By including Santa Cruz Local in your estate plans, you can reduce your taxes and give a generous gift that ensures trusted local news is available for future generations.
Leave a legacy
You can name Santa Cruz Local as a full or partial beneficiary of accounts or policies, including:
- Individual retirement accounts, or IRAs.
- Donor-advised funds, or DAFs.
- Employer-sponsored retirement plans.
- Life insurance policies.
- Brokerage or investment accounts.
Naming Santa Cruz Local as a beneficiary of an IRA may be a tax-efficient way to leave a charitable gift. Unlike children or other heirs, a nonprofit like Santa Cruz Local does not pay income tax on gifts from a traditional IRA. We encourage you to speak with your financial advisor.
Beneficiary designations are often simple to complete. You can usually update your beneficiaries through your account’s website.
Our staff, or the Community Foundation’s staff, can help with this. Contact [email protected] or [email protected].
Other benefits:
- You don’t need to change your will.
- If you change your mind, it’s simple to update your beneficiaries.
- You can name multiple beneficiaries. For example, you may choose to leave Santa Cruz Local a percentage and the remainder to family and other nonprofits.
Include Santa Cruz Local in your will or living trust. You can leave a specific dollar amount, a percentage of your estate, or whatever remains after you’ve taken care of your loved ones.
Sample language: “I give [dollar amount or percentage of my estate] to Santa Cruz Local Inc., EIN 37-2064285, for its general charitable purposes.”
Want some flexibility?
Create a Memorandum of Charitable Intent (known as a MOCI) at The Community Foundation Santa Cruz County. This document records which nonprofits you want to support and how you would like your gift to be used. Your will or trust only needs to include a line referring to the MOCI held at the Community Foundation.
If your charitable wishes change, you can update your MOCI without changing your will or trust — and you do not need a lawyer or notary to update it. The Community Foundation can help you create the document and provide the correct language to include in your plans.
Benefits:
- You are in control of your gift during your lifetime. You can change your mind at any time.
Questions?
Contact Cosme Lobato Dondiego at [email protected] or 831-291-3456.
You can also contact Kea Gorden at the Community Foundation Santa Cruz County at [email protected].
Gifts that pay you income
A charitable gift annuity allows you to make a meaningful gift — and receive dependable income for the rest of your life. Plus, you may receive an income tax deduction at the time of the gift.
You make a gift of cash, stock or IRA assets through the Community Foundation Santa Cruz County. In return, the Community Foundation provides fixed payments to you — or other people — for life. You can choose to begin receiving payments now or later. After your lifetime, the remaining funds will support Santa Cruz Local and ensure trusted local news for generations to come.
How much will my payments be?
Your payment amount is based on your age when the gift is made. Once your payment amount is determined, it will remain fixed for life. See the latest payout rates.
Benefits:
- Fixed payments for life for you or others.
- Potential to lower your income tax or capital gains tax (check with your financial advisor).
Questions?
Reach us at [email protected] or 831-291-3456. To reach the Community Foundation, contact Kea Gorden at [email protected].
If you’re worried about an estate tax, a charitable remainder trust may be a good option to reduce or eliminate your liability.
You place cash, investments, real estate or other eligible property into a trust at the Community Foundation Santa Cruz County. The trust then makes payments to you or the people you choose for life or for a set number of years. When the trust ends, the remaining funds support Santa Cruz Local and any other charitable organizations you select.
Benefits:
- Potential reduction or elimination of estate tax liability.
- Potential for an immediate income tax deduction.
- Potential to bypass or defer capital gains tax.
- Beneficiaries receive payments for life or a fixed term.
Questions?
Contact Cosme Lobato Dondiego at [email protected] or 831-291-3456. You can also contact Community Foundation Santa Cruz County staff at [email protected].
Tax-smart ways to give now
A Qualified Charitable Distribution (QCD) from your IRA is a tax-savvy way to support local news.
