Help Us Plan for Our Future by Planning for Yours

In the last year, the Board and staff of Mitrata have been working to make a Planned Giving Program come to fruition.  We are so excited to now be at the point where we can really form an official Planned Giving Program and will be excited to share this with all of Mitrata’s supporters over the next few years. As you revise your will and make plans for your future, we are asking you to think about Mitrata in your estate planning and more structured charity giving plans.

While I recently revised my will to include Mitrata, it is actually my hope that Mitrata will not receive this money for quite a few years to come, but if something should happen that I don’t expect, it is important to me to know that Mitrata will benefit.  Mitrata has grown so much already, and gifts like this support that our goal of even greater reach in Nepal. The organization is now bigger than the founders’ original dream, and we hope it will continue farther into the future than we can now imagine.  

With the advice of my lawyer, I determined that this would come out of my SEP IRA for tax benefit reasons and actually found it very simple to include a portion of my estate going to Mitrata. Another way to give and continue to receive the charity donation tax benefit is to take it off the top of the money you are required to take from your IRA (your RMD or required minimum distribution) when you reach the tender age of 70.5.  You decide how much you want to give over the course of a year and make that donation in one check directly to Mitrata.  I, for example am currently considering setting up a Charitable Remainder Trust and having the check to Mitrata come out of that. You can talk over the pros and cons of these different planned giving methods with your financial advisor to get a clearer picture on what would work best for you.

I know it can be hard to think about wills and estate planning, but I also know from my work professionally with many lawyers that it is far harder on your relatives if there is no planning and your wishes are not known.  I encourage you to talk with your financial advisor about how to consider Mitrata in your plans and continue to support a new generation of children in Nepal.  If you have questions, please contact Christine via email at christine@mitrata.org or call her at (314) 325.2833. You can also check out our new planned giving page, www.mitrata.plannedgiving.org, and we will be happy to help you set this up. 

Dr. Nancy Williger
President, Board of Directors
Retired Clinical Psychologist