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Donating Real Estate

Consider a Gift of Real Estate
Imagine avoiding the hassle of selling a piece of property, with no worry about getting a fair price, and at the same time helping to support World Wildlife Fund all while qualifying for a federal income tax charitable deduction. This can be your reality when you consider using real estate to make a gift to WWF.

Why Donate Real Estate?
Depending on the method you choose, a gift of real estate to World Wildlife Fund may allow you to:

  1. Make a significant gift to WWF.
  2. Qualify for an income tax charitable deduction.
  3. Reduce or eliminate capital gains tax.
  4. Pay no gift tax on the transfer.
  5. Reduce your estate administration expenses.

A gift of real estate can be completed in a variety of ways. Keep reading for some examples.

Donating Real Estate

Ways to Give

Make a Direct Gift Today
If you own the property, simply donate it to World Wildlife Fund. Donations of property are generally eligible for an income tax charitable deduction equal to the property’s fair market value, eliminating capital gains tax on the property’s appreciation.

Give Through Your Will or Living Trust
If you are not comfortable making an irrevocable gift of property right now, consider leaving it to World Wildlife Fund in your will or revocable living trust. This can be the perfect way to support WWF, helping us in the future without using assets today, and it can be created or changed at any time.

Donate Your Home but Keep Living There
With a retained life estate, you deed your residence to WWF now. You retain the right to occupy the home for life and continue to pay taxes, maintenance, and insurance. After your lifetime—or the lifetime of your spouse or another person you choose to retain rights to live in the home—we take possession.

Ways to Donate Real Estate

Ways to Support WWF

Make a Bargain Sale
A bargain sale occurs when you sell real estate that you’ve owned for more than one year to WWF for less than its current fair market value, subject to our agreement. After we purchase your property: 1) You receive a cash payment from World Wildlife Fund for the sale price, 2) you qualify for a charitable deduction for the difference between the sale price and the higher fair market value, and 3) we receive the property at a bargain price.

Use Property to Fund a FLIP Charitable Remainder Unitrust
Another approach is to use your property to fund what’s known as a FLIP charitable remainder unitrust. Such a trust can be set up to make lifetime payments to you or any other recipient you name after the property is sold. At your death, World Wildlife Fund receives the balance (remainder) in the trust. Donating property to a charitable remainder trust may provide you with a number of potential benefits, such as an up-front capital gains tax elimination on the increase in the property’s value since you bought it, an income tax deduction for the present value of the remainder interest, and income from the trust for the rest of your life once the property is sold.

Establish a Memorial or Endowment Gift
A gift of real estate is a perfect way to honor your loved one through a memorial or endowment type gift. If you have a loved one whose life has been impacted by World Wildlife Fund, we hope you’ll consider making a gift to us in honor of that person. When you make an endowed gift, your contribution is invested and becomes part of our endowment. An annual distribution is made for the purpose you designate. Because the principal remains intact, the fund will generate support in perpetuity.

Donating Real Estate

Next Steps

Contact us today for more information about using any of these options to support WWF. We would be happy to assist your attorney and other advisors in designing the most suitable plan for you.

Office of Gift Planning
Phone: 888-993-9455
Email: legacygifts@worldwildlife.org
1250 24th Street, NW
Washington, DC 20037

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Donating Real Estate

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Someone from World Wildlife Fund will be in contact with you soon. If you need to speak to us immediately, please call us at 888-993-9455.