Support the Del Mar Foundation

We welcome and greatly appreciate your donations for the Del Mar Foundation’s operating budget. These donations support the wide variety of programs and special events we offer each year, as well as our robust grants program that supports community projects, nonprofits, and acquisitions.

Donations can be made using the yellow “Donate” button on this page or by sending a check to: Del Mar Foundation, P.O. Box 2913 , Del Mar, CA 92014. If you have questions, or if the Foundation can assist you with other forms of giving, please call (858) 635-1363, or send an email to: contributions@delmarfoundation.org.

Become a supporter!

Make a donation in any amount now.

Planned Giving

Planned gifts, often called a bequest, are a great way to support the future of the Del Mar Foundation without giving any of your assets today. A bequest is a gift that can be changed at any time, if your circumstances change.

Planned gifts provide a way to make a lasting positive impact on the Del Mar Foundation and community while also creating valuable tax, capital gains tax and/or estate tax advantages. With a gift to the Del Mar Foundation, the benefits are endless – from building a lasting legacy to knowing you are a making a profound impact in your community.

A wide-range of planned giving options are available including bequests, retirement plan assets, life insurance, life tenancy, and income-producing gifts. For additional information on specific options, please see below.

Leaving a gift to the Del Mar Foundation is such a joy! We hope we are able to help future generations enjoy the wonderful benefits Del Mar has to offer. Whether it is a 4th of July Parade, First Thursdays, a Twilight Concert, or that special grant to a deserving Del Mar organization, we know our gift is in good hands. Del Mar is such a special community and we are so fortunate to be able to live here.

Lynn & Charlie Gaylord

Legacy Society

By naming the Del Mar Foundation as a beneficiary in your estate plans, you become a member of the Del Mar Foundation’s LEGACY SOCIETY.

As a member of the Legacy Society, you help the Del Mar Foundation meet the challenges of tomorrow by leaving a legacy for future generations. The Legacy Society establishes a meaningful and enduring relationship with donors and their families.

Membership is open to all individuals who include the Del Mar Foundation in their estate plans or make a planning gift through one the designated vehicles.

Legacy Society members receive the following benefits:

  • Legacy Society certificate
  • Legacy Society donor badge
  • Invitation to annual donor recognition events
  • Listing in our Annual Report and other print materials

Charitable Beneficiary Designation

You designate the Del Mar Foundation as a full or partial beneficiary of your qualified retirement plan using a form supplied by the policy underwriter or plan administrator.

When you are no longer living, the benefit comes to the Del Mar Foundation. Your gift is recognized in the Legacy Society in your name, in the name of your family, or in honor of any person or organization you choose.

We handle all the administrative details.

Your gift can be placed into an endowment that is invested over time. Earnings from your fund are used to make grants addressing community needs. Your gift is a permanent source of community capital, helping to do good work forever.

More benefits
If you are concerned with potentially high estate taxes, the charitable beneficiary designation is a good choice because the benefit payment is generally excluded from your estate for tax purposes. And, because you may change the beneficiary designation at any time, your decision is revocable.

One of the most tax-efficient ways to give back to your community is by designating the Del Mar Foundation as a beneficiary of your retirement plan, whether it is a 401(k), 403(b), IRA (individual retirement account), or other qualified retirement program. These assets could be taxed at rates as high as 70 percent upon your death. Estate taxes may be due in addition to the taxes your heirs may pay on the income in respect of the decedent (IRD). For these reasons, many advisors recommend retirement plan assets as the first to be designated for charitable purposes.

Although your retirement plan beneficiary form overrides your will, it is important that both documents are up-to-date and consistent.

Bequest by Will

You include the Del Mar Foundation in your will as a bequest; we can help you or your attorney with recommended language.

Your gift is recognized in the Legacy Society in your name, in the name of your family, or in honor of any person or organization you choose.

Your charitable gift is excluded from your assets for estate tax purposes.

