Make a Legacy Gift - The Blue Ridge Area Food Bank

Support Future Virginians

To create a legacy that expresses your desire to help your neighbors who are food insecure – even after your lifetime – you will want to carefully consider a number of important factors, including the assets to be used to fund the gift, the gift’s timing, effects on income-tax and financial planning, the impact on family members and friends, and the gift’s purpose. You can learn more about how your gift will be used here.

A legacy gift is best made with the counsel of your legal, tax or financial advisor. The information provided here is for illustrative purposes only and should not be considered investment, legal, accounting, tax or other professional advice.

Bequests and Wills

Consider adding the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank as a beneficiary in your will. You may be able to add a simple addendum for a charitable bequest to an existing will.

Bequests and Wills

Beneficiary Designations

Naming the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank as the beneficiary of your retirement plan assets, IRA, or insurance policy is a simple way to make a legacy gift and relieve a family member of the potential tax burden.

Beneficiary Designations

Financial Account Transfers

By establishing a “Transfer-on-Death” (TOD) or “Payable-on-Death” (POD) provision, you can transfer assets to the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank without the expense of a will or trust.

Financial Account Transfers

Charitable Gift Annuity

Establish a “life income” legacy gift to create a fixed income stream for you and/or your beneficiary.

Charitable Gift Annuity

Charitable Remainder Trust

Create a charitable trust that generates an income stream for you or your beneficiaries.

Charitable Remainder Trust

How your future gift will be used

If you want your future gift to be used for a specific program or purpose, it is wise to discuss your goals and our needs when you write your plans or update your will. Reach out to Karen at kratzlaff@brafb.org to initiate a conversation.

An unrestricted bequest is of special value because of the freedom it gives the Board of Directors to use your gift where it is most needed by the Food Bank at the time it arrives.

If your bequest is unrestricted, here’s how our bequest policy currently works:

Gifts under $50,000 will be used immediately in their entirety as we work to provide nourishing food to neighbors who are struggling to afford groceries.

Seventy-five (75) percent of gifts of $50,000 or more will be used immediately to provide nourishing food to neighbors who are struggling to afford groceries, while twenty-five (25) percent of the gift will be invested in the Food Bank’s quasi-endowment. The quasi-endowment is essentially a savings account, used by the Food Bank to generate current income and to steward donors through the assurance that financial reserves support both current and future needs. Each year, the Board of Directors allocates some endowment income for a specific purpose in the Food Bank’s operating budget, most often a need that is broad in impact and that benefits guests across our service area (an example may be the purchase of food.) Our goal is balances our need for income to support current operations, while building financial stability for future needs.