make a big impact with a future gift

Planned Giving

YOUR GIFT MATTERS

Your Will: It’s More Than Legalese

It’s one of the most important legal documents you’ll ever create; a will dictates how you want your assets distributed after you’re gone. But beyond legalities, a will is a reflection of your life. It reveals who and what mattered most to you, and it’s the final gesture by which you’ll be remembered.

A well-planned will relieves family members from having to guess your final wishes during their time of grief, and it ensures they are taken care of in the manner you specify. When you provide for an organization such as the Fairmont Opera House in your will, you also extend your legacy of caring and generosity.

A will has extraordinary potential. Consider what a will can do for you:
  • Name a guardian for minor children
  • Make financial arrangements for family members
  • Provide for a pet
  • Protect your business
  • Forgive a debt
  • Direct the division of your property (so the state does not)
  • Choose the executor for your estate
  • Reduce estate administration expenses
  • Provide for a charitable organization
Make sure it’s up-to-date. Life changes such as the following should trigger a review of your will:
  • Birth
  • Death
  • Change in marital status
  • Increased/decreased estate value
  • Move to another state

Contact your estate planning attorney to make any changes.

Want to Add Us to Your Existing Will?

You don’t need to create a new will. Simply ask your attorney to prepare a codicil, a document that amends your original will. This is a common way to make minor changes.

Your Will Can Further Our Mission

Please contact Blake Potthoff by calling 507-238-4900 or at director@fairmontoperahouse.org to discuss how your future gift can make a meaningful difference.

Generosity comes in many forms

It’s often the best way for you to support important causes that matter the most to you in your life. When you give to the Fairmont Opera House, you help us make a difference.

Start here by learning the different gift options available to you. We will work with you to find a charitable plan that lets you provide for your family and support the Fairmont Opera House.

If you have any questions, please contact Blake Potthoff at 507-238-4900 or at director@fairmontoperahouse.org.

Tax Reform and Charitable Giving

With the introduction of tax reform this year, you may be looking at your finances and wondering how you will be impacted. For many taxpayers, the new tax law creates an opportunity in the form of increased disposable income. Here are a few of the changes that may affect you.

Income Tax Brackets

Whether you’re a single filer or a married person who files jointly, separately or as head of household, your tax bracket will be new in 2018. The new law maintains seven tax brackets, but lowers rates for most brackets: 10, 12, 22, 24, 32, 35 and 37 percent. Most taxpayers will see their tax rate decrease. A married couple with a combined income of $150,000, for example, will go from a 25 percent tax rate to 22 percent under the new law.

Standard Deduction

The new law nearly doubles the standard deduction to $12,000 for single filers, $18,000 for heads of household and $24,000 for joint filers.

Personal Exemption

The new tax law repeals the personal exemption.

Itemize Deductions

If you elect to itemize this year, your deductions may look a little different (though charitable deductions remain under the new law). If you purchase a new home, there is now a cap on the mortgage interest deduction for the first $750,000 of debt on your primary residence. Under the new plan, if you itemize your deductions, you will be able to deduct up to $10,000 for income, sales and property taxes.

Charitable Contributions for Cash Gifts

The new law increases the 50 percent of your adjusted gross income limitation for donations by cash, check or credit card to 60 percent.

What Didn’t Change
  • Charitable Deductions
    You will still be able to deduct your charitable contributions when you itemize your taxes.
  • Long-Term Capital Gains and Dividends
    The tax rates on capital gains and dividends remain the same at 0, 15 and 20 percent, depending on your tax bracket.
  • Charitable Contributions of Appreciated Property
    The limitation on charitable gifts of long-term appreciated property to public charities will remain at 30 percent of your adjusted gross income. You can still carry over any excess for up to five additional years.

Talk With Your Tax Professional

There are many ways you can give this year that not only make a difference at the Fairmont Opera House, but offer you benefits as well. Please consult with your tax or financial advisors to determine the best charitable giving strategies for you.

A Great Time to Be Charitable

With the lower tax brackets, you may find yourself in a better financial position to help causes that matter most to you. There are many ways you can make a difference at the Fairmont Opera House while enjoying financial benefits for yourself. Here are two popular ones:

  1. Name the Fairmont Opera House as a beneficiary of retirement plan accounts. Assets in your IRA, 401(k) or other qualified retirement plan accounts remain subject to income tax when distributed to your heirs. If you name the Fairmont Opera House as a beneficiary of all or part of your plan, your gift will pass to us tax-free.
  2. At 70½, it is required to take a distribution from your Traditional IRA.  With a Qualified Charitable Distribution to the Fairmont Opera House, the distribution is fulfilled, but it is not considered taxable income.  It cannot, however, be considered a deduction.

We Can Help

If you’re wondering how tax reform will affect your charitable contributions, we can help you sort through the changes. Simply contact Blake Potthoff at 507-238-4900 or director@fairmontoperahouse.org with any questions you have.

3 Ways to Ensure Family Comes First

Naming the Fairmont Opera House as a beneficiary in your will is a simple way to enable the future of our important work. But maybe you’ve hesitated because you’re unsure about how much to give.

Because life is unpredictable and the value of your assets is likely to rise and fall, you don’t want to risk that someday your charitable gift could outweigh the well-being of your family. Fortunately, there’s a solution.

Percentage Giving

Instead of a fixed amount, consider gifting a percentage of your estate or of specific assets. That way, gifts to loved ones and to organizations such as the Fairmont Opera House remain proportional—no matter how your estate fluctuates.

Here are three simple ways to put family first while supporting those we serve:

  1. Gift a percentage of your estate to the Fairmont Opera House in your will.
  2. Leave the Fairmont Opera House a percentage of your residual estate (the portion of your estate that remains after all gifts have been made and all claims of the estate are satisfied).
  3. Name the Fairmont Opera House as a beneficiary of a percentage of your life insurance policy or retirement account.

Be sure to let us know that you have named us as a beneficiary so we can contact your administrator at the appropriate time and put your gift to work as you intend.

Your Gift Matters

Giving a small percentage of your estate can have a bigger impact on the Fairmont Opera House than you might think. Contact Blake Potthoff at 507-238-4900 or director@fairmontoperahouse.org today if you have questions about naming us as a beneficiary. If you’ve already named us as a beneficiary, please let us know so we can thank you for your generosity.

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

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45 Downtown Plaza
PO Box 226
Fairmont, MN 56031
507-238-4900

Office Hours:
Monday-Friday
9:00am-2:00pm

*Doors Open 1 Hour Before Event

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