Planned Giving

Miami Art Museum (MAM) is a nonprofit organization that relies on the generosity and goodwill of the community for a significant portion of its funding.  The Legacy Society of Miami Art Museum is comprised of those individuals and families who have made planned gifts as a lasting commitment to MAM's growth and stability.

Sustaining the Museum's role as a center of creativity for all Miami and providing great art and enriching educational programs for generations to come requires the continuing cooperation of people who understand the transformative role MAM plays in our community.  Planned Giving funds will help ensure that the Museum continues to offer exciting exhibitions and educational programming and reinforces its role as an internationally recognized, vital public space for cultural exchange.

Planned giving generally refers to donations that both benefit MAM and provide important financial and estate planning benefits to the donor. Legacy Society members can utilize a range of different types of bequests and lifetime gifts, including, but not limited to:

• Donations of cash and securities
• Donations of qualified retirement plan assets or insurance policies and proceeds
• Charitable gift annuities
• Charitable remainder trusts
• Charitable lead trusts
• Donations of real estate or tangible personal property, and
• Donations of works of art 

MAM representatives would be happy to work with you to ensure that your planned gift accomplishes your philanthropic goals and complements MAM's vision and mission. For further information, please call Addy Castellanos at 305.375.1707.  We recommend that our donors seek the advice of their legal and financial advisors to determine the tax and legal implications of making a planned gift to MAM.   The Museum's staff is also available to assist your legal and financial advisors in finalizing the details of your gift.

Donations of Cash and Securities

• Cash
  A gift of cash is the most popular way of supporting MAM.  Gifts of cash are ordinarily tax deductible up to 50% of your adjusted gross income, less certain losses, in the year of your contribution (with a five-year carryover for the excess not used).
• Securities
  Donors of stocks, bonds, mutual funds and other marketable securities can enjoy the dual benefits of eliminating capital gains taxation and receiving a charitable deduction.  If the donor owned the securities for more than one year then the charitable deduction is equal to the fair market value of the securities.  If the donor owned the securities for less than one year then the charitable deduction is equal to the cost basis.  In both cases the donor may offset up to thirty percent (30%) of his or her AGI for the year of the gift, with a five year carryover.
  

Donations of Qualified Retirement Plans or Insurance Policies:

• Retirement Plan Assets
  Qualified retirement plans permit individuals to accumulate savings for retirement on a tax-free basis.  They include IRAs, Keoghs, SEPs, 401(k)s, 403(b)s, and ESOPs.  Miami Art Museum may be named as the designated beneficiary of a qualified retirement plan.  Donors who name MAM as the designated beneficiary of their qualified retirement plan receive a gift or estate tax charitable deduction and eliminate any income taxes otherwise payable when distributions from the plan are made.
• Life Insurance
  Miami Art Museum may be designated as the beneficiary of a life insurance policy or may receive a donation of an existing insurance policy.  The amount of the charitable deduction will vary depending on the nature of the interest transferred and the "incidents of ownership" that are retained by the donor.  Florida law specifically allows MAM to be the owner and beneficiary of a life insurance contract, although residents of other states should consult their advisors about the possible restrictions on such a gift.
  

Charitable Gift Annuities:
To create a charitable gift annuity, the donor transfers to MAM cash or marketable securities.  The donor and/or another beneficiary receive an annual annuity payment from MAM for life.  The amount of the annuity depends upon the number of annuitants, the ages of the annuitants and a payout rate that is usually determined by the American Council on Gift Annuities.  The donor is entitled to claim an immediate charitable deduction equal to the amount of the transferred property that is expected to pass to MAM after the annuity payments cease.  A portion of the annual annuity payment is generally included in the donor's taxable income and another portion is usually a tax free return of principal.

Charitable Remainder Trusts:
Charitable remainder trusts are established through the contribution of cash, securities, or other property into an irrevocable trust.  The trust provides the donor or other beneficiaries with annual payments for a term not to exceed twenty years.  Upon expiration of the term, the remainder passes to MAM.  In most cases, the donor is entitled to income, gift and estate tax charitable deductions for the amount of the remainder interest that is anticipated to pass to MAM upon expiration of the term.  Once assets are transferred into the charitable remainder trust, a subsequent sale by the trustee of the assets will usually avoid capital gains taxation at the trust level.

Charitable Lead Trusts:
Like charitable remainder trusts, charitable lead trusts are established through irrevocable contributions of cash, securities, or other assets to a trust.  These trusts provide MAM with a stream of income for a term of years of for the life of one or more individuals.  Upon expiration of the term, the remaining assets held in the charitable lead trust pass to the donor or to the donor's chosen beneficiaries.  Charitable lead trusts are often used by donors to benefit MAM and to pass assets to their loved ones at a reduced tax cost.

Donations of Property:
Miami Art Museum can receive gifts of both real property, such as buildings or land, and tangible personal property, such as jewelry, coins, antiques and art.  Donors of tangible personal property can claim charitable deductions from income taxes as well as avoid capital gains taxes, although the extent of such claims varies depending on the type of gift.

Bequests of property generally require advance preparation by the Museum.   We encourage donors who make such bequests to contact MAM at the time that their wills or trusts are being prepared. For assistance in these areas, please call Addy Castellanos at 305-375-1707.  If you are considering donating a work of art to the Museum, please first contact Tobias Ostrander, Chief Curator, at 305-375-1844 to discuss how your proposed gift fits in with MAM's collecting goals.