Leave a Legacy

 Legacy Giving Options 

A gift in your will or trust  

Making a gift to Ceres in your will or living trust is easy to arrange and costs nothing to make now. Your gift is revocable and remains under your control during your life. You can leave specific property, a dollar amount or a percentage of your estate to Ceres. 

A gift of retirement plan assets  

Distributions from tax-deferred retirement plans, like IRAs, are taxable to owners during life — and to heirs when inherited. This means that inherited IRAs can become a tax liability for children and loved ones. When used to make a charitable gift to Ceres, however, retirement plan assets are transferred tax-free. By naming Ceres as a full or partial beneficiary of your retirement plan and leaving other, less tax-vulnerable assets to your heirs, you can reduce or eliminate taxes for your heirs while knowing 100% of your gift to Ceres will be used to provide healing meals to our most medically fragile community members. 

A gift of life insurance  

Designating Ceres as the beneficiary of an existing life insurance policy may enable you to enjoy some great tax benefits. In order to deduct premium payments as charitable deductions, the donor must name Ceres as both owner and beneficiary of the policy. 

A gift from a Donor Advised Fund  

In addition to recommending immediate or recurring grants to Ceres from your donor advised fund (DAF), you can name Ceres as the full or partial beneficiary of your fund, ensuring future support for Ceres’ mission. 

Charitable gift annuities and charitable trusts  

Charitable gift annuities and charitable lead and remainder trusts provide….

• a gift to Ceres,

• income for you for life,

• and favorable tax treatments and other benefits.

These two options can provide you with a secure source of fixed payments for life.  We encourage you to seek professional advice for all questions pertaining to your planned giving endeavors. We would be pleased to collaborate with you and your professional advisor to help structure a planned gift that is the best option for your current and future income needs. 

A gift of stock  

Making a gift of appreciated stocks, bonds and mutual fund shares is an easy and powerful way to contribute to Ceres. Benefits include income and capital gain tax savings. The first step to making a stock donation is to contact our Development Director at development@ceresproject.org. Please let them know the name of the security and the number of shares to be donated so we can anticipate and acknowledge your gift. This important step helps us ensure that we process your gift according to your intent.  Please download this PDF form with instructions for your broker. 

A gift of property

If you’re charitably inclined, donating appreciated real estate offers many advantages. An outright gift to Ceres allows you to deduct the property’s fair market value (FMV) while avoiding capital gains taxes. Having permanent program site locations allows Ceres to be stable and conserve valuable resources.