Life insurance is a common choice of planned gifts. Making a gift of a life insurance policy to one’s favorite charity appeals to a variety of donors, because it is a flexible, cost-effective and, in many cases, tax-advantaged way to make a major gift that will benefit the nonprofit after the donor dies. Life insurance can also be used as an asset-replacement strategy. Under this strategy, a donor makes a gift of an asset (such as real estate or appreciated securities) to the nonprofit and replaces the value of that asset to benefit his/her heirs with a life insurance policy owned in a way that eliminates estate taxes on the benefit that is paid to the donor's heirs.
The use of life insurance as a charitable gift doesn’t have to be a boring choice, however. There are many ways to “change it up” to suit the needs of the nonprofit organization and a donor’s planning goals. Most donors and nonprofit organizations think of life insurance only as an asset that produces a future benefit for the nonprofit organization. However, by using the wealth-replacement strategy and/or the life settlement solution the needs of the donor’s family and the nonprofit can be met.