Unit
Fund Raising
Ways
to Contribute
Membership
eScrip
Direct Financial
Donation
Planned
Giving
Donating
in General
IRS Tax Publication
557
Resources
Concerning Donating |
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Membership is the foundation
on which the programs of the
American Legion Auxiliary
is built.
Are
you eligible to belong?
Answer the questions below
to find out.
1 .
Are you the mother, wife,
daughter, sister, granddaughter,
great granddaughter, or
grandmother of a current
member of The American Legion?
2 .
Are you a female veteran
who served during any of
the conflicts listed below?
3 .
Are you currently a female
member of The American Legion?
4 .
Are you the mother, wife,
daughter, sister, granddaughter,
great granddaughter, or
grandmother of a deceased
veteran who served during
any of the conflicts listed
below? ( Eligibility applies
to step-relatives.)
If you answered yes to any
of the four questions above,
you are eligible to belong
to the American Legion Auxiliary.
Your membership is vital
to the efforts of the ALA
in several ways. As a member
your dues supports the Congressional
lobbying efforts of the
American Legion and the
American Legion Auxiliary
to provide veterans and
their families with the
promised support of our
government. Through your
work at the Unit level,
you impact your community
in positive ways.
Click
here to get more information
about joining the "The World's
Largest Women's Patriotic
Service Organization" |
This fund raising program
costs no money and is for
anyone (member or nonmember)
wanting to support American
Legion Auxiliary programs!
It's called eScrip. You
register your cards of choice
(debit, credit, store club)
with eScrip - online. When
you make purchases using the
cards at the participating
merchants, a percentage of
your purchase goes into the
special East Palo Alto Unit
472 account at eScrip. They
will turn around and send
85% of that amount to the
Unit. All the funds
are to be used for children
and youth programs. If you
want to register (or just
get more information) go to
www.escrip.com
. Click on the sign up
link. Use our ID #500003765
to make sure that East Palo
Alto Unit 472 gets the credit. |
If
you would like to make a tax
deductible donation to East
Palo Alto Unit 472, the following
information will assist you.
A tax receipt will be mailed
to you indicating the organization's
tax exempt number for your
tax files.
| Donations
by PayPal - Payment
Center |
Checks
should be made payable
to:
American Legion Auxiliary,
East Palo Alto Unit
472 |
| On
the memo line of the
check, indicate the
program to which the
donation should be applied.
If no program is indicated,
the funds will be deposited
into the General Fund. |
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Mail the check
to:
ALA Unit 472
2121 Crosspoint Avenue
Santa Rosa CA 95403 |
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A
Planned Gift to East Palo Alto
Unit 472 ensures that the organization
can continue to provide the programs
of support to veterans, their
families, and our communities.
Planned giving
integrates a donor's charitable
gift with his or her overall financial,
tax, and estate planning goals
to maximize benefits to both the
donor and the American Legion
Auxiliary. Planned gifts typically
come from a donor's assets rather
than income, and can be either
outright or deferred. Some types
of gifts include:
It is highly
recommended that donors consult
with their own tax or legal advisors
prior to making a planned gift.
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Wills
Giving
through Retirement Plans
Giving through
Living Trusts
Giving
through Life Insurance
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The
information on this page is not
intended as legal, tax or investment
advice. For such advice, please
consult an attorney, tax professional
or investment professional.
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A bequest
in your will or living trust is
an uncomplicated way to support
the work of the ALA. A bequest may
take several forms. It can be specific
sum, a percentage of your estate,
or the remainder of your estate
after expenses and gifts to loved
ones. Bequests can include cash,
securities, real estate, houses,
and personal property such as valuable
collections, art, or jewelry.
Living
trusts are a popular choice because
the terms of a living trust, unlike
a will, can be put into effect
immediately upon your death, bypassing
probate and keeping the terms
private.
For more information
about leaving something to East
Palo Alto Unit 472 in your will
or living trust, please contact
an estate planning attorney. |
An individual retirement account
can be a great way to provide for
your future and insure the continued
work of the American Legion Auxiliary.
Your retirement account (IRA) may
expose your individual heirs to
an unnecessary federal income tax
liability. Instead of a charitable
bequest, consider making these distributions
through your IRA. This will preserve
more of your estate for family and
friends.
Through
charitable gift annuities and
trusts, you can potentially increase
current income. Opportunities
exist for both younger and older
individuals by increasing income
productivity, compounding growth
through deferment of income and
by taking advantage of other tax
savings. Many times, life insurance
can become part of this plan to
help replace the eventual gift
for individual heirs.
Please consult
your attorney or other financial
adviser to review the deductibility
of any gifts or other planned
giving ideas. |
Gifts
of Life Insurance can enhance our
efforts to further develop programs
aimed toward supporting veterans
- actively serving and retired.
