Please use the contact email
Don Braasch, .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
to get further details!
Support your BMW MOA Foundation – Its Easy !
Many of you may have noticed the increasing presence of the BMW MOA Foundation, whether at the International Rallies, MOA regional events, this cool new web site, local club meetings, or in the pages of the ON magazine. Our Foundation has presented the MSF’s Experienced Rider Course, Seasoned Rider Course, off-road rider training, the widely-appreciated SMARTtrainer, and most recently, the Rider Perception Course. We’ve offered Accident Scene Management, and are now counted on to offer our youngest International Rally attendees the invaluable experiences of Camp GEARS. We’ve personally handed out hundreds of donuts and bananas when we present Coffee with Dave (Hough), which featured the always entertaining Fred Rau at the 2009 Wyoming Rally, and Dave himself in Redmond, for the 2010 International Rally. In addition, over the couple of years, the Foundation has made certain MSF courses available for presentation at many local club events, at no cost to the clubs.
As you might imagine, most of what we offer costs the Foundation far more than it charges. In fact, most of our offerings are presented at no cost to the participants. We do this because its furthers our mission of improving rider safety, as well as supporting motorcycling and its rich heritage. While we are most grateful to our corporate sponsors including Markel American, Bob’s BMW and others, and have had a good time raffling off several motorcycles, gear, and vacations, we need your help to continue and expand the range of programs we are able to develop and deliver.
There are many ways you can help the MOA Foundation, from participating in our programs to making a cash donation. A gift to the foundation is tax-deductible. Another way to show your support is to include the foundation in your will. While we’re in no great hurry to see any of you move on, we do ask that you consider helping your fellow riders when you do by making a charitable bequest.
Charitable Bequests.
There are many advantages to making charitable bequests. Bequests do not reduce current assets. Bequests can be easily modified or canceled at any time until death. Charitable Bequests allow a donor to specify a dollar amount or a percentage of their estate. Bequests can be used in conjunction with other types of planned gifts. Bequests may reduce estate taxes. A charitable bequest is simply a distribution from your estate to a charitable organization that is made through your last Will and Testament. While we expect that wealthy people will have large estates and make many bequests, even people who aren’t wealthy often have the resources to make a charitable bequest. While a bequest can be of cash, it can just as easily be of Marketable Securities (e.g., stocks or bonds), Investment Real Estate, Interest in a Family or Closely Held Business, Personal Property (e.g., art, jewelry, coins), or the remainder of a Retirement Plan.
It is important that you or your attorney use very specific language to indicate the precise direction of your assets, and to successfully carry out your final wishes. To ensure your gifts are directed properly, any bequest should be directed to the “BMW Motorcycle Owners of America Foundation.” To do this (and please confer with legal counsel to ensure that this works for you!) you would include this general bequest language in your Will: "I give, devise, and bequeath to the BMW MOA Foundation, the sum of $________(or a description of the specific asset), for the benefit of the Foundation and its general purposes."
If there is a specific activity of the Foundation that you wish to support, such as Camp GEARS, the SMARTTrainer, or our provision of MSF courses to local clubs, you can make a Specific Bequest. Specific bequest language might be: "I give, devise, and bequeath to the BMW MOA Foundation, the sum of $_______ (or a description of a specific asset), for the benefit of the Foundation to be used for the following purpose: the purchase and delivery of rider education programs to local BMW clubs. If at any time in the judgment of the trustees of the BMW MOA Foundation it is impossible or impracticable to carry out exactly the designated purpose, they shall determine an alternative purpose closest to the designated purpose."
If you have family members or other causes that you prefer receive the bulk of your estate, you can still help the Foundation, with a Residuary Bequest. A Residuary bequest is made when you intend to leave the residue portion of your assets after other terms of the will have been satisfied. Language to do this could be: "All the rest, residue, and remainder of my estate, both real and personal, I give to the BMW MOA Foundation, for its general purposes."
Life Insurance.
Another way to support the Foundation is with a gift of life insurance. When you name the Foundation as the owner and irrevocable beneficiary of an existing life insurance policy, you receive an immediate income tax deduction based on the cash surrender value of the policy. Whether your gift is of a new or an existing policy you receive a charitable deduction each year based on your annual gift to cover premium payments as long as the policy is owned by the Foundation. Note that changing your policy's beneficiary designation is a simple process; however, it cannot be done through your Will. Please contact your agent or your insurer for the necessary forms.
Retirement Plans
The last means of supporting your Foundation to be covered in this article are through retirement plans. Qualified retirement plan assets (including IRAs) are often particularly well suited for charitable giving. In fact, at the time your assets pass to the next generation, proceeds of retirement plans can be among the most heavily taxed assets in your estate. However, if you use these assets to create an endowment fund (after the death of both you and your spouse), your estate can realize substantial income and estate tax savings. Please consult your retirement planning professional for advice specific to your circumstances.
We believe that the Foundation fulfills a vital role in keeping our members (and other riders) safer and more competent as riders, as well as entertained and educated on motorcycle-related topics. We cannot do this without your support, and we ask that you consider a contribution to the Foundation as part of your estate-planning process.
Stay tuned for MORE information on how to benefit the Foundation through Planned Giving Arrangements...
In the meantime please use the contact email:
Don Braasch, .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
to get further details!
