Ways to Give

A legacy gift enables you to support American Atheists, secures the financial needs of your loved ones, and provides you with tax benefits. Legacy gifts of all sizes combine to help us meet our current goals and invest in the future of our work.

By including American Atheists in your will or trust, naming American Atheists as a beneficiary of all or part of a life insurance policy, or taking advantage of other planned giving opportunities, you can preserve your assets now and support American Atheists for years to come. Your gift will have a real, lasting impact.

Let us help you make the gift that’s right for you. Learn more about joining our Legacy Circle and get more information.

Name American Atheists as the beneficiary of an existing life insurance policy; donate an existing, paid-up life insurance policy you no longer need; or purchase a new life insurance policy and name American Atheists as the owner and beneficiary.

How You Benefit from a Gift of Life Insurance

• Make a gift using an asset that you and your family may no longer need.
• Receive an income tax deduction equal to the cash surrender value of the policy.
• You may be able to use the cash value of your policy to fund a gift that delivers income, such as a charitable gift annuity.

Please use the following address for American Atheists:

American Atheists
Development
225 Cristiani St
Cranford, NJ 07016-3214

The benefits of using a donor advised fund are strong and, with the new tax laws, are expected to grow in appeal to strategic donors. They are far easier to establish than a private foundation and allow you to support American Atheists with relatively small amounts of money.

How does it work?

When you open a donor advised funds (DAF), you are creating a separate entity with the sole purpose of using the assets under management to support qualified charities.

You can fund it by irrevocably contributing assets such as cash, appreciated stock, insurance proceeds, or various other forms of capital. Given that your DAF is a separate entity, you can take an immediate tax deduction for the amount of the gift.

As advisor to the fund, you can elect to manage the investments personally or choose to have an investment advisor manage the portfolio.

The two primary avenues of supporting American Atheists with your donor advised fund are through a beneficiary designation and recommending grants.

Beneficiary

By assigning American Atheists or other charitable organizations as a beneficiary, you are ensuring that when the DAF ceases to have an advisor the assets in the account get transferred to American Atheists.

Grants

While you or your assigned successor(s) are advising the fund, you can recommend grants from the fund to support American Atheists or other charitable organizations.

What are the benefits?

• Receive an immediate deduction on your taxes.
• Assets in the fund grow tax free.
• Easier, and less expensive than establishing a private foundation.
• Allows you to get started with a relatively small amount of money, as low as a $500 gift.
• Tax smart for those using a “lumping” strategy under the new tax laws.

With a low barrier to entry and multiple ways to create charitable impact, DAFs are a great strategy for charitable giving. If you have questions about setting one up, or want more information please contact American Atheists.

The IRA Charitable Rollover provides you with an excellent opportunity to make a gift during your lifetime from an asset that would be subject to multiple levels of taxation if it remained in your taxable estate.

To qualify:

• You must be age 70 ½ or older at the time of gift.
• Transfers must be made directly from a traditional IRA account by your IRA administrator to American Atheists. Funds that are withdrawn by you and then contributed do NOT qualify. Gifts from 401k, 403b, SEP and other plans do not qualify.
• Gifts must be outright. Distributions to donor-advised funds or life-income arrangements such as charitable remainder trusts and charitable gift annuities do not qualify.

Benefits—qualified charitable distributions:

• Can total up to $111,000/annually.
• Count towards your required minimum distribution for the year from your IRA reducing the amount you need to pay taxes on.
• Charity receives the full amount distributed “tax free”.

Life Income Gift CAA 2023 allows for a one-time distribution to create a life-income gift, most commonly a charitable gift annuity (CGA), and charitable remainder unitrusts (CRT) or annuity trusts. This new type of QCD is a one-time maximum transfer of $55,000 to a qualified CRT, or in exchange with a charity for a CGA. *Important terms and conditions apply. Please contact our office or your financial advisor.

This type of gift will reduce the value of your IRA, therefore reducing your future RMDs (as they will be based on the lower value). Also, a CGA provides a constant guaranteed lifetime stream of revenue. Using a distribution from your IRA to create an annuity is a savvy way to diversify your holdings and lock in a great return.

As always, we recommend that you consult a qualified advisor before making a new gift commitment.

Many employers offer matching gift programs that double or even triple the impact of your donation to American Atheists.

If your company participates in matching gifts, your contribution automatically becomes more powerful—at no extra cost to you.

To find out if your employer matches donations, check with your HR or benefits department. The process is usually straightforward: make your donation to American Atheists, then submit your employer’s matching gift form to complete the match.

Employer matches are one of the easiest ways to significantly increase support for secular advocacy and church-state separation. Plus, matching gift programs are beneficial to both American Atheists and your employer; your donation goes even further while your employer is able to reduce their tax liability! Ask your HR department today—it’s a great way to maximize your impact!

Please note that we can only mail an acknowledgement to you if your name and address are provided along with the check or you notify us about your gift.