Planned Giving

Create your Last Will & Testament, 100% free

Making or updating your Will is easier than you might imagine. United Way of Idaho Falls & Bonneville County has partnered with FreeWill.com to give you a free, intuitive way to write your Will. By including a gift to United Way of Idaho Falls & Bonneville County in your Will, you help ensure that we are able to break the cycle of poverty for everyone in our community for generations to come.

This tool is free to you whether or not you choose to include a gift to us, and can be used to create your full legal Will in about 20 minutes.

Visit www.FreeWill.com/UnitedWay to create your FreeWill today.

Charitable Bequests

Gifts made through Wills and Trusts have become the foundation of the American philanthropic tradition. Indeed, the overwhelming majority of planned gifts are the result of bequests, commonly known as planned or “legacy” gifts. If you have considered making a gift to United Way of Idaho Falls & Bonneville County but aren't ready to relinquish your assets today, consider leaving us a legacy gift. A simple provision in your Will or Trust may enable you to make significant contributions not otherwise possible during your lifetime.

Although you should carefully review the terms of your Will with an appropriate professional advisor, we are happy to provide the following Sample Bequest Language:

Sample bequest language:

I give, devise and bequeath to United Way of Idaho Falls & Bonneville County, 1649 Woodruff Park, Idaho Falls, ID 83401, the sum of $____________ /or ___ % of my estate/or the following specific asset ____________________________ for the benefit of United Way of Idaho Falls & Bonneville County and its general purposes/or to be added to its endowment.

Retirement Account Assets

If you die with retirement plan assets in your estate, those assets are subject to income taxes that may dramatically reduce the amount that would otherwise pass to your beneficiaries. Instead, consider designating United Way of Idaho Falls & Bonneville County as a beneficiary of your retirement accounts. Because we are a nonprofit organization, United Way of Idaho Falls & Bonneville County is able to take a tax-free withdrawal of retirement assets, allowing us to use their full value to advance our important work.

Life Insurance Policies

Most people think of life insurance as protection, particularly for loved ones. But life insurance is also a powerful charitable tool that can be used to champion our work far into the future. By designating United Way of Idaho Falls & Bonneville County as a beneficiary on your life insurance policy, you are able to create a charitable legacy without invading cash and other assets designated for your heirs.

IRA Rollover 

The IRS mandates that you begin your Required Minimal Distribution (RMDs) of your IRA after a certain age. This increases your taxable income and may push you into a higher tax bracket. Plus, RMDs get higher year after year, which means your taxable income, and possibly your tax bracket, increases year after year too!

However, the IRS also allows individuals to transfer up to $100,000 from their IRAs to a recognized charity of their choice. Couples can contribute $200,000.

Care is needed, though: the contribution must go directly to the charity and not first to the IRA owner, or else the owner is taxed on the distribution. Always speak to your tax advisor when thinking about an IRA charitable rollover.

There are several benefits to supporting United Way of Idaho Falls & Bonneville County through an IRA rollover: 

• Your gift will not be counted as income, so you will pay no income tax on the RMD.
• The IRS will consider your RMD distribution fulfilled.
• You may save thousands in higher taxes by avoiding a higher tax bracket.
• The receiving charity will not pay taxes on the donation either, maximizing your contribution amount.