Donate

thesecondopinion is a free service.

We rely 100% on private funding support from individuals, foundations, and corporations.

If you wish to make a donation, please make your check payable to thesecondopinion and mail it to:

1200 Gough Street, Suite 500
San Francisco, CA 94109
Our California Tax ID# is 94-1696341

Should you wish to make a gift of appreciated stock or would like to discuss a major cash gift or a planned gift from your estate, please contact Michael Stoll, Executive Director at 415-775-9956.

Email: email@thesecondopinion.org

thesecondopinion relies entirely upon the generosity of private funding sources to support our efforts in improving the health and well-being of cancer patients and their families.

Planned Giving
Planned Giving benefits you and your family; it helps protect and define your legacy. Your attorney or estate planner will help determine what gift is right for you.

Planned Gifts – also known as Bequests and Legacy Gifts – are vehicles for deferred donations. Often called the “ultimate gift” because of their enormous revenue potential, Bequests are charitable gifts made in a donor’s will. It is interesting to note that about 82% of Americans make a donation to charity each year, only 3% leave a gift in their will. Planned Giving is a set of ways a donor can 1) invest money so that the donor receives benefits during his/her life, 2) protect assets gifted to family members or those benefitting from your will from taxation, 3) leave money or assets to a nonprofit thus fulfilling your legacy.

Charitable Bequests
A Charitable Bequest works for anyone who would like to support thesecondopinionopinion in the future. This type of gift has universal appeal because you can change your mind at any time and make your gift in relative proportion to bequests to family and friends.

When planning on adding a Charitable Bequest to your estate plans now, it’s sometimes difficult to determine what size donation will still make sense in the future. Emergencies happen, and you need to make sure your family is financially taken care of first.

Solution: a Charitable Bequest of a percentage of your estate. This ensures that your gift will remain proportionate no matter how your estate’s value fluctuates over the years. You can also include or restrict retirement plan assets or insurance policies.

Charitable Remainder Trust
A Charitable Remainder Trust is a creative tool that gives you income for life or a term of years, with the remainder transferred to thesecondopinion upon termination of trust.

Assets that have substantially appreciated in value but are providing a low return are well suited as gifts. You may avoid capital gains taxes, lower your income taxes and earn higher returns with a charitable remainder trust.

Here’s an example: a gift amount is placed in Trust. You receive the interest calculated at a determined rate for life. At the end of the trust thesecondopinion receives the remainder of the trust. Your estate is lowered, thus reducing estate liability taxes for your heirs

Advantages:

• Guaranteed Annual Income
• Income tax deduction at the time the trust is created.
• Estate and gift tax savings
• Favorable treatment of capital gains assets.

Best assets:

• Appreciated or low-yielding securities
• Real estate
• Cash

Charitable Lead Trust
A Charitable Lead Trust is a creative way to insure that your heirs get the full value of part of your estate and are not hindered by tax liabilities. A Charitable Lead Trust is gift to thesecondopinion for a period of time followed by return of assets to donor or designee. If you want to minimize estate and gift taxes on assets you intend to leave to your children or grandchildren, particularly when significant assets are expected to appreciate, you may want to consider a charitable lead trust.

Example: A gift amount is placed in Trust. The interest from the gift is provided yearly or quarterly to thesecondopinion at a pre-determined rate. At the end of the trust, your estate receives back the original amount of the trust, and tax liabilities are waived. Your estate is lowered, thus reducing tax liability for your heirs.

Advantages:

• Reduces taxes that would otherwise be due on assets left to heirs
• Allows donor to make a substantial charitable gift over a period of years

Best assets

• Rapidly appreciating assets that one intends to pass on to heirs

Personal Residence or Farm
The donor makes an irrevocable gift to thesecondopinion of the future remainder interest in a property and retains the right to use the property for life. The donor gets an income tax deduction equal to the present value of the future interest without the expenditure of any cash or the reduction of income

Art
A charitable gift of valuable art (or other property) that is non-income producing may bring a donor a significant charitable deduction without the loss of spendable income. The gift of a partial interest in art may not only provide a charitable deduction, but would allow the donor use and enjoyment of the art.

Life Insurance
Donate a life insurance policy that you no longer find useful, and receive a charitable deduction for the cash value of the policy.

Stocks
Using stock is an excellent way to make charitable contributions. Here are tips on how best to use stock as a charitable gift.

Appreciated Stock
You can support the critical work of thesecondopinion by making a gift of Appreciated Stock. Advantages include:

• avoiding federal and state tax on capital gains
• receiving an income tax deduction for the full market value of your gift if you itemize deductions on your tax return and have held the assets for at least one year
• making a larger gift at a lower original cost to you.

Tips to Consider

• Donate appreciated stock held for more than one year and derive an additional tax benefit: avoidance of capital gain.
• Consider choosing appreciated stock with the greatest capital gain to take maximum advantage of this unique tax benefit.
• Appreciated stocks may be used to make current charitable gifts or used for life income gifts. Examples include a gift to a Pooled Income Fund, a Charitable Gift Annuity, and a Charitable Remainder Trust. In these situations, you get a current charitable deduction while you retain the income from the property for yourself or a loved one.
• Deductions for gifts of appreciated property are limited to 30% of your adjusted gross income, but the excess may be carried forward for five years.

Depreciated Stock
Sell stock that has lost value and donate the proceeds. You can deduct the loss in value (cost basis less current value) and derive an income tax deduction for the current market value. For stocks in which you have a loss, you will only get a deduction for their fair market value, not their cost. In this situation, it is better to sell the stock, take the capital loss and give the cash; then you will have two deductions, the capital loss and the charitable gift.

———

Most Often Asked Questions by Donors

How Do I Make a Gift?  Click the button below:

You may also send us a check or credit card gift through U.S. mail. For donating stocks or other assets, find out more here.

Are you a Registered Charity? Yes.  We are a California 501(c )3 non-profit agency. Our Form 990 is found on GuideStar and on all federal forms as San Francisco Regional Cancer Foundation dba thesecondopinion. We are in the process of shortening this to just thesecondopinion.

How Much of My Gift Goes to Program?   The range over the last 5 years is about 80% of every dollar impacts program. The rest supports administrative and development expenses.

Where Does Your Support Come From?  100% of our revenue comes from private gifts from individuals, foundations and corporations. We do not receive government funds or United Way support. We do not bill insurance companies. We also do not charge for services.

—

thesecondopinion is proud to be a verified non profit on NonProfitList.org.