Our Board and staff considers your charitable wishes and determines the areas of community need that would be most impacted by grants from your gift.

Our board issues grants in the name of the Legacy Society membership you establish (if you prefer, grants can be made anonymously).

We handle all the administrative details.

Your gift can be placed into an endowment that is invested over time. Earnings from your gift are used to make grants addressing community needs. Your gift—and all future earnings from your gift—is a permanent source of community capital, helping to do good work forever.

More benefits
Making a bequest to the Del Mar Foundation is an easy way to transfer assets to charity and, you can decide to do it at any age by adding to an existing will or drafting a new one. In doing so you leave a legacy to your community, while enjoying the assets you need to maintain your current lifestyle. Plus, you are able to distribute some or all of your assets, tax free.

You can give cash, appreciated stocks, or other assets. Some of the most tax-efficient asset types to give through your estate plan come from retirement plan accounts, since retirement accounts can be subject to both estate and income taxes. Through your will, you can choose to give a stated dollar amount, a specific property, a percentage of your estate, the remainder after distributions to other beneficiaries, or you can make your gift contingent on certain events.

Gift of Real Estate

You identify real estate property that you would like to give; an appraisal will help you establish its estimated market value.

We assess the real estate for compliance with our acceptance policies and gather appropriate documentation.

Your gift can be placed in our endowment or operating reserve fund. Your gift is recognized in the Legacy Society in your name, in the name of your family or business, or in honor of any person or organization you choose.

Your gift qualifies for a tax deduction based on its full market value; you avoid the capital gains tax that would otherwise arise from the sale of the property.

With gifts of real estate, your property gains translate into community impact, so you get a more rewarding return on a major asset.

We handle all the administrative details.

Your gift can be placed into an endowment that is invested over time. Earnings from your gift are used to make grants addressing community needs. Your gift—and all future earnings from your gift—is a permanent source of community capital, helping to do good work forever.

More benefits
A gift of real estate releases potential that has been tied up for years, enables you to make a bigger charitable difference than you may have thought possible, helps you avoid estate taxes, and minimizes or eliminates burden placed on your heirs. Charitable gifts of real estate range from personal residences and vacation homes to rental properties, farmland, and commercially developed land.

You may choose to give real estate outright and receive an immediate tax deduction or retain the use of the property during your lifetime and make a planned gift to the Del Mar Foundation.

You may also choose to convert real estate into a stream of income for the rest of your life by establishing a Charitable Remainder Trust with the Del Mar Foundation. Doing this lets you transform a low-yield asset into a higher-yield, income-producing asset and claim a tax deduction for the charitable portion of the gift.

Gift of Life Insurance

You make the Del Mar Foundation the owner and irrevocable beneficiary of your life insurance policy—you can either give a paid-up policy or continue to pay premiums.

You receive a tax deduction for the approximate cost or fair market value, whichever is less. If the policy is paid up, you may receive an immediate tax deduction. If it is not, you can claim continuing tax deductions on premium payments you make directly or through gifts to the Del Mar Foundation.

Your gift is recognized in the Legacy Society in your name, in the name of your family, or in honor of any person or organization you choose.

Our Board and staff considers your charitable wishes and determines the community needs that would benefit the most by grants from your gift.

Our board issues grants on behalf of the Legacy Society members, including the name of the gift you establish (if you prefer, your gift can be made anonymously).

We handle all the administrative details.

Your gift can be placed into an endowment that is invested over time. Earnings from your fund are used to make grants addressing community needs. Your gift—and all future earnings from your gift—is a permanent source of community capital, helping to do good work forever.

More benefits
Giving life insurance through the Del Mar Foundation is one of the simplest ways to make a significant contribution to your community and establish your legacy of giving. You can make a gift when life insurance is no longer needed for personal financial wealth replacement. You may receive a number of tax benefits, including reduced income taxes and estate taxes. And, if you choose to continue paying premiums through the Del Mar Foundation, you will be entitled to a charitable contribution deduction of up to 50 percent of your adjusted gross income.

