electronically by your broker or, if mailed, on the date the envelope is postmarked.
If you are having securities transferred by your broker, please notify our office so we can arrange for acceptance of your gift into our stock account.
Contact the administrator of you mutual fund to make arrangements for a charitable gift to be made from your account.
By law, gifts of $250.00 must be acknowledged by the New Hampshire Association for the Blind. You should retain your receipt as proof of your contribution.
Memorials and Tributes
You can pay tribute to a loved one or memorialize a friend or family member by making a gift to the New Hampshire Association for the Blind. Your donation can be made online by using a credit card or by calling Jane Roy at 224-4039, ext. 326 to process your credit card over the phone. You can also send a check to the New Hampshire Association for the Blind, 25 Walker Street, Concord, NH 03301. Families receive acknowledgements of all memorial gifts. Remember, large or small, your gift is important and will help New Hampshire’s blind and visually impaired.
Special Programs and Services
The New Hampshire Association for the Blind provides specialized programs and services for approximately 2,000 individuals annually. From school-aged children to working-age adults, to senior citizens living with macular degeneration, we offer a number of programs to help clients live full, independent lives, despite their vision loss. You can help by making a gift to support these important programs. You may direct your gift to support client transportation, low vision services, orientation and mobility, assistive technology or volunteer services. Contact Shelley Proulx at 224-4039, ext. 327 or sproulx@sightcenter.org for more information about how you can help.
Charitable Gift Planning
“I can’t imagine what it would be like to be blind or severely visually impaired.” “It is a great joy to me, knowing that the work of the Association will continue long after my volunteer days.” – Persis Gow, Volunteer & McGreal Society Member
Making a charitable gift is a great way to thank the New Hampshire Association for the Blind for making New Hampshire a better place to live. The Association has touched the lives of so many, leaving a lasting impact upon thousands of blind and visually impaired individuals and their families over the last 98 years.
You too can make a difference in the lives that follow by making a contribution from your estate through a bequest or other planned gift such as a life income gift, a gift of life insurance or other retirement assets or gifts of real estate.
If you would like more information about charitable gift planning please click on the links above or contact Shelley Proulx, VP for Development at 224-4039, ext. 327 or email sproulx@sightcenter.org.
Bequests
A bequest in your Will or provision in your Trust directing a gift to the New Hampshire Association for the Blind provides you with an opportunity to create a lasting legacy.
Many people have included the New Hampshire Association for the Blind in their estate plan, either through a Will, Trust, Life Insurance Policy, IRA, etc. or made a life income gift, like a Charitable Gift Annuity.
By making a charitable planned gift to the New Hampshire Association for the Blind, you can become a member of the McGreal Society. The McGreal Society was named for William and Elizabeth Yates McGreal who each had a long history of service to the Association.
Your will or estate plan can designate gifts of cash, real property or retirement plan assets to be made in one of several ways:
- Specific bequest: a gift of a specific amount or piece of property.
Example: "I give $5,000 or my XYZ common stock to New Hampshire Association for the Blind, a non profit corporation, for its general corporate purposes." - Residuary bequest: a percentage of or the remainder of your estate.
Gifts that Return an Income for Life
There are a number of ways for you to create a charitable gift, using appreciated stock or other assets, which return an income to you and usually to one other person. Charitable gift annuities are suitable for gifts of $5,000 or more. Charitable Remainder Trusts are an option for larger gifts.
- A Charitable Gift Annuity may help you increase your spendable income; provide a fixed, steady income; gain an immediate charitable income tax
Example: "I give, devise and bequeath, all the rest, residue and remainder of my property, however acquired and wherever situated to New Hampshire Association for for the Blind." - Contingent bequest: a gift taking effect only if something does or does not happen, e.g. another beneficiary does not survive you.
Example: "In the event my Aunt Mary Jones should not survive me, I give my father's silver and coin collection to the New Hampshire Association for the Blind."
