VNS Foundation: How You Can Help

By making a charitable gift or contribution, you can help hundreds of individuals get the care and services that they need. For more information, please call the Development Office at 317-722-8200 or you can mail your contribution to:

Visiting Nurse Service Foundation, Inc.
4701 N. Keystone Avenue
Indianapolis , IN 46205

Ways of Giving

Charitable incentives in the federal and state tax structures offer many opportunities for you to make a gift to Visiting Nurse Service Foundation, Inc., while protecting or enhancing your own financial goals. The following guidelines on a few of the many potential methods of giving will help you plan your giving strategy. However, for the method best suited to your goals, we urge you to consult with your own personal financial advisor for details on how your gift would affect your financial planning and tax liabilities.

Please note that Visiting Nurse Service, Inc., is also a member of the United Way of Central Indiana family of agencies. In fact, it was one of the early members of the War Chest, which later became the United Way . You can make a gift through United Way of Central Indiana or the United Way of Johnson County through payroll deduction at your workplace and designate Visiting Nurse Service, Inc. as the beneficiary of your gift.

Back to Top

Outright Gifts

Gifts of Cash

Cash gifts are the most common and convenient way of giving. They are fully deductible for federal income tax purposes, provided you itemize your deductions. Visiting Nurse Service Foundation, Inc., also accepts gifts made through Visa or Mastercard.

Cash given over a pledge period is the most common and popular way of giving. You may find you will be able to increase the size of your gift if you extend payments over a full three to five-year pledge period, allowing for payments and deductions in each of four to six tax years.

Gifts of Securities

Gifts of stocks are a convenient and tax-wise way to benefit Visiting Nurse Service Foundation, Inc. The federal income tax laws generally allow you to deduct the full market value of long-term appreciated securities (held for at least a year and a day).

If you donate (before selling) your securities to Visiting Nurse Service Foundation, Inc., you will pay no capital gains tax on the appreciation, and the full current market value of the securities will qualify as a charitable contribution deduction. To avoid potential delays in the mail when transferring securities, please instruct your broker to notify the charity, The Visiting Nurse Service Foundation, Inc., immediately of the transfer.

Gifts of Real Estate

A gift of real estate allows you to generate a sizable tax deduction from assets that may be of little current benefit to you, while making a significant contribution to Visiting Nurse Service Foundation, Inc. Real estate, including residential or commercial rental property, office buildings, and undeveloped land, which have appreciated in value, may be donated with the same tax advantages as gifts of securities.

Back to Top

Deferred Gifts

By leaving the Visiting Nurse Service Foundation, Inc., in your estate plan, you can make a significant impact of the lives of future clients in Central Indiana . You will also become a member of the Florence Nightingale Society, which recognizes individuals like yourself who have left VNSF Inc. in your estate plan.

Charitable Gift Annuities

A Charitable Gift Annuity is a simple contract between the donor and Visiting Nurse Service Foundation, Inc., that will provide the donor an income for life paid annually, semiannually or quarterly at a guaranteed return often greater that today's money market rates. It provides you with an immediate charitable income tax deduction and a reduction in capital gains taxes if the gift is made with appreciated securities.

Charitable Remainder Trust Gifts

You may also establish trusts, which provide income for life (the amount can be pre-determined) to you or your beneficiary from assets placed in trust for the Visiting Nurse Service Foundation, Inc. The principal of the trust passes to the Foundation upon the death of the person receiving the income. Creating a trust entitles you to a charitable deduction for the value of the Foundation's remainder interest.

Gifts of Life Insurance

If you designate the Visiting Nurse Service Foundation, Inc., as the sole beneficiary of an unneeded life insurance policy, you will gain a significant estate tax savings. If you irrevocably assign the ownership of a policy to the Foundation, you are entitled to an immediate deduction for federal income tax purposes. When a paid-up policy is contributed to the Foundation, the allowable deduction is equal to either its replacement value or the donor's cost basis in the policy, whichever is less.

Bequest Gifts

Gifts by a bequest in a will have become an integral part of the American philanthropic tradition. By enabling you to make a significant contribution to Visiting Nurse Service Foundation, Inc., that might not have been possible during your lifetime, an estate gift can be enormously satisfying. Such gifts also offer estate-planning opportunities that minimize federal and state death taxes.

Necessarily, this information given is general. Individual circumstances alter specific cases and you should have up-to-date professional advice based on current tax laws. Consult your financial advisor or attorney for answers to your specific questions. Should you have further questions or would like examples of how one of these programs would work for you, please contact the Development Office at 722-8200.

Back to Top