Current Gifts
Giving cash or writing a check can put money to work right away, supporting the museum and providing you with an income tax deduction. Giving appreciated publicly traded stocks or securities you have held more than one year also provides income tax benefits and avoids capital gains taxes. Donation of real estate or other personal property can have similar tax benefits.

Deferred Gifts
Depending on your particular situation, a deferred gift may be the most attractive and advantageous. Examples of deferred gifts include:

• Bequest
  One of the easiest and most popular planned gifts is to include OMSI in your will or revocable living trust. Bequests can be made for specific dollar amounts, for a percentage of an estate, or for a remainder amount after other bequests are fulfilled. If you already have a will, it is not necessary to rewrite your entire will. You may simply instruct your attorney to include a codicil - an amendment - to your current will or trust.
• Charitable Remainder Trust
  Involves a transfer of appreciated assets to separately managed trust that provides you and/or a beneficiary or beneficiaries with an annual annuity payment for life or a specific period of time. At the end of that time, the trust passes to OMSI. Since each trust is individually tailored, there is more flexibility in the type of property that can be donated, including real estate, tax-free municipal bonds, and works of art or antiques. You decide the exact pay-out of the trust in consultation with the trustees you select. You can choose to receive a fixed dollar amount from the trust each year, or if you re concerned about the effects of inflation, you can choose to receive a fixed percentage of the trust assets as revalued each year.
• Charitable Lead Trust
  Enables you to preserve a large portion of your estate and pass assets tax free to yourself or to your heirs. The trust holds an income-producing asset for a fixed term, or your lifetime, during which income is paid to OMSI. At the conclusion of the trust term, the asset is returned to you or another beneficiary.
• Life Estate Arrangements
  Deed your residence to OMSI now, enjoy an immediate income tax deduction, and continue to live at that residence for the rest of your life.
• Gifts of Tax-Deferred Retirement Plans and Life Insurance Policies
  The combination of federal income and estate taxes can seriously erode the value of retirement savings. Designating OMSI as a beneficiary (or contingent beneficiary after the death of your spouse) of all or a specified percentage of your 401K or other retirement plan assets can save your estate both income and federal estate taxes. You may also designate OMSI as owner/beneficiary or a life insurance policy - either a new policy or one you and your family no longer require.

More detail on each of these methods is available. Please contact the OMSI Development Office at 503.797.4552 or by email at PlannedGiving@omsi.edu.