Whether you have already included the Academy in your estate plans, or are thinking about doing so, we have compiled some useful information about bequests and other long-range gifts.

The term "planned giving" refers to any major gift that involves financial or estate planning. Such gifts can provide important benefits both to you and to the Academy.

Types of Planned Gifts
Different types of planned gifts include bequests, charitable trusts, beneficiary designations, and gifts of tangible personal property such as real estate.

Bequests
Bequests, or gifts made through a will, are the most popular type of planned gift. Whether you wish to provide general operating income or to support an existing program at the Academy, your bequest expresses your lasting commitment to American poetry. A bequest to the Academy may also help you meet your financial and estate-planning goals, since a tax deduction for the entire amount of the gift is allowed.

Beneficiary Designations
You can also name the Academy of American Poets as the beneficiary of a life-insurance policy or 401(k) or other retirement plan. Alternatively, you could purchase a new life-insurance policy and deduct the premium payments, or donate a paid-up policy that you currently own but no longer need and deduct the value of that policy.

Charitable Trusts
In a charitable lead trust, you transfer assets to a trustee who makes payments to the Academy for a specified number of years, after which time the assets are transferred to your designated heirs. Charitable remainder trusts produce an income stream to you (or a selected beneficiary) for life or a specified period of time. At the termination of the trust, the remaining trust assets are transferred to the Academy. These types of trusts allow you to pass assets on to your heirs either completely free or substantially free of all estate and gift taxes.

The Marie Bullock Society
The Marie Bullock Society recognizes members and friends who demonstrate their deep commitment to contemporary poetry by including the Academy in their estate plans. Through their foresight and generosity, these individuals play a key role in establishing a sound foundation for the Academy and ensuring its growth and success in the future.

In 1934, Mrs. Marie Bullock founded-and for more than fifty years served as the president of the Academy of American Poets. The Marie Bullock Society honors our founder and her enduring legacy to American poetry.

Members of the Marie Bullock Society receive invitations to selected Academy events and programs. They are also acknowledged, with their permission, in the Academy's annual report and other appropriate publications. If you have already included the Academy in your estate gifts, please let us know-we'd like to say thank you and list your name as a member of the Marie Bullock Society.

More Information
Before making a gift to the Academy, you should consult your accountant, counsel, or financial advisor regarding your individual situation and the tax consequences, and then determine which ways of giving might work best for you. In the meantime, the Academy's development office would be pleased to discuss with you any of the various giving opportunities mentioned here.

For a free gift-planning brochure or more information about the Marie Bullock Society, please contact Meghan Nesmith at (212) 274-0343 ext. 16 or development@poets.org.