You can make a contribution directly from your IRA to a charity if you are 70 ½ or older, and it will not count as taxable income for the year.
What’s more: If you’re 73 or older and you have a traditional IRA, the IRS requires you to take a Required Minimum Distribution (RMD) each year. By directing part or all of your RMD directly to Santa Cruz Local as a QCD:
- You support local news: Your gift directly funds in-depth reporting in Santa Cruz County.
- You lower your taxable income: The transferred funds count toward your required distribution but are excluded from your gross income, even if you don’t itemize deductions.
How it works:
- Contact your IRA custodian (e.g., Fidelity, Schwab, Vanguard) and let them know you’d like to make a Qualified Charitable Distribution to Santa Cruz Local.
- Ensure the transfer is direct: The check or transfer must go directly from your IRA to Santa Cruz Local to qualify for the tax exclusion.
- Let us know: Drop us a quick note so we can keep an eye out for your gift and thank you properly!
Santa Cruz Local Inc.
877 Cedar St., Suite 150
Santa Cruz, CA 95060
Federal Tax ID (EIN): 37-2064285
Please email Santa Cruz Local Individual Giving Manager Cosme Lobato Dondiego at [email protected] to let us know that your gift is on its way.
Because tax circumstances vary, we encourage you to consult your financial advisor.
Donor-advised funds (DAFs) are an easy way to support nonprofits that you care about.
You contribute cash, stock or other assets to the fund, and receive an immediate tax deduction. Those contributions are invested, and have the potential to grow tax-free. At any time, you can recommend grants to your favorite nonprofits like Santa Cruz Local.
It’s simple to set up a donor-advised fund at the Community Foundation Santa Cruz County. The Community Foundation has a $25,000 minimum to open a DAF.
We also have many donors with DAFs at Fidelity Charitable, which does not have a minimum initial contribution.
Types of assets you can contribute to a DAF include:
- Stocks.
- Cryptocurrencies.
- Privately-held business interests.
- Life insurance.
- Retirement assets.
- Cash.
Donating appreciated stock can be a meaningful and tax-smart way to support Santa Cruz Local. If you have owned stock that has increased in value, donating the shares directly may allow you to avoid recognizing capital gains on the appreciation and may provide a charitable deduction if you itemize.
Benefits
- You may qualify for an income-tax deduction.
- You may avoid recognizing capital gains that could apply if you sold the stock first.
- The full value of your shares can support trusted, independent local journalism.
How do I make a gift of stock?
Ask your broker to transfer the shares electronically to Santa Cruz Local Inc.’s brokerage account at Fidelity using the following information:
Receiving account name: Santa Cruz Local Inc.
Receiving account number: Z40396050
Federal Tax ID: 37-2064285
Fidelity DTC number: 0226
Fidelity Investments
Attn: TOA Receives
P.O. Box 770001
Cincinnati, OH 45277-0036
Phone: 1-800-544-4442
Stock transfers do not always include the donor’s name. Before making your transfer, please email Individual Giving Manager Cosme Lobato Dondiego at [email protected] with:
- Your name and contact information
- The name of the stock
- The number of shares
- The expected date of transfer
- Your broker or brokerage firm’s name
Please do not include your personal brokerage account number in your email.
Once we receive your gift, Santa Cruz Local will send you an acknowledgment letter for your records. Because Santa Cruz Local cannot determine the tax value of your gift, we encourage you to consult your financial advisor.
Our information
Legal name: Santa Cruz Local Inc
EIN: 37-2064285
Address: 877 Cedar St., Suite 150, Santa Cruz, CA 95060
Interested in learning more?
You do not need to have everything figured out before contacting us. Whether you have already included Santa Cruz Local in your plans or are simply exploring the possibility, we would be glad to have a confidential, no-pressure conversation.
Complete the short form below, and Cosme Lobato, Santa Cruz Local’s Individual Giving Manager, will follow up with you.