Additional Ways to Donate

When you support Williams Syndrome Association upon your death – something we often call a “legacy gift” or “planned gift” — you help ensure this organization continues helping those with Williams syndrome by expanding and enriching our services and programs. A few ways people make a legacy gift include: naming Williams Syndrome Association a beneficiary on an individual retirement account; designating Williams Syndrome Association as a beneficiary on a life insurance policy or annuity; and making a bequest to Williams Syndrome Association in a last will and testament.

Retirement Accounts

A gift from your retirement account to a charitable organization such as Williams Syndrome Association certainly benefits the charity, but it may also help neutralize the negative income tax consequences of a required minimum distribution. For example, once you turn seventy-two years old, you are required to distribute funds annually from your retirement account, and this mandatory distribution often creates an income tax burden. Under the Pension Protection Act, federal law allows you to make direct annual transfers of up to $100,000 from an IRA to a charity without treating the distribution as taxable income. If you are older than 70½, you can make a Qualified Charitable Distribution of up to $100,000 from an IRA to a charity without having to pay taxes on this money.

The rules around inheriting a retirement account changed with the passage of the SECURE Act in December 2019. The new law requires non-spouse beneficiaries to take all the money out of an inherited IRA within 10 years – meaning the money won’t be able to grow tax-free for nearly as long, and the individual beneficiaries will have to pay income taxes on it sooner. Unlike individual beneficiaries, though, you can list Williams Syndrome Association as a charitable beneficiary, and whatever amount is distributed to Williams Syndrome Association avoids the income taxes.

Life Insurance and Annuities using the Beneficiary Form

Naming Williams Syndrome Association as a beneficiary on a life insurance policy or annuity is a simple way to show your support after your death. Term life insurance policies are generally affordable and are common estate planning tools for many families. By simply naming Williams Syndrome Association as a partial beneficiary of your existing life insurance policy or annuity, you can provide a significant source of support for the organization. You do not have to change your will to leave WSA a bequest – just change your Beneficiary Form. You also can change the beneficiary on your IRA or 401(k) retirement account to Williams Syndrome Association. This is a smarter way to leave money to a charity because WSA, as a 501(c)(3), does not pay taxes. Again, you do not have to change your will, just the Beneficiary Form.

A Bequest in Your Last Will and Testament

Making a bequest (“gift” or “donation”) to Williams Syndrome Association in your will is a wonderful way to make a tax-free gift from your estate upon your death. A will is the document that directs where your assets go after you pass away (assets that do not have a beneficiary designation, that is). Always consult an experienced estate planning attorney when making or revising your will, but below is sample language you and your attorney can use to make a donation to Williams Syndrome Association.

Residuary Bequest: [“residue” is a term to describe the share of your estate that remains after your debts, expenses, and any specific bequests to others have been made.] “I give all of the rest, residue, and remainder of my estate to Williams Syndrome Association or its successor in interest, currently located at 243 Broadway #9188, Newark, New Jersey, Tax ID 22-3305007, to be used for its general charitable purposes.”

Specific Bequest: “I give the sum of $______ to Williams Syndrome Association or its successor in interest, currently located at 243 Broadway #9188, Newark, New Jersey, Tax ID 22-3305007, to be used for its general charitable purposes.”

Donation of Real Estate by Will: “I give the real property described below to Williams Syndrome Association or its successor in interest, currently located at 243 Broadway #9188, Newark, New Jersey, Tax ID 22-3305007, to be used for its general charitable purposes. The property is commonly known as [ADDRESS] and more legally described as follows: [LEGAL DESCRIPTION OF PROPERTY].”

The samples above are for making donations to be used for WSA’s “general charitable purposes.” If you prefer for your bequest to go to a particular program, you can designate the specific purpose of your gift in your will.

Above are just a few of the many ways to support Williams Syndrome Association. If you would like more information about these giving options or others, please contact Executive Director Mary Van Haneghan at drmary@williams-syndrome.org or (248) 509-0717.

