Give to Make a Lasting Impact

Perhaps you spend Sunday nights watching MASTERPIECE turn great literature into brilliant drama. Or, PBS NewsHour is your go-to source to learn not only what is happening in the world, but also to understand why. Maybe you, your children or your grandchildren mastered numbers and letters with help from Big Bird, Elmo and the Count on Sesame Street, or learned the importance of sharing and kindness on Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood.

With a little planning, you can help us continue to bring the transformative power of public media to our community for years to come.

Planning Your Legacy

For more than half a century, Austin PBS has set the standard of excellence in television programming and educational services, as one of the most trusted sources of information.

Including Austin PBS in your estate plans not only helps advance our reputation for excellence and trust, but also provides you with tax and other benefits in return.

Ways to Give

There are many gift options available and we encourage you to explore your options. Here are a few recommendations for your consideration:

• Bequest in Your Will or Living Trust
• IRA and other Retirement Plan Gifts
• Beneficiary Designations
• Donor Advised Funds

Bequest in Your Will or Living Trust

A simple, flexible and versatile way to support Austin PBS is a gift in your will or living trust, known as a charitable bequest.

You have choices as to how you name Austin PBS as a beneficiary in your will. Through a bequest, you may leave a specific dollar amount, percentage of your estate or all or a percentage of your residuary estate.

Below is sample bequest language to discuss with your legal or financial advisors:

"I give [$ ] [ % of my estate] [the residue of my estate] [ % of the residue of my estate] to Capital of Texas Public Telecommunications Council, Inc., a Texas nonprofit corporation located in Austin, Texas, for its general support (or support of a specific purpose or program)."

Bequests are the way many viewers create endowed funds. If you decide to restrict your bequest, we ask that you include the following language in your will:

"If at any time, in the judgement of the Board of Directors of Capital of Texas Public Telecommunication Council, Inc. it is no longer practicable to use the income or principal of the bequest for the purpose stated herein, I authorize them to use the income or principal for any purpose they deem to be consistent with such purpose."

IRA and other Retirement Plan Gifts

A retirement plan can be a tax-efficient and simple way of including Austin PBS in your estate plan. The best method is to name Austin PBS as a beneficiary on your plan's beneficiary designation form. The tax advantage stems from the fact that most retirement plans (other than Roth IRAs) are subject to income taxes—and possibly estate taxes—if left to an individual beneficiary; however, a charity that is named as the beneficiary does not pay income or estate taxes on the distribution. Thus, the full value of what is distributed can be used by Austin PBS, supporting the purpose you designate. For more information on how to name the station as a beneficiary, please see Beneficiary Designations below.

You may also be able to make a gift to Austin PBS through a "qualified charitable distribution" or "IRA charitable rollover" from your Individual Retirement Account (IRA), and take advantage of tax savings. If you are at least 70 ½ years old, you may distribute an amount, not to exceed $100,000 in a calendar year, from an IRA to Austin PBS or other public charities, tax-free. Effective January 1, 2020, under the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement (SECURE) Act, the amount allowable as a qualified charitable distribution to Austin PBS or other charities will be reduced dollar-for-dollar by the total amount of deductible IRA contributions on or after an individual reaches 70 ½.

If an IRA owner directs the IRA plan administrator to distribute an amount, not to exceed $100,000 in a calendar year, to a public charity, the distribution counts toward the owner's required minimum distribution (RMD), but is not included in his or her income for income tax purposes*. Although the IRA owner is not entitled to a charitable deduction for the distribution, the distribution benefits charity and does not count as income to the owner.

Beneficiary Designations

A beneficiary designation gift is a simple and affordable way to make a gift to support Austin PBS. You can name the station as a beneficiary of a retirement, investment or bank account, donor advised fund or your life insurance policy.

To name Austin PBS as a beneficiary, you can obtain a beneficiary designation form from your retirement plan administrator, insurance company, or bank or financial institution. This form usually asks for the name of the beneficiary (Capital of Texas Public Telecommunications), its address (P.O. Box 143626, Austin, TX 78714), and a tax identification number (75-7126012).

Donor-Advised Funds

You can create a grant recommendation from your existing donor-advised fund to support Austin PBS.

If your funds are held with Fidelity Charitable, Schwab Charitable, and the BNY Mellon Charitable Gift Fund, you can use the DAF Direct tool below to donate. If you have a fund at a different sponsoring organization, please contact the organization to recommend your grant.

Final distribution of contributions remaining in a donor-advised fund is governed by the contract you completed when you created your fund. Please consider naming Austin PBS as a successor of your account. Or, you can name us as the successor for a portion of the account value, leaving the remaining portion for your heirs.