The Foundation for World Education allocates annual grants through disbursement from its endowment. Since grant requests keep growing, we are able to fund only a portion of the worthy projects we consider each year. We therefore seek to grow in our ability to give grants by increasing the endowment.
The FWE encourages donations, bequests, long-term giving, and tax-advantaged estate planning. We also welcome the establishment of designated funds for areas of special interest. As we are a 501(c)3 non-profit foundation, contributions within the U.S. may be partially or fully deductible for income or estate taxes.
Please consult with your own tax advisor to determine the specific tax benefits that may be available to you. We are happy to answer questions and work with contributors to build a personal plan for giving.
Your gift to the FWE is a gift to future generations and to conscious evolution in diverse fields of human endeavor. There are a number of ways that you can contribute.
Donate
All donations that are not specified for a designated fund, are received into the main endowment fund, out of which the bulk of FWE’s grants are annually funded. Please send donations in the form of a check.
Donations can be mailed to:
Foundation for World Education
PO Box 1946
Lowell, MA 01853
Planned Giving
Donating unused assets available at the end of life is a great way to provide long-term support to future projects in perpetuity. Please consider some of the ways you can name FWE as a beneficiary of a living trust, will, retirement plan, or other asset. An overview of some opportunities for planned giving are outlined here:
Wills & Trusts
Wills contain bequests, which are outright gifts by you to individuals, organizations and charities, including endowments. Bequests can be for a specific amount, or for a percentage of your estate. Bequests can be included in a new Will or you may amend your current Will with a “codicil”. A bequest is a straightforward, legally binding statement of your wishes. For example: “I bequeath to the Foundation for World Education, a nonprofit organization, the sum of $_____, ( or _____% of my estate).”
Trusts can be very simple or very complex, depending on your goals. They can provide for outright gifts or gifts over a period of time to individuals, organizations and charities. Trusts can assure privacy to the donor in distributing their estate. Although Trusts offer tremendous flexibility, they can be more costly than a simple Will to establish. Trusts require the services of an attorney to draft. Two frequently used types are:
- Living Trusts — A trust that is set up during one’s lifetime and can be revocable or irrevocable. An attractive aspect is that, unlike Wills, Living Trusts avoid probate.
- Charitable Remainder Trusts — A trust that is designed to offer federal income tax and estate tax benefits for gifts to charities.
Retirement Plan Assets
Retirement plan assets such as IRAs, 401(k) plans, 403(b) plans or other retirement savings arrangements are particularly well-suited for donation to an endowment. If left to individuals (other than a spouse), such assets will subject your heirs to income taxes. It is more tax-advantaged to leave other types of assets to your heirs and gift these more heavily-taxed retirement plan assets to tax-exempt non-profit organizations or endowments.
Other Assets
Almost any financial arrangement that allows you to make beneficiary designations with all or part of its remaining value can be incorporated into an estate plan. These may include bank accounts through a bank, savings and loan association, or credit union, life insurance policies, or brokerage accounts for stock, bond and mutual fund holdings.
Tax-Free Contribution from an IRA
Those over age 70 1/2 may make a tax-free “direct gift” to FWE directly from an Individual Retirement Account (IRA). By gifting the funds directly from the IRA account to a non-profit recipient account, there is no tax liability.
Donor Designated Funds
We’re happy to work with contributors to build a customized plan for giving, and welcome the establishment of donor designated funds if there are areas of special interest that you would like to particularly support. (Please note that there is typically a $25,000 minimum amount required to establish a donor designated fund). We’re happy to answer any questions if this option is of interest to you. Please contact us for more information.