Make a Difference for Generations to Come

Ways You Can Give to Make a Difference

Planned Giving

About Bequests

You may be looking for a way to make a significant gift to help further our mission. A bequest is a gift made through your will or trust. It is one of the most popular and flexible ways that you can support our cause.

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IRA Charitable Rollover

An IRA rollover allows people age 70 1/2 and older to reduce their taxable income by making a gift directly from their IRA.

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Beneficiary Designations

A beneficiary designation gift is a simple and affordable way to make a gift to support our cause. You can designate our organization as a beneficiary of a retirement, investment or bank account or your life insurance policy.

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Charitable Gift Annuities

A charitable gift annuity is a great way you can make a gift to our organization and benefit. You transfer your cash or property to our organization and we promise to make fixed payments to you for life at a rate based on your age.

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Donor Stories

Learn how others have made an impact through their acts of giving to our organization and others. Explore the many benefits of charitable gift planning.

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Gift Options

Find out What to Give and learn about the best assets to make a planned gift. Learn about gifts of cash, securities and property. Learn How to Give and discover gift options that provide tax and income benefits. Discover the best planned gift to meet your goals.

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Using a Beneficiary Designation to Make a Gift to Charity

Joanne and her late husband Hal had been longtime supporters of our organization. Recently, Joanne's children encouraged her to update her estate plan. Joanne thought that was a great idea. In fact, she had been thinking about meeting with her attorney to discuss how she could make a significant gift to support our work.

Joanne: Hal and I were passionate about Meals on Wheels Orange County's mission. We even volunteered regularly. After Hal passed away, I wanted to make a gift that would honor his memory.

When she met with her attorney, Joanne explained her goals and described her assets. She'd inherited Hal's IRA, which when combined with her own, would provide her with the necessary retirement security she needed. She even had enough to allow her to take regular vacations and splurge on gifts for the grandkids.

Joanne: I had originally thought about leaving my IRA to our kids and other assets to charity. My attorney suggested a different strategy and told me that an IRA is a great gift to leave to charity. He explained that if my kids inherited the IRA, my estate would pay estate taxes and my kids would pay income tax on the IRA. But, by giving the IRA to charity and other assets to my kids, the kids will still receive a nice inheritance, and we avoid income and estate taxes entirely!

Joanne: Making a gift of my IRA was easy! I contacted my IRA custodian, who emailed me an IRA beneficiary designation form. I completed the form, named Meals on Wheels Orange County as the primary beneficiary of my IRA and mailed it back to the custodian. I called Meals on Wheels Orange County to tell them about my gift, and they were very touched. I know Hal would be happy too. Best of all, I can continue to use my IRA for as long as I live, and when I pass away, my IRA will go to charity.

Is a beneficiary designation gift right for you?

If you own a qualified retirement plan, such as an IRA, 401(k) or 403(b) and would like to make a charitable gift, your family or your estate might benefit if you update your beneficiary designation form naming our organization as a beneficiary. Beneficiary designation gifts may help your heirs avoid paying income tax on certain inherited assets and may help your estate avoid estate taxes.

If you have questions about making a beneficiary designation gift, please contact us. We would be happy to work with you and answer any questions that you have.

*Please note: The name and image above is representative of a typical donor and may or may not be an actual donor to our organization. Since the benefits of each gift may be different, you should seek the advice of your legal, tax or financial advisor.