If you own a life insurance policy, you may be wondering if you still need it. Maybe your children are grown. Maybe your assets have increased. Maybe the original reason you bought the policy no longer applies.

Before you decide to cash it in, consider this: your life insurance policy could become a powerful and often overlooked tool for charitable giving.

You Can Name the Parkersburg Area Community Foundation as Your Beneficiary

One of the simplest ways to use your life insurance for good is to name the Foundation as the beneficiary, either for the full amount or a portion of the policy.

This allows you to make a meaningful future gift at a relatively modest current cost, especially if the policy is already in place. Your annual premium payments can ultimately translate into a significant charitable contribution.

If you’ve established a fund at your PACF, you can name that fund as the beneficiary. The death benefit typically passes directly to the fund outside of probate and may help reduce the taxable value of your estate helping you align your charitable goals with your estate planning strategy.

You Can Donate the Policy Itself

Another option is to transfer ownership of your existing policy to the PACF. When you do this, the Foundation becomes both the owner and the beneficiary of the policy.

In many cases, you may qualify for an income tax deduction equal to the policy’s fair market value (generally based on its “interpolated terminal reserve” plus any unearned premium), subject to applicable limitations.

If the policy still requires premium payments, you can continue making those payments as tax-deductible contributions to the Foundation. In this way, what would have been premium payments become charitable gifts.

You Can Use Insurance in Creative Planning Strategies

You can also use life insurance in more advanced charitable planning strategies.

For example, you might purchase a new policy specifically to fund a future charitable gift, using annual contributions to pay the premiums over time. Or you might combine life insurance with tools such as charitable trusts or a Donor Advised Fund with the Foundation to increase your long-term impact.

In some situations, life insurance can help replace assets you leave to the Foundation so your heirs receive an equivalent benefit. This can allow you to support the causes you care about while still providing for your family.

Explore What’s Possible for You

Your life insurance policy offers flexibility, leverage, and potential tax advantages. You have options and the opportunity to turn an overlooked asset into a meaningful legacy and gift for your community.