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This is likely the simplest way to leave a gift of any size—cash, a percentage of your probate or trust estate, or specific assets. Your gift is distributed after your lifetime as part of your overall estate plan. If your estate is subject to estate taxes, either at the state or federal level, it will receive a deduction for your charitable bequest. Charitable giving as a way to reduce or even eliminate estate taxes is true for all strategies below as well.

You can name LMD as a beneficiary of retirement accounts (like IRAs or 401(k)s), HSAs, life insurance policies, annuities, or other financial accounts. These gifts typically transfer efficiently and may reduce taxes for your heirs. This is because your heirs will owe income taxes on inherited retirement accounts, HSAs, or annuities whenever they withdraw funds from these accounts. In the case of retirement accounts and HSAs, they will also typically have only a short window of time in which they must withdraw all funds, potentially increasing their income tax liability. In contrast, if you name LMD or a DAF (see below) as beneficiary, you can increase the amount of tax-efficient assets to your other heirs while leaving taxable assets to a tax-exempt entity.

You can leave instructions to direct remaining DAF assets to LMD at your death. This allows you to receive income tax benefits by making contributions to the DAF during your lifetime, while setting up a schedule to be followed after death to distribute those assets to LMD and/or other charities, allowing you control over how your assets are doled out even after death. Another benefit of a DAF is that, related to point 2 above, you can name the DAF as the beneficiary of your chosen accounts, and then name LMD as the beneficiary of your DAF. The DAF held at a large institution like Schwab or Fidelity can then handle all the paperwork before handing the bequest to LMD outright, helping to cut down on the administrative burden of a small charity's staff.

‍Tools such as Charitable Remainder Trusts (CRTs) or Charitable Lead Trusts (CLTs) allow you to support charity and provide financial benefits to yourself or to loved ones. These trusts can offer income streams, tax advantages, and long‑term impact, and can be set up either during your lifetime or at death, depending on your goals.

‍You may leave gifts of property, securities, or other appreciated assets directly to LMD or to a DAF. These can provide significant tax benefits to you by enabling you to avoid capital gains on those assets and receive a charitable deduction for the donation, while also helping to maximize the value of your charitable impact.