Planned gifts to the TMS Foundation can make a lasting impact on the minerals, metals, and materials community. Review the gift arrangements below to see which option fits your philanthropic legacy.

Join the 1871 Legacy Circle

Are you ready to make your move into the next level of charitable giving? Have you already remembered the TMS Foundation through a will or bequest? If so, you can become a member of the 1871 Legacy Circle. This society was established to recognize individuals who have made gifts to the TMS Foundation through planned giving. Learn more about the society and the benefits of joining on the 1871 Legacy Circle page.



Bequests

One of the easiest and most popular ways to make a planned gift is to include the TMS Foundation in your will or revocable living trust. Making a bequest is a way of demonstrating your commitment to the next generation of materials scientists and engineers that doesn’t affect your current asset balance or cash flow.

If you already have a will, it is not necessary to rewrite it to make a bequest to the Foundation. You can simply instruct your attorney to prepare a codicil, or amendment, to your current will or living trust. If you choose to make an outright bequest, the provision in your will or codicil can be very straightforward. For example:

“I hereby give, devise, and bequeath to the TMS Foundation, a nonprofit organization and operating under the laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and the sum of $____ (or __percent of the rest, residue, and remainder of my estate) to be used for the general purposes of the TMS Foundation (or for a particular program of your choosing).”

If you have already remembered the TMS Foundation in your will, please contact TMS Foundation staff at TMSFoundation@tms.org or 1-724-776-9000.

Gifts of Plans and Policies

Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs) and qualified retirement plans, like a 401(k), are some of the best assets to leave to charity. You may also designate the TMS Foundation as the owner and/or beneficiary of a life insurance policy.

Gifts of Tax-Deferred Retirement Plans

People are often surprised to learn that the assets they thought would pass to their heirs are among the most heavily taxed in their estates. The combination of federal income, estate, and excise taxes can seriously erode the value of retirement savings when received by an heir.

Designating the TMS Foundation as a beneficiary or contingent beneficiary of all or a specified percentage of your 401(k) or other retirement plan assets can save your estate both income and federal estate taxes. The process is easy—you can leave a percentage of your retirement assets or a specific dollar amount. Just notify your plan’s administrator of your intention and complete a “change of beneficiary” form.

Gifts of Life Insurance Policies

You may also designate the TMS Foundation as the owner and/or the beneficiary of a life insurance policy—either a new policy or an existing one that you and your family no longer need. Simply contact your retirement plan administrator or insurance agent and ask for the appropriate forms.

Charitable IRA Rollover

The federal government recently extended legislation that makes it more attractive for certain donors to support nonprofits, like the TMS Foundation, with funds from an Individual Retirement Account (IRA). An IRA charitable rollover is an opportunity to transfer up to $100,000 each year to charity without it being treated as a taxable distribution.

Here are the requirements and restrictions for making an IRA charitable rollover gift:
  • The donor must be 70 ½ years of age or older.
  • The gift must be made directly from the IRA to an eligible charitable organization.
  • Gifts to all charities combined cannot exceed a total of $100,000 per taxpayer for the year.
  • The gifts must be outright, and no material benefits can be received in return for the gifts. Thus a transfer for a gift annuity, charitable remainder trust, or pooled income fund is not permitted.
  • Gifts cannot be made to a donor advised fund, supporting organization, or private foundation.
  • The gift is not included in taxable income, and no charitable deduction is allowed.
  • The gift can be made only from an IRA. Gifts from 401(k), 403(b), and 457 plans are not permitted.

Those who must take a mandatory deduction have until April 15, 2018, to execute it. The qualified distribution described above applies to a traditional IRA. Distributions from employer-sponsored retirement plans, including simple IRA plans and simplified employee pension (SEP) plans, are not eligible for the tax-free rollover.

Download the IRA Charitable Rollover Gift Instructions to send to your IRA administrator.

For questions or assistance in making a planned gift to the TMS Foundation, please contact TMS Foundation staff at TMSFoundation@tms.org or 1-724-776-9000.

This is not intended to be legal or tax advice. We encourage you to consult your own legal or tax advisor to see how you may be affected by the new law.