How to Name the New Hampshire Association for the Blind in the Will or Trust
The following is suggested for language for including us in a legal document, such as your Will or Trust:
"The New Hampshire Association for the Blind, a nonprofit corporation, organized and existing under the laws of the State of New Hampshire, and with its principal business address as 25 Walker Street, Concord, New Hampshire 03301."
Gifts of Life Insurance, IRAs and Other Retirement Assets
It is easy to name New Hampshire Association for the Blind as the beneficiary, or one of the beneficiaries, of your life insurance policy or any one of your retirement plans. By making a charitable gift in this manner, you may avoid estate and income taxes while creating a lasting legacy.
Just as you should periodically review your Will and Estate Plan, you should also periodically review the beneficiary designations on any life insurance, IRA, 401(k) or other retirement plan you own (or over which you have a power of appointment given to you by someone else).
You may even consider gifting an "obsolete" insurance policy by naming the Association as the owner. You will be entitled to an income tax deduction that is usually equivalent to the paid up value or replacement value of the policy.
Simply contact the administrator of your plan and ask for a Change of Beneficiary form. You may even be able to find one on their Web site. Go Back
Real Estate
Giving Real Estate, whether undeveloped, residential or commercial, provides you with another method to make a tax-advantaged gift. If your real estate has grown in value, it may be a perfect asset to fund a charitable remainder trust. It is possible to continue the use of your home or property during your lifetime, while receiving the benefit of an immediate charitable tax deduction. Go Back
IRA Rollovers for Charity
IRA Charitable Rollover Included in Final Tax Bill
Included in the Middle Class Tax Relief Act of 2010 signed by President Obama earlier this week is the provision for the IRA (Individual Retirement Account) Charitable Rollover.
The new law allows donors age 70½ to exclude from their taxable income any IRA funds up to $100,000 that have been withdrawn and transferred to a charity when filing a tax return. The IRA Charitable Rollover expired at the end of 2009 and had been in effect since 2006.
The extension also is retroactive, meaning that the tax benefits of the provision apply to any qualified donations made after Dec. 31, 2009. The extension of the IRA Charitable Rollover also includes a special provision that allows taxpayers who make any qualified donations between Dec. 31, 2010, and Feb. 1, 2011, to deem that those donations were made on Dec. 31, 2010, for tax filing purposes.
The provision is extended through Dec. 31, 2011
What this Means for You
The newly extended IRA rollover provisions permit you to use your IRA to help accomplish your philanthropic goals with no federal tax impact.
If you are 70 ½ or older, you may make a gift of up to $100,000 per year to the New Hampshire Association for the Blind from your IRA with no federal income tax impact on you and with your gift being counted toward your required minimum distribution. To obtain this benefit, you must instruct your IRA administrator to transfer funds directly to the New Hampshire Association for the Blind.
This charitable IRA rollover is only available this year and next. We urge you to act soon to take advantage of the 2008 opportunity to make your Annual Gift or a gift toward the Association’s Endowment Fund that will make a gift to the annual campaign every year in perpetuity.
Unlike a cash withdrawal from your IRA, your direct contribution will be excluded from income for federal purposes and not be taxed. It will not be eligible for a charitable tax deduction, but it will not count toward the annual percentage limitation on your other deductible gifts, nor will it reduce your other itemized deductions. Your direct contribution cannot be made to donor advised funds, supporting organizations, split-interest trusts or in exchange for gift annuities. Your qualified distribution may be includable in your income for state and local tax purposes, and an offsetting charitable deduction may not be available.
For more information about how you can make a gift to the New Hampshire Association for the Blind while benefiting from the newly extended charitable IRA rollover provisions, please contact Shelley Proulx, Vice President for Development at sproulx@sightcenter.org or call 224-4039, ext 327. As always, it is important to contact your legal and financial advisors beforehand with any questions concerning how the IRA rollover provisions will impact your personal financial and estate plan.