Gift Planning - Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh

Gift Planning

Give to the future.

You can achieve your own personal financial goals and create a legacy of support for your community. There are a number of giving options that may unlock tax benefits for you all the while brightening the future for Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh. Choose the giving method that works best for you!

Some examples include

  • Beneficiary Designations: in your will, life insurance policy, IRA or other retirement plan, U.S. savings bonds, etc.
  • Life Income Gifts: a charitable gift annuity or charitable remainder trust
  • Gifts of Stock or Securities
  • Gifts of Unique Assets: real estate, life insurance policies, etc.

We’d be glad to talk with you and your financial adviser to fashion a gift that will meet your needs and financial goals. To start the discussion, contact donorrelations@carnegiemuseums.org.

This website does not contain tax or legal advice. Since planned gifts involve tax and legal considerations that are sometimes complex, those considering such gifts should consult with their attorneys, accountants, or other advisers before deciding upon a gift. 

Naming Carnegie Museums as a Beneficiary

You name one or more charities to receive assets upon your death. These gifts are relatively easy to make, and may be revoked or changed at any time. Some examples:

  • A Gift in Your Will Probably the most common way to name a charitable beneficiary, the gift may be a specific sum of money, a percentage of an estate, whatever remains after specific gifts to individuals or other charities, or an asset, such as real estate or personal property. A simple amendment to your will may be sufficient to add a gift to Carnegie Museums, without revising your entire will.
  • Life Insurance Naming Carnegie Museums as the beneficiary of a paid-up life insurance policy that is no longer needed is an easy way to make a significant contribution to the museums. The beneficiary of a life insurance policy must be changed through the company that issued the policy.
  • IRA or Other Retirement Plan Assets It is possible to make a significant gift to Carnegie Museums while saving taxes for your heirs by naming Carnegie Museums as a beneficiary of all or part of an IRA or other retirement plan. The beneficiary designation must be made through the plan administrator.
  • U.S. Savings Bonds Many people have purchased U.S. savings bonds outright or through payroll savings plans. These bonds are an excellent way to finance a gift at death to Carnegie Museums. To transfer the bonds, the owner must be changed through the U.S. Treasury Department.

Any of these gifts removes the assets given from your estate, thus saving on estate and inheritance taxes. Naming Carnegie Museums a beneficiary of retirement plan assets or U.S. savings bonds may have the additional advantage of saving income taxes for your individual heirs.

Sample Language:

The legal name of Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh, which should be used in all wills, trust agreements, and other legal documents, is “Carnegie Institute.”

Sample language for an unrestricted gift to Carnegie Museums in your will:

I bequeath to Carnegie Institute, a Pennsylvania nonprofit corporation, [insert here the dollar or percentage amount of the bequest], the income or principal or both to be used for the general purposes of Carnegie Institute.

If the gift is to just one of the four Carnegie Museums, substitute the name of that museum for “Carnegie Institute” in the last line. For example, if the gift were to Carnegie Museum of Art, it would read:

I bequeath to Carnegie Institute, a Pennsylvania nonprofit corporation, [insert here the dollar or percentage amount of the bequest], the income or principal or both to be used for the general purposes of the Carnegie Museum of Art.

The official names of the four Carnegie Museums are: “Carnegie Museum of Art,” “Carnegie Museum of Natural History,” “Carnegie Science Center,” and “The Andy Warhol Museum.”

To name Carnegie Museums as a beneficiary of a life insurance policy, retirement or brokerage account, or another asset that may be transferred at the owner’s death only by a beneficiary designation, name “Carnegie Institute” or “Carnegie Institute, for the use of [name of Museum]” on a beneficiary form provided by the issuer or administrator.