You can replace the dollar value of an asset transferred to the Del Mar Foundation with a life insurance policy. Or you can use regular payments from a Charitable Remainder Trust to establish an irrevocable life insurance trust. The trust can purchase insurance on your life to benefit your heirs. This way, you can make a gift to the Del Mar Foundation and replace the value of this gift within your estate with life insurance proceeds.

Charitable Lead Trust

You transfer cash, appreciated stocks, real estate, or other assets into an irrevocable charitable trust.

Your gift is recognized in the Legacy Society in your name, in the name of your family or business, or in honor of any person or organization you choose.

You can establish a Charitable Lead Trust through your will.

Your Charitable Lead Trust pays the Del Mar Foundation an annual amount to build a charitable gift. You designate the trust to exist for a specified number of years or until your death.

You also designate your family or anyone you choose as the final beneficiary of your trust.

We coordinate all the administrative details with your advisor, issuing grant awards to charities recognizing Legacy Society members.

Your gift can be placed into an endowment that is invested over time. Earnings from your fund are used to make grants addressing community needs. Your gift—and all future earnings from your gift—is a permanent source of community capital, helping to do good work forever.

More benefits
A Charitable Lead Trust entitles you to a number of financial benefits. It shelters investment earnings from tax and offers gift, estate, and generation-skipping tax benefits. For example, trust assets are removed from your estate for estate tax purposes. You may also capture future gift tax deductions.

You have several options when establishing a trust. You can create a Charitable Lead Trust during your life or through your will. The trust contributes to charity through the Del Mar Foundation—either for a number of years or for your lifetime. And, you select one of two types of Charitable Lead Trust. A Charitable Lead Unitrust makes annual distributions of a fixed percentage of the trust assets to the charitable beneficiary you establish. If you create a Charitable Lead Annuity Trust, it will generate a fixed dollar amount each year.

During its term, the trust can be managed expertly by your advisors, which may help your trust investments grow over time. When the trust terminates, its final assets are transferred to those you designate; any growth in the trust passes to recipients, often with significant transfer-tax savings.

Charitable Remainder Trust

You transfer cash, appreciated stocks, real estate, or other assets into a trust.

You receive an immediate charitable tax deduction for the charitable portion of your trust.

The trust pays you or a beneficiary you designate regular income payments.

Upon the beneficiary’s death or after a defined period of years, the remaining assets in the trust transfer to the Del Mar Foundation. • Your gift is recognized in the Legacy Society in your name, in the name of your family or business, or in honor of any person or organization you choose.

We handle all the administrative details after the gift is established.

Your gift can be placed into an endowment that is invested over time. Earnings from your gift are used to make grants addressing community needs. Your gift—and all future earnings from your gift—is a permanent source of community capital, helping to do good work forever.

More benefits
You may choose to receive a fixed income or one that changes with market conditions— income from the Charitable Remainder Trust you establish may add up to more than the interest and dividends you earned from holding the assets. You can use it to supplement your own lifestyle or that of someone other than yourself: a sibling, a dependent parent, a friend, or a former employee.

A portion of the income may be a tax-free return of principal, while some is taxed as ordinary income or capital gains. The amount of income received depends on the payout rate selected by the donor. The tax deduction allowed depends on the age of the recipient, the payout rate, and the discount rate (as determined by the Internal Revenue Service).

You can pick one of these options for your Charitable Remainder Trust:

  • Annuity trust pays you a fixed dollar amount.
  • Standard unitrust pays you an amount equal to a fixed percentage of the net fair market of the trust and is recalculated annually.
  • Net income unitrust pays you the lesser of the fixed percentage specified by the trust agreement or actual trust income; some net income unitrusts allow you to make up deficiencies in past years.
  • Flip unitrust is a net income unitrust that converts to a standard