There are two ways to use life insurance to make a charitable gift:
Designate the Foundation to receive part of the death benefit on a “beneficiary designation form”.
Transfer ownership of a life insurance policy to the Foundation.
Life insurance can be an attractive way to give charitably:
Through regular, relatively small premiums, you will create a relatively large death benefit for the Foundation and your favorite charitable purpose.
If you give ownership of a policy that has some cash value, you may earn an income tax charitable deduction.
If you give ownership of a policy and pay the premiums, you may earn an income tax deduction for the gift of each premium payment.
Some forms of life insurance require very little or no medical exam, limit premium payments for a fixed period of time, or allow you to invest the cash value for an even greater potential death benefit.