Ways to Give

The Boyce Thompson Institute is profoundly grateful for bequests, which leave an enduring impact on education and research. You can include the Institute in your legacy by providing for a gift of cash, securities, real estate, or other assets in your will.  Bequests can take the form of a designated sum or asset, or alternatively, a percentage or remainder of your estate.

Benefits of a Bequest

The value of your bequest to the Institute is fully deductible for tax purposes. You may also establish an income-producing planned gift for the benefit of others through your will, thereby reducing your taxable estate. A bequest, whether outright or to fund a planned gift, can be a useful and advantageous addition to your estate plan.

Sample bequest language is available to help you, your legal adviser, or your financial planner communicate your wishes. A basic example of bequest language is:

I give, devise and bequeath to the Boyce Thompson Institute for Plant Research, Inc., 533 Tower Rd., Ithaca, NY 14853 the sum of $_________ (amount, percentage, or remainder of estate) to provide funding for the ongoing activities of the Institute as determined by the board of directors (or for the purpose of _________________). Tax ID 13-1739923

Communicating your Wishes

If you have provided for the Institute in your estate plans, but have not previously notified us of your intentions, please contact:

Development Office
Phone: 607-254-8889
Email: donor_relations@btiscience.org

Sharing your plans with us allows us to express our gratitude to you during your lifetime, ensures that your wishes will be met, and also assists the Institute’s long-term planning efforts.

Naming BTI as a beneficiary of your IRA or other retirement plan is simple. Many people hold significant assets in tax-deferred IRAs or 401(k) plans. You can include charities as beneficiaries of these plans and your heirs will be glad you did!

If you plan to leave money and property to your surviving family members and to your favorite charities, the wisest plan is to leave income-taxable assets like IRAs and 401(k) plans to the charitable beneficiary, and non-taxable items such as cash, investment portfolios or real property to the individual beneficiaries.

When you contributed to your retirement plan, no tax was paid on those contributions. Whenever the money is withdrawn — either by you during your lifetime or by your heirs after your death – the income tax becomes due. Naturally, the charitable beneficiary is income tax-exempt, so IRA and 401(k) funds left to a charity are not subject to the income tax. In contrast, a child inheriting $100,000 from an IRA must pay income tax on that amount and is only able to spend the net amount after taxes – around $72,000 if the child is in the 28 percent tax bracket.

How to Name BTI as beneficiary of your IRA, 401(k) or 403(b) plan

1. Contact your IRA or retirement plan administrator (e.g. TIAA-CREF, Fidelity Investments, Vanguard Group, Charles Schwab, etc.). Ask for a beneficiary designation form. You should also be able to find the form on the administrator’s website.

2. Print the designation form, complete it, and mail it to the administrator. That’s it!

Or, complete it online, and click on “submit!”

Or, call the administrator or your representative on their 800 toll-free line and ask them to mail you the form.

You can choose any distribution you want. For example, 80% to a child and 20% to Boyce Thompson Institute or any combination you choose.

Your IRA administrator will ask for BTI’s address and taxpayer identification number (TIN), also known as an employer identification number (EIN):

Boyce Thompson Institute
Development Office
533 Tower Rd.
Ithaca, NY 14853

Phone: (607) 254-8889
Email: donor_relations@btiscience.org
Tax ID number: 13-1739923

Don’t forget to tell us about your gift! We would be honored to enroll you in the W. B. Thompson Living Legacy Society. If you’ve already taken steps to name the Institute as a beneficiary of a retirement account, please contact us to let us know!

Important IRA Charitable Rollover Update

H.R. 2029 includes a number of important tax provisions, several of which affect charitable giving, but most notably it retroactively reinstates the IRA Charitable Rollover provision originally enacted into law in 2006 and removes any expiration date on the provision, thereby permanently extending the provision into the future.

The IRA Charitable Rollover allows individuals 70½ or older to make a tax-free rollover using funds transferred directly from your IRA. This means you can donate up to $100,000 from your IRA without having to count the distribution as taxable income and it counts towards your required minimum distribution. Since you will not be taxed on the income, no income tax deduction may be claimed. Consult your plan administrator for more details.

If you have any questions about this situation or other planned giving needs, or if you are preparing to make a direct transfer charitable gift from your IRA, please contact:

Development Office
Phone: 607-254-8889
Email: donor_relations@btiscience.org

We look forward to hearing from you!

A gift of real estate to the Boyce Thompson Institute is a unique way to provide a lasting benefit to education and research. It is also a convenient way for you to enjoy a charitable deduction based on the current fair market value of your property and to reduce the size and complexity of your estate.

Benefits of Giving Real Estate

Federal law has special incentives in place to encourage certain forms of private philanthropy, especially gifts of real estate. Giving real estate can result in significant benefits including:

• Reduced income and estate taxes
• Avoidance of capital gains taxes
• Financial security for loved ones
• Increased lifetime income
• Continued use of the contributed property during your life
• Because a gift of real estate will usually be sold as soon as practicable after it is gifted, the real estate must be free of debt and must be readily marketable. An added benefit is that in most cases, all aspects of its sale are handled by the Institute.

Options for Giving Real Estate

Not only can real estate be used to make outright gifts, it can also be used to make future gifts to the Institute. For example, should you wish to give a remainder interest in a piece of real estate now but still desire to live in or continue to vacation in the property for the rest of your life, you may do so. This is known as a retained life estate.

On the other hand, if you have a need for current income, you may wish to use a piece of real estate that you no longer wish to use to fund a trust which will provide valuable financial support to you and your family for years to come.

Making a Gift of Real Estate

Gifts of real estate can be extremely satisfying, but they require careful planning. Any gift of real estate must be reviewed and approved through the Institute’s real estate acceptance procedures, which require a donor to provide detailed and specific information about the property. The Office for Advancement will work with you to facilitate this process.