Life Insurance creates an opportunity
for an individual to target a large
gift with limited cost. Many individuals
have contributed these gifts in
the name of loved ones. The face
value of the policy will assure
that your targeted amount is met.
Life
Insurance offers a simple and
private way for you to contribute
toward the mission of the American
Legion Auxiliary. It can be as
simple as naming East Palo Alto
Unit 472 as a beneficiary to your
policy. In order to have available
a charitable deduction, the ownership
of the policy would have to be
changed to American Legion Auxiliary,
East Palo Alto Unit 472. Annual
contributions that can cover the
cost of the policy may qualify
as a charitable deduction.
Planned Giving
can create opportunities for increased
income and added tax savings.
These benefits can be applied
toward purchasing life insurance
intended to help replace a gift
for your heirs. With proper estate
planning, the life insurance can
be separated from your estate.
Please
consult your attorney or other
financial adviser to review the
deductibility of any gifts or
other planned giving ideas.
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Chapter 4 - Other Section
501(c) Organizations 501(c)(19)
-- Veterans' Organizations
A post or organization of
past or present members
of the Armed Forces of the
United States may file Form
1024 to apply for recognition
of exemption from federal
income tax. You should follow
the general procedures outlined
in chapter 1. The organization
must also meet the qualifications
described in this section.
Examples of groups that
would qualify for exemption
are posts or auxiliaries
of the American Legion,
Veterans of Foreign Wars,
and similar organizations.
To qualify for recognition
of exemption, your application
should show:
—That the post or
organization is organized
in the United States or
any of its possessions,
—That at least 75%
of the members are past
or present members of the
U.S. Armed Forces and that
at least 97.5% of all members
of the organization are
past or present members
of the U.S. Armed Forces,
cadets (including only students
in college or university
ROTC programs or at armed
services academies) or spouses,
widows, or widowers of any
of those listed here, and
—That no part of the
net earnings benefit any
private shareholder or individual.
In addition to these requirements,
a veterans' organization
also must be operated exclusively
for one or more of the following
purposes.
—To promote the social
welfare of the community
(that is, to promote in
some way the common good
and general welfare of the
people of the community).
—To assist disabled
and needy war veterans and
members of the U.S. Armed
Forces and their dependents
and the widows and orphans
of deceased veterans.
—To provide entertainment,
care, and assistance to
hospitalized veterans or
members of the U.S. Armed
Forces.
—To carry on programs
to perpetuate the memory
of deceased veterans and
members of the Armed Forces
and to comfort their survivors.
—To conduct programs
for religious, charitable,
scientific, literary, or
educational purposes.
—To sponsor or participate
in activities of a patriotic
nature.
—To provide insurance
benefits for its members
or dependents of its members
or both.
—To provide social
and recreational activities
for its members.
Auxiliary unit. An auxiliary
unit or society of a veterans'
organization may apply for
recognition of exemption
provided that the veterans'
organization (parent organization)
meets the requirements explained
earlier in this section.
The auxiliary unit or society
must also meet all the following
additional requirements.
It is affiliated with, and
organized in accordance
with, the bylaws and regulations
formulated by the parent
organization. At least 75%
of its members are either
past or present members
of the U.S. Armed Forces,
spouses of those members,
or related to those members
within two degrees of kinship
(grandparent, brother, sister,
and grandchild represent
the most distant allowable
relationship). All of its
members either are members
of the parent organization,
spouses of a member of the
parent organization, or
related to a member of such
organization within two
degrees of kinship. No part
of its net earnings benefit
any private shareholder
or individual.
Trusts or foundations. Trusts
or foundations for a veterans'
organization also may apply
for recognition of exemption
provided that the parent
organization meets the requirements
explained earlier. The trust
or foundation must also
meet all the following qualifications.
The trust or foundation
is in existence under local
law and, if it is organized
for charitable purposes,
has a dissolution provision
similar to charitable organizations.
(See Articles of Organization
in chapter 3 of this publication.)
The corpus or income cannot
be diverted or used other
than for:
The funding of a veterans'
organization, described
in this section, Religious,
charitable, scientific,
literary, or educational
purposes or for the prevention
of cruelty to children or
animals, or An insurance
set aside.
The trust income is not
unreasonably accumulated
and, if the trust or foundation
is not an insurance set
aside, a substantial portion
of the income is in fact
distributed to the parent
organization or for the
purposes described in item
(2)(b). It is organized
exclusively for one or more
of the purposes listed earlier
in this section that are
specifically applicable
to the parent organization.
Tax treatment of donations.
Donations to war veterans'
organizations are deductible
as charitable contributions
on the donor's federal income
tax return. At least 90%
of the organization's membership
must consist of war veterans.
The term war veterans means
persons, whether or not
present members of the U.S.
Armed Forces, who have served
in the U.S. Armed Forces
during a period of war (including
the Korean and Vietnam conflicts,
the Persian Gulf war, and
later declared wars).
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