Azalea Research Fund Donations

Azalea Research Fund || Ways To Give | Donation Form ||


Thank you for considering a gift to support the Azalea Research Fund.

Since the Fund is a part of the 501(c)(3) tax exempt Azalea Society of America, donations to the Azalea Research Fund are charitable contributions under Section 170 of the US Internal Revenue Code. Donations to the Azalea Research Fund may be deductible from your Federal taxes. We seek donations from our members, non-members, and other organizations and corporations which have an interest in azaleas. Your generosity will help the Fund meet its goal of funding azalea research activities that will benefit all who have an interest in azaleas.

Ways To Give
You can help build the Fund immediately by making donations of cash or other assets now, and you can help for the future by including the Azalea Research Fund in your estate plans. The benefits can include:
• Significant income and estate tax benefits.
• Leaving an extraordinary and truly lasting legacy.
• Public acknowledgement (unless designated anonymous).

A gift to the ARF is an investment in the future that also provides tremendous benefits and satisfaction to the donor. In addition the federal government has created many tax policy incentives to reward charitable donations to eligible organizations. Many of the planned giving tools that are briefly described here create the opportunity for you to substantially assist the development of the Azalea Research Fund and take varying advantage of these tax incentives.

There are a number of different ways in which gifts may be made to the Azalea Research Fund. Your tax or financial advisors can determine the method that satisfies your personal financial goals and giving goals. A giving tool can be designed to meet your specific objectives. Some of the common giving techniques or tools are described here.

Direct Gift: You may make specific gifts of money or other liquid assets to the Azalea Research Fund during your lifetime, which may be claimed as a charitable deduction on your Federal income tax form. Cash donations can be made by check, money order, direct deposit, or online via PayPal:




Minimum Required Distribution: You may also donate all or part of an IRA Required Minimum Distribution, which if made directly by your IRA Custodian to the Fund avoids any capital gains tax, and the entire amount of your donation, including any appreciation, can be claimed as a tax deduction.

Bequest: You may also make a gift through your will, by directing that a certain amount or a certain percentage of your estate pass to the Azalea Research Fund.

Retained Life Estate: You may desire to make a gift through a retained life estate. This method is especially attractive if you have no one to whom you wish to leave your home or other major asset at your death. You may give the property or asset to the Azalea Research Fund, receive a significant present tax deduction, but retain the use of the property for your lifetime.

Life Insurance: You may also name the Azalea Research Fund the owner and beneficiary of a life insurance policy. You may give a paid-up policy and you could receive an income tax deduction for its value (generally considered to be the cash value of the policy) or you may want to purchase a policy specifically for this purpose and receive an income tax deduction for the annual premium payments. By using insurance, you can give more to the fund than you might otherwise be able to afford.

Charitable Remainder Trust: While a little more complicated, some people may choose to create a charitable remainder trust with income benefiting you and/or your dependents for life. With this type of trust, the Azalea Research Fund will receive any remaining trust assets upon termination of the trust. In the meanwhile you will receive an income tax deduction for your gift, and you may use such a trust to avoid capital gains taxes on appreciated assets. This can be particularly useful with appreciated property. The donor’s income from the trust can even be used to purchase life insurance on the donor to fund a “wealth replacement trust”. That way the donor’s children future inheritance will not be reduced. In this case everybody wins because the tax code rewards and encourages charitable giving.

Charitable Lead Trust: You can also create a charitable lead trust that gives the income from assets placed in trust to the Azalea Research Fund for a period of years. When the trust terminates, the assets are returned to you or your family. Your gift should qualify for a federal gift tax deduction, and any asset growth that occurs while the assets are held in trust will be passed to the trust beneficiaries (your family for example) and should be free or substantially reduced from estate or gift taxes.

Just like azaleas, every one of us is different, with different situations and goals. If you are interested in using these planned giving tools to help support and grow the Azalea Research Fund, you should meet with your accountant or your attorney or other financial advisor, who can help you customize these techniques to your situation to enable you to realize your planned living and giving goals.

Donation Form
To help ensure our proper accounting and handling of your donation of cash or similar assets, please either:
• after submission, print this form and send it with your donation; or
• send substantially the same information with your donation.
• use the fillable PDF form and send it with your check.





Please make your contribution check payable to ASA-ARF, and mail to:
Azalea Research Fund
Hale Booth
7085 Sawyer Road
Signal Mountain, TN 37377