The NSA greatly values the generosity of jumpers, former jumpers, associates, and friends.Your support helps sustain and enhance our dedication to preserving the history and lore of smokejumping, maintaining and restoring our nation's forest and grassland resources, responding to special needs of smokejumpers and their families, and advocating for the program's evolution.
Please Donate to the NSA today!
Donate Now
Cash or Check
This is a simple and common way of supporting the NSA. Donations of cash are deductible if you itemize in the year of contribution. You can mail your check, or electronically transfer funds if you so desire.
Go to our Donate page for our mailing address and more info on sending your cash or check donation today.
Credit Card
You can go to our NSA store and donate up to $500 by credit card. When donating via the Store, if you prefer to support one of the NSA funds, be sure to indicate in the comments box which fund you are supporting. Otherwise, your donation will be directed to the NSA project with the highest need.
Required Minimum Distributions (RMD)
If you are 70½ or older and required to pay taxes at ordinary rates on minimum annual distributions from your traditional IRA or other retirement plan, here’s a way to effectively deduct a cash donation to the NSA in addition to your standard deduction:
Simply instruct the custodian of your retirement plan to donate up to $100,000 per year directly to the NSA and other exempt organizations. These payments are not deductible, but they are not reportable as income, either. Most importantly, they count against the RMD, which is a better outcome, especially for standard deduction filers.
Low-Basis Securities
Your gift of appreciated stock is an excellent way to support the NSA. By donating the stock itself, instead of the proceeds of its sale, you can avoid long-term capital gains tax liabilities, yet still deduct the full market value on your tax return. Read more about Low Basis Securities.
Real Estate
Do you own property that is not mortgaged, has appreciated in value, and that you no longer need or use? If you donate it to the NSA, a 501(c)(3) non-profit, you can deduct the fair market value of your gift and eliminate all capital gains taxes. Plus, you have removed that asset from your taxable estate.
Life Insurance Policies
Instead of canceling them, donate them to the NSA!
Donate Later (But Plan Now!)
Payable on Death (POD) - Transfer on Death (TOD) Accounts
For years depositors have commonly added the name of a trusted relative or friend to their bank account registrations in order to avoid probate. Securities investors have achieved the same purpose by opening brokerage accounts as joint tenants with right of survivorship.
In the eyes of the bank or broker, however, both parties are considered equal owners, with each half subject to potential claims by divorcing spouses or creditors. Also, one name cannot be removed without written permission of both.
To avoid problems that especially plague the elderly and the widowed, 48 states (excepting Texas and Louisiana) have adopted a uniform code that allows, but doesn’t require, banks and brokerage firms to offer accounts naming who will inherit the contents of the account upon the principal’s death, while denying any property rights to such heirs in the meantime.
Importantly for the NSA and other non-profits, TOD and POD accounts allow for more than one beneficiary.
Life Insurance Beneficiary
Name the NSA as full or partial beneficiary.
Bequests and Trust Beneficiary Designations
A specific bequest of cash, securities, real estate, life insurance policies or other property provides 100 percent federal estate tax deduction.
You can choose to give a percentage of your estate to the NSA. You can also choose to endow your gift, and thus continue your support forever.
- The National Smokejumper Association has affiliated with the Montana Community Foundation (MCF) (www.mtcf.org) as the entity to receive and coordinate endowments from smokejumpers and friends on behalf of the NSA.
- MCF also has expertise in the somewhat complex planned giving suggestions listed below.
- Montana residents are especially benefited by this affiliation. Donations to the Montana Community Foundation (MCF) in the form of a qualifying Planned Gift to benefit the NSA’s Endowment Fund are eligible for a Montana Endowment Tax Credit. This opportunity offers you a credit on your Montana taxes of 40% of a Planned Gift’s federal charitable deduction, up to $10,000 per year per individual, or $20,000 per couple filing jointly!
A donor may choose to include a trust in his or her will to benefit family members during their lives with the principal eventually providing support for the NSA. This twofold bequest saves estate taxes, thereby providing an increased income for the surviving family members.
A trust that provides an important annual gift to the NSA for a specific number of years with the principal then going to beneficiaries can be an excellent estate tax saver. The trust saves estate taxes, thus preserves the estate for family members.
Donate Principal, but Keep the Income (and Vice Versa)
An independent trustee whom you choose individually manages a Charitable Remainder Trust. These provide income for life for you and a beneficiary, are tax deductible in part and eliminate capital gains taxes.
There are two types:
Charitable Remainder Annuity Trusts pay you or your beneficiary a fixed dollar income every year on a quarterly basis.
Charitable Remainder Unitrusts pay you or your beneficiary an annual fixed percentage of the fair market value of the trust assets, which are revalued annually.
Charitable Lead Trusts
A charitable lead trust enables you to preserve assets for your beneficiaries while providing an annual gift to the NSA. The lead trust is individually managed and pays an annuity of fixed percentage of the assets to the Association for a specified number of years. At the end of this period, the assets are passed on to your beneficiaries.
A charitable lead trust can help you dramatically reduce gift and estate tax cost on assets transferred to heirs. It enables you to transfer the fully appreciated value of assets to beneficiaries with little or no further gift and estate tax at termination of the trust.
Please Donate to the NSA today!