Legal Name: Williams Syndrome Association

IRS Tax Identification Number: 22-3305007

Address: 243 Broadway, #9188, Newark, NJ 07104

Your cryptocurrency donation can help make a difference in the lives of families affected by Williams syndrome. We are extremely grateful for the generosity of WSA members and friends as they enable us to fund groundbreaking research, provide critical resources, offer support, host camps and conventions, plan regional events, award scholarships and so much more. To donate, click HERE and select "Crypto" at the top right of the donation form.

We accept the following cryptocurrencies: Aave, Adventure Gold, Alchemix, Alchemy Pay, Algorand, Amp, Ampleforth Governance Token, Assemble Protocol, Ankr, Avalanche, Axie Infinity, Badger DAO, Balancer, Bancor Band Protocol,  Basic Attention Coin, Biconomy, Bitcoin Cash, Bluezelle, Bonfida, Braintrust, Cardano, Cartesi Chainlink, Chiliz , Circuits of Value, Civic, Clover Finance, Compound, Cosmos, COTI, Cronos, Curve DAO Token, Dash, Decentraland, Decentralized Social, DerivaDAO, DFI.Money, DIA, district0x, Dodgecoin, Enjin Coin, Ethereum Classic, Ethereum Name Service, EOS.IO, Fetch.ai, Filecoin, Function X, Gala, Gitcoin, Gitcoin Maple, Harvest Finance, Horizen, IDEX, iExec RLC, Immutable X, Internet Computer, IoTeX, JasmyCoin, Keep Network, Kyber Network Crystal, LCX,  Liquity, LiteCoin, Livepeer, Loom Network, Loopring Maker, Mask Network Measurable Data, Mirror Protocol, mStable USD, MyNeighborhoodAlice, NuCypher, Numeraire, OMG Network, Orchid, OriginTrail, Origin Protocol, Orion Protocol, Phantasma, PlayDapp, Polkadot, Polkastarter, Polygon, Polymath, PolySwarm, Powerledger, Propy, Quant, Quickswap, Radicle Rally Rarible, Rai Reflex Index, Rari Governance Token, Ren, Render Token,  Request, Ribbon Finance, Ripple, Shapeshift Fox Token, Shiba Inu, SKALE Network, Solana Token, Spell Token, Stacks, Stellar, Storij, SushiSwa, Synthetix, Tether, TerraUSD, Tezos, The Graph, Tribe, TrueFi, Uma, Uniswap, USD Coin, Voyager Token, Wrapped Bitcoin, XYO, 0x,  yean.finance, Zcash.

The IRS classifies cryptocurrencies as property, so cryptocurrency donations to 501(c)3 charities receive the same tax treatment as stocks. Donating cryptocurrency is a non-taxable event, meaning you do not owe capital gains tax on the appreciated amount and can deduct it on your taxes. Please contact your tax or financial advisor for more information.

A fun way to support the WSA, and continue to expand your network of support, is to donate to a specific fundraising campaign, or attend a local event. If you would like to donate to a specific campaign, to purchase a ticket or make a donation in honor of an upcoming fundraiser, visit the Event Calendar.

Looking for an easy way to donate? Give to the WSA directly through Venmo by searching williams-syndrome under Business.

Automatically round-up any purchases you make at Walmart when you choose Williams Syndrome Association as your preferred charity in Walmart's SparkGood Program. Click HERE to enroll. (NOTE: Leave the zip code field blank when searching for Williams Syndrome Association).

John's Crazy Socks, founded by John (who has Down Syndrome) and his Dad Mark Cronin, has a line of Williams Syndrome Socks - cute as can be - and the company donates $2 from each pair sold to the WSA. The socks are available in both knee-high style and ankle style. Order here.

Jack's Rockin' Toffee was founded in 2011 by Jack McKenna in honor of his brother Colin, who has Williams syndrome. The toffee, which is gluten-free so Colin and other individuals with WS can enjoy it, is amazing. Portions of the proceeds from sales benefit the WSA. Visit their site to learn more and order.