Endowment

The Stockton Symphony has been an integral part of the cultural fabric of our community for 81 years.  In order to ensure those performances continue a substantial endowment is needed to protect our musical heritage.

The endowment will create a stable and reliable source of income, which provides annual support.  It will improve the artistic quality of the ensemble by adequately compensating professional musicians, broaden our programming options and expand the symphony’s outreach to the community.

For more information click here

or

contact the Stockton Symphony office at 209-951-0196

or

download an  Endowment Giving Form

WAYS TO GIVE

A gift to the Stockton Symphony Endowment Fund demonstrates your commitment to classical music in our community for generations to come.

Gifts of Cash–Cash contributions are deductible as an itemized tax deduction in the year you make the donation, up to 50 percent of your adjusted gross income.  Excess charitable deductions can be carried forward for up to five additional years.

Gifts of Securities–The best stocks to donate are those that have increased greatly in value, particularly those producing a low yield.  In order to preserve tax advantages, it is critical that you transfer the physical securities to us rather than the proceeds from a sale.

§          Appreciated securities.  If you donate stock that has risen in value and that you’ve held for more than one year, you pay no capital gains tax on the transaction and are entitled to a charitable deduction for the full fair market value of the stock.  (Your income tax deduction is limited to 30 percent of your adjusted gross income.  Any excess can be carried forward for five additional years.)  If you wish to continue investing in a specific stock, you could donate the stock to us and then use cash to purchase shares with the same company, thus increasing your cost basis to current fair market value.

§          Depreciated securities.  If you have stock losses, generally you should not contribute the stock but rather sell the stock yourself to realize the loss for tax purposes.  You can then contribute the cash and take a charitable deduction.

§          Mutual funds.  A charitable contribution of mutual fund shares can provide the same tax advantages as a gift of appreciated stock.  Due to the complexities involved in the transfer of mutual fund shares, we encourage you to begin the transfer process well before December 31^st.

Gifts of Life Insurance–You can contribute a life insurance policy to us by naming us either as the policy owner or simply as the beneficiary.  If you name us as the owner and beneficiary, you will be entitled to an income tax deduction limited to the lower of the value of the policy or your cost basis in the contract.  If you continue to pay premiums on a policy we own, you can deduct the premium payments.

Life Income Gifts–Life income gifts allow you to receive payments as a result of making charitable gift.  Depending upon your plan, payments will be fixed or variable, payable to you or other beneficiaries you choose.  For example, you might create a charitable remainder trust to pay income to you for life and contribute money, stock or other property to it.  Once placed in the trust, the assets can be sold (without capital gains tax) and the proceeds reinvested to produce a higher yield.  Life income gifts entitle you to an immediate income tax deduction, based on the present value of our gift.

Gifts of Real Estate–If you own property that is not subject to a mortgage and has appreciated in value, a charitable gift may be attractive option.  You can claim an income tax deduction based upon the fair market value of the property you’ve owned for more than one year, avoid all capital gains taxes and remove that asset from your taxable estate. Or, you can transfer your home or farm to us now and continue to use the property for life.  Due to the complexities involved, we encourage you to contact us.

Learn how your support can benefit our work and your own financial situation.

A Gift That Pays You–Jim created a charitable remainder unitrust funded with $100,000 in appreciated securities.  With this special type of charitable gift, Jim was able to convert a low-yield investment into a stable source of income, avoid significant capital gains tax, secure a generous income tax deduction and make a major charitable gift to support our work.

The trust pays Jim 5 percent of its value each year for the rest of his life.  What’s more, he paid no capital gains tax on the transfer of stock or the sale of the stock by the charitable remainder trust.  Since he is in the 35 percent marginal tax bracket, he will receive a substantial income tax deduction for a portion of his gift.

ASSUMPTIONS

• Donor’s age 70

•  Value of stock: $100,000

•  Cost of stock: $20,000

Summary of Financial Benefits

§          Increase income: $5,000 the first year (which will vary in the future), compared to a $2,000 dividend previously paid by the stock.

§          Tax savings: Avoids $12,000 in capital gains tax due if he had sold the stock

§          Income tax savings: Charitable deduction of nearly $54,000* will save approximately $19,000 in income taxed.

*Based on quarterly payments and a 4.6 percent charitable midterm federal rate.

The Stockton Symphony Endowment Fund exists to ensure the Symphony’s future in the community. The Endowment currently totals over $500,000 and includes permanently endowed, named funds as well as a general endowment. Interest generated by the Fund support the general operations of the Symphony.

Proceeds from the Endowment Fund also provide three annual scholarships awarded to promising music students in our community. The Manilo Silva Memorial Scholarships, the Stockton Symphony Concerto Competition Award and the Young Artist Competition encourage talented young musicians in pursuit of musical excellence.