Create Your Legacy with AIO
Legacy Giving:
Supporting Our Neighbors Now & Tomorrow
While we manage our daily assistance programs—from our food market and diapers to energy assistance and home delivery—we must also look ahead. Just like the planning we do in our own lives, AIO is preparing for the future. We want to ensure AIO remains a steadfast safety net and resource for neighbors navigating difficult life moments, whether they need us now or in the future.
To ensure our Knox County neighbors can always count on AIO—just as they have for the last 36 years—we invite you to consider a powerful way to extend your impact: including AIO in your estate plans.
Your legacy
Have you already included AIO in your will or estate plans?
If you have and feel comfortable sharing your intentions, please complete this legacy gift intention form and return it to Alan Kearl, Executive Director, AIO Food & Energy Assistance, PO Box 113, Rockland, ME 04841 or by email to alan@aiofoodpantry.org.
Bequest
Did you know you can name AIO as a beneficiary of your Donor-Advised Fund? By doing so, your fund can continue providing annual support or pass its remaining balance directly to our pantry, ensuring local families have access to nutritious food for years to come. Please check with your fund advisor to explore your options.
A bequest made through your will or trust is the simplest and most common way to make a legacy gift to AIO. You may specify that AIO is to receive a specific amount or a percentage of your estate.
You can also specify the purpose of your contribution. For example, if one of AIO’s programs is important to you— like food or energy assistance, or our our weekend meals or home delivery programs— you can specify this. You can also specify your gift to be used where the most needed, which gives our Board maximum flexibility in the use of your bequest, given that AIO’s needs may change over time.
Suggested language for your will:
“I give, devise, and bequeath to AIO, a nonprofit corporation located in Maine at 1A Gordon Drive, Rockland, ME, the sum of $___ (or __% of my estate; or the residue of my estate). These funds shall be utilized where the need is most urgent as determined by the board of directors, or dedicated exclusively to [insert specific purpose, e.g., programs, staffing, capacity building, etc].”
Life Insurance
& IRAs
Designating AIO as a beneficiary of your life insurance, 401k, 403b, or other retirement plan can greatly reduce your taxable estate, saving you thousands of dollars in estate taxes while providing AIO with a meaningful gift. In addition to tax savings, gifting life insurance is simple. Speak with your plan administrator and let them know you wish to have AIO receive a portion or all of your fund.
Do you have a life insurance policy that you no longer need? You may be able to gift whole life insurance policies now to AIO to help fund critical food or energy assistance and enjoy a tax advantage.
IRA Rollover. If you are 70 ½ years old or older, you may be able to transfer your IRA to AIO. You won’t pay early withdrawal penalties and you may qualify for an immediate tax deduction.
Other ways
to give:
A Charitable Remainder Trust allows you to secure a reliable income stream for yourself or your loved ones while qualifying for immediate, significant tax savings. Ultimately, the remaining assets transfer to AIO to be used as you’ve set forth, creating a lasting legacy that sustains our mission for generations to come.
A Charitable Lead Trust allows you to make an immediate, powerful impact by providing AIO with steady financial support for a set number of years. Afterward, the remaining trust assets transfer back to you or your heirs, often with substantial reductions in gift and estate taxes.
If you are interested in including AIO in your estate plans, we highly recommend discussing the options with your financial or legal advisor. We are happy to speak with you and help find the most meaningful way to shape your legacy with AIO.
Please don’t hesitate to reach out to: Alan Kearl, AIO’s Executive Director at 207-596-1043 or alan@aiofoodpantry.org.
Please note: AIO does not provide accounting, legal, or tax advice. Please note that AIO does not offer accounting, legal, or tax guidance. The information provided here is for educational purposes only and should not be used as professional financial or legal counsel. We strongly advise you to speak with your own qualified advisors before finalizing any financial decisions or estate plans.