Bequests

Designating a charitable bequest is straightforward. Your lawyer can put the appropriate language in your will. If you have already written your will and would like to add the Solar Electric Light Fund to it, your lawyer can add a bequest through a simple codicil.

Retirement Account

A qualified charitable distribution (QCD) allows you to donate to SELF while satisfying the IRA required minimum distributions of your IRA without tax obligations. This is a direct contribution made from your traditional or Roth IRA to a public charity. Talk with a tax adviser or financial professional to determine whether a QCD for SELF could benefit you.

Additionally, retirement accounts like IRAs, Keoghs, and 401(k) plans are taxed as income to your beneficiaries, and in addition may be subject to estate tax. If you choose to make other estate provisions for your heirs and name the Solar Electric Light Fund (SELF) as the beneficiary of your retirement funds, SELF receives the funds tax-free, and your gift is fully deductible for estate tax purposes. You can designate a portion or all of the retirement fund to SELF.

Consult your financial advisor or your employer’s human resources department to get the form that designates the Solar Electric Light Fund (Federal Tax ID Number 52-1701564 ) as a beneficiary of your retirement account.

Charitable Lead Trust

You can support the Solar Electric Light Fund over your lifetime or a set number of years by placing assets, such as cash or stock, into a trust that is invested to generate revenue. A set amount or percentage of the profits are then paid to SELF, which uses those funds to fight energy poverty. When the trust ends, the assets are returned to you or your beneficiaries.

Life Insurance

Consider making the Solar Electric Light Fund a beneficiary of your fully-paid life insurance policy if it is no longer needed to provide security for loved ones. Or, you could give your policy to the Solar Electric Light Fund and make us your beneficiary, entitling you to a current income tax deduction.

Another option is to consider purchasing a new life insurance policy (or converting an existing policy) and giving it to SELF as the designated beneficiary. Your ongoing premium payments will be tax deductible, and you receive an additional income tax deduction at the time of the gift.

Consult your attorney or insurance agent to get more information about SELF becoming a sole or shared beneficiary of your life insurance policy.