AAAE Foundation: Planned Giving

A significant way to demonstrate your lasting commitment to future aviation leaders and our industry is through a planned giving pledge to the AAAE Foundation. The AAAE Foundation can assist donors in finding appropriate ways to make planned gifts over time and direct the management of funds to match donor intentions with innovative approaches to planned giving. Some donors make endowed gifts, which preserve the principal and generate income from interest and dividends, while other donors give AAAE the discretion manage and allocate the entire gift. Some gifts are given in a one-time donation and can be directed by the donors to benefit certain purposes or programs. While some give to the AAAE Foundation through their wills and estates, there are many other opportunities to support the work of the Foundation both now and in the future, including cash gifts, appreciated assets (stocks, bonds, mutual funds, or real estate assets), retirement funds, bequests, and charitable remainder trusts. 

Below are examples of planned giving for your consideration  Please note that AAAE cannot give legal, tax or estate planning advice; we highly recommend consulting a qualified tax or estate attorney when considering planned giving options to AAAE.
  • Annual Contributions
  • Annual Non-Cash Contributions
  • Qualified Charitable Distributions
  • Charitable Remainder Trusts
  • Charitable Bequests
Members or those who have questions or are interested in supporting the planning giving campaign, please contact Steve Gironda, Senior Vice President for Finance at [email protected].

Annual Contributions

If you itemize your income tax returns, you may gain a tax benefit by making an annual charitable contribution to the AAAE Foundation :
  • An individual who contributes cash to the AAAE Foundation may deduct up to 100% of his or her Adjusted Gross Income (AGI).
  • If the contribution exceeds the donor’s AGI deduction limits, he or she may carry forward excess deductions for up to five subsequent tax years.

Annual Non-Cash Contributions

There is a significant tax benefit to making non-cash contributions such as stocks, bonds, mutual funds, or real estate to the AAAE Foundation:
  • If you make a contribution of a non-cash asset which has a low tax basis but has a significantly higher fair market value, you will receive exceptional tax benefits.
  • By making such a gift you can use the current fair market value for making the gift.
  • The result is that you can use the higher value to offset income without paying tax on the unrealized gain.

Qualified Charitable Distributions

If you are at least 70 ½ years old, you are eligible to make a Qualified Charitable Distribution (QCD) from your IRA. Amounts distributed to the AAAE Foundation will be excluded from your income for federal tax purposes.
  • QCDs count towards your Required Minimum Distribution (RMD) if you are required to take one.
  • QCD distributions are limited to $100,000 total during each year.
  • Your plan administrator must transfer the funds directly to the AAAE Foundation. You may not receive the distribution first and then transfer it to the AAAE Foundation.
  • You cannot claim a federal charitable deduction for your QCD, but using a QCD to make charitable gifts could reduce the value of your IRA and taxable RMDs in future years.
  • The AAAE Foundation must receive your QCD by the end of a calendar year, for it to count in that tax year.

Charitable Remainder Trusts

You can make a gift to the AAAE Foundation by creating a Charitable Remainder Trust (CRT). A CRT is an irrevocable trust with two or more beneficiaries: 1) the donor or other non-charitable beneficiaries who receive income distributions; and 2) a charity that receives the remaining assets when the CRT is terminated. A CRT lets you convert a highly appreciated asset, like stock or real estate, into potentially lifetime income. It reduces your income taxes and you pay no capital gains taxes when the asset is sold. When you transfer an appreciated asset into an irrevocable trust, you receive an immediate charitable income tax deduction. The Trustee then sells the asset at full market value, paying no capital gains tax, and reinvests the proceeds into income-producing assets for a period of 20 years or your life, depending on how you structure your CRT.

There are two types of CRTs:
  • Charitable Remainder Annuity Trusts (CRATs) – CRATs distribute a fixed annuity amount each year and additional contributions are not allowed.
  • Charitable Remainder Unitrusts (CRUTs) – CRUTs distribute a fixed percentage based on the balance of the trust assets (revalued annually), and additional contributions can be made. 
Key benefits include (1) preserves the value of highly appreciated assets; (2) for those with significantly long-term appreciated assets, including non-income-producing property, a CRT allows you to distribute that property to the trust and when the trust sells, you will preserve the full fair market value of the assets, rather than reduce it with large capital gains taxes, allowing more money for the income and charitable beneficiaries; (3) potential to take a partial income tax charitable deduction when you fund the trust, and (4) CRT investments are tax exempt making it a good option for asset diversification.
 

Charitable Bequests

Your charitable bequest to the AAAE Foundation will leave a legacy of generosity and philanthropy:
  • Whether you include the AAAE Foundation in your will or in your revocable living trust, it will help the Foundation accomplish its mission of helping other people.
  • You can leave a bequest by designating a specific amount of money or a specific item.
  • You may consider a charitable bequest in the form of a percentage of your estate.
  • This is an excellent way to support the AAAE Foundation for decades to come.
Hear from current AAAE Foundation scholarship recipients on how your gift helps their aviation career goals take flight.
Since 1989, the AAAE Foundation  has issued over 3,100 scholarship checks totaling more than $5.3 million, making the organization one of the largest supporters of higher education assistance in the entire aviation industry. In 2021, the AAAE Foundation will award $301,958 to 133 students.

The AAAE Foundation offers a number of scholarships aimed at supporting our Accredited Airport Executives (A.A.E.s) and their families, as well as scholarships to support the best and brightest future leaders in our profession.

The Foundation is a Not-For-Profit IRS 501 (C) (3) organization founded in 1962 for the advancement of education and the public understanding of airport and aviation issues. Contributions to the Foundation are tax deductible to the extent permissible under current tax laws.
Members or those who have questions or are interested in supporting the planning giving campaign, please contact Steve Gironda, Senior Vice President for Finance at [email protected].