You may consider giving real estate as a way of making a substantial gift to The Foundation for Evangelism.  Almost any type of real estate that can be easily sold can be used to make a gift to The Foundation, including:

If your real estate has increased in value since you obtained title to it, you may receive double tax benefits from a gift to The Foundation.  First, you may receive an income tax charitable deduction equal to the fair market value of the property on the date of the gift, regardless of the amount you paid for the property.  Second, you may avoid capital gains taxes on the increase in property value that you would have incurred if you sold the property.

If your property has decreased in value, you generally obtain more favorable tax results by selling the property and contributing the cash proceeds to The Foundation rather than contribu-ting the property directly to The Foundation.

Gifts of real estate may offer another advantage to you.  If your real estate has high value but is producing low levels of income, you can use the real estate to fund lifetime income arrangements with The Foundation.  For example, you can transfer low yielding real estate to a charitable remainder trust, where the trustee can sell the property tax-free and invest the proceeds in a portfolio of stocks and bonds that have the potential for higher income.

Illustration

More than a year ago, Mr. Brown purchased some commercial property for $50,000 with plans to expand his business to that location.  Mr. Brown’s business plans changed and he no longer needs the property, now worth $250,000.  Mr. Brown wishes to make a significant gift to The Foundation to help endow a professor of evangelism.  If he makes a gift of the property to The Foundation, Mr. Brown may receive an income tax charitable deduction of $250,000 to use against his other income, the same as if he had made a cash gift of that amount.   If Mr. Brown is in the 38.5% bracket, he may have income tax savings from this deduction of $96,250.   However, by giving the property to The Foundation, Mr. Brown also avoids capital gains taxation on the increase in value of the property of $40,000.

Income tax savings             $    96,250
Capital gains tax savings    $    40,000
TOTAL TAX SAVINGS        $ 136,250