Leave a Legacy

Your commitment to the Asheville Art Museum can extend beyond your lifetime.  Help ensure that generations of future visitors and students will be inspired, educated and informed by great art. Consider the Asheville Art Museum as you plan for your financial future. A simple bequest in your will can provide an important gift that will honor your memory. Various tax-advantaged opportunities exist to provide current or future income for yourself, your heirs and the Museum. A gift now to the Museum's endowment will provide perpetual income to support future programs and exhibitions. Please contact the director's office if you are interested in discussing a planned gift to the Museum. We will work with you to meet your personal philanthropic and financial goals while advancing the Museum's mission.

A New Use for Your IRA

A new law has made it possible to use accumulated assets in an IRA to support the Asheville Art Museum. The Pension Protection Act of 2006 allows certain individuals to make gifts to charitable organizations directly from a traditional or Roth IRA without any tax implications. If you are age 70 ½ or older, you can give up to $100,000 a year for 2007 by transferring funds directly from the IRA to the Museum. Although not tax-deductible as a gift, the direct distribution is not reportable as taxable income to you and may help you meet your required IRA distribution levels.

You can still use your IRA to support the Museum after your death by naming the Museum as a beneficiary. This helps avoid the payment of any estate tax by your children or other individual beneficiaries. With this new law in place you can also experience the positive result of your generosity on Museum programs while you are living. One of our supporters has already used this opportunity to significantly increase her annual appeal gift. It’s also a great way to make a pledge payment or just give the Museum an extra boost.

 Make the gift on or before December 31, 2007 to take advantage of this new legislation. As always, consult your financial advisor to confirm the impact in your personal situation.

For more information about Planned Giving contact Scott Bunn, Development Manager, or call 828.253.3227 ext. 115.