Giving Voice to Your Legacy: Planned Giving at LA Opera

Give your legacy a voice by becoming a member of Los Angeles Opera's Bella Voce Society. Members of our Bella Voce society are visionary individuals who care about their future and the future of LA Opera. You are eligible to receive special benefits as a member of the Bella Voce Society or as a Bella Voce Patron if you have named LA Opera as a beneficiary in your:

• Will or trust
• IRA or other retirement plan
• Life Insurance Policy
• Life income or other planned gift (charitable gift annuity, remainder trust, or lead trust; remainder interest in a personal residence, etc.)

You do not have to be wealthy to make a meaningful gift to LA Opera. Many trust and bequest donors are people of modest means.

Bequests
A bequest is the simplest and most convenient way to make a planned gift to LA Opera. Your gift can be restricted or unrestricted and can be given through a specific dollar bequest, a percentage of your estate, or a contingent bequest.

Sample language is provided for you below.

Specific Dollar Bequest:
"I bequeath Twenty Thousand ($20,000) Dollars [or: all my General Motors stock] to LA Opera, a California non-profit corporation located in Los Angeles, CA."

Residuary Bequest
"I bequeath Ten Percent (10%) of the residue of my estate to LA Opera, a California non-profit corporation located in Los Angeles, CA."

Contingent Bequest
"If my nephew does not survive me or is unable to inherit this bequest, I direct that it be paid to LA Opera, a California non-profit corporation located in Los Angeles, CA."

Unrestricted vs. Restricted
The most useful kind of bequest is unrestricted, allowing the funds to be allocated by LA Opera wherever the need is greatest at the time it is received.

You may also restrict your gift to a special LA Opera program or specific purpose that reflects your personal or professional interest. Please call LA Opera's Planned Giving Office at (213) 972-3693 to discuss restricting your bequest.

Giving through your IRA

Congress has reauthorized Federal tax legislation that again allows donors 70 ½ and older to make charitable gifts from their IRA accounts during tax year 2009, without incurring income tax on the withdrawal. Although no itemized charitable deduction is allowed, such transfers count toward the "minimum annual distribution" required to be made if the IRA beneficiary is age 70 1/2 or older.

This special opportunity is available only for:

• gifts to charity completed in calendar year 2009
• gifts up to a maximum of $100,000 (no minimum) per year
• individuals age 70 1/2 or older who must take minimum required distributions
• taxpayers who prefer this transfer to taking some gifts as deductions
• gifts made from traditional IRAs or Roth IRAs (not 401k's, 403b's, etc.)
• spouses who may contribute up to $100,000 per year from their own IRA
• individuals who do not itemize their tax returns

Here are easy steps you should follow to make a gift under this law:

• First, contact your IRA trustee or administrator to notify them that you will be making a charitable gift through your IRA
• Follow up by sending written authorization to your IRA trustee or administrator that instructs them to transfer a gift directly to LA Opera (LA Opera will provide a sample letter, if needed)
• This letter instructs the trustee to list your name on the gift
• To ensure that your gift is properly identified and acknowledged, please notify LA Opera

For more information or to notify us of a gift to be made, please contact: Planned Giving Office at (213) 972-3693.

Bella Voce Society Benefits

Members of the Bella Voce Society have notified us that LA Opera is included in their will or other estate plans. In recognition for this special support, members receive the following benefits that are designed to enhance your enjoyment of the Opera.

• Invitation to the Annual Bella Voce Recognition Event.
• Acknowledgement by name as a Bella Voce Society Member in Performances magazine, the program distributed at every opera performance.
• Invitations to select Final Dress Rehearsals.
• Bella Voce Society priority for seating improvements.

Bella Voce Patron Benefits

Bella Voce Patrons are those who have made a significant, irrevocable commitment to LA Opera through their will or other estate plans. Benefits for Bella Voce Patrons may include:

If you have already included the LA Opera in your estate plan, please let us know so that you may receive the appropriate benefits. If your bequest intention or planned gift information is not included in our records, you may become a member of the Bella Voce Society immediately.

Notifying the company of specific percentages or amounts aids LA Opera with its long-term financial planning, but membership does not require the donor to disclose the amounts or size of a gift unless you prefer to do so. You can learn more by contacting our Planned Giving Department at (213) 972-3693.