Other Ways To Support Scouting

For any questions regarding making a gift in support of Scouting, please contact Development@heartofnewenglandbsa.org

Gifts of Stock

Gifts of securities either held by your bank or brokerage, or held by you, offer significant tax advantages and are easy to make.

Our legal name is: Heart of New England Council, BSA
Our tax ID number is: 04-2349692

You or your broker/bank must notify our Development team via Development@heartofnewenglandbsa.org or 508-752-3769 to be sure your gift is identified as yours. You will be provided with a Securities Donation Form to complete, so your gift can be properly processed and acknowledged. 

Gifts of Real Estate

Real Estate Gifts

For many people, their real estate holdings are a valuable asset. These assets can also carry a high price: property taxes and maintenance costs, and capital gains tax if sold.

A gift to the BSA of real property—residential, rental, vacation homes, farms, commercial, or undeveloped—may offer significant benefits. For example, you can take a charitable income tax deduction based on the fair market value of the property.

  • Land held for more than one year is deductible at fair market value up to 30 percent of a donor’s AGI for the year. If held for less than a year, it is deductible up to 50 percent of AGI for the year, and the deduction is limited to the property’s cost basis. The five-year carryover rule applies here as well.
  • Property with a mortgage or lien usually does not make a good gift. The tax deduction is reduced by the debt amount, and the donor is treated as receiving a similar amount in income, regardless of who is responsible for the debt.

Example of a real estate gift:

      A donor invested $20,000 in a property many years ago. It is now worth $100,000. If the donor gifts it to their local Council, he/she is entitled to a charitable tax deduction of $100,000 on their income tax return. In addition, he/she avoids $12,000 in capital gains tax owed if they sold the property.    

Before deciding to give real estate, you should know the following:

  1. The appraised value of the property
  2. Your basis and any debts or liens on the property.

Please discuss your property gift with our Development staff so there is a mutual understanding about whether the property will be used, sold, or if there are any environmental concerns.

Life Estate Gifts

You may plan to contribute a home, vacation home, or other property to Scouting sometime in the future but—for now—you still want to use the property. A life estate helps you do both. A Life Estate Gift grants Scouting the right to your property after your lifetime, but you retain the right to use and enjoy it for the rest of your life and/or the life of another. If the property is income-producing (e.g., from rent, crops, timber, etc.), you may also keep that income during your lifetime.

  • If you make a life estate gift and later decide you no longer want to use your property, simply transfer your remaining rights in the property to the council. You’ll receive additional tax benefits at that time.
  • The value of a tax deduction for a life estate gift is determined by the value of the land and the age of the life tenants. The older the life tenants, the larger the tax deduction.

You can donate real estate, receive a tax deduction, and still enjoy the property. 

Scouting has no right to use or possess the property until after your lifetime, but you still receive an immediate income tax deduction for part of the property’s value. Also, a life estate gift removes the property from your taxable estate, possibly saving estate taxes and probate costs.

Gifts through Donor Advised Funds

If you have already benefited from the immediate tax deductions offered by donor-advised funds (DAFs), you should know that Heart of New England Council is an IRS-qualified public charity, and therefore eligible to receive contributions from your gift fund. Please follow the instructions provided by your fund regarding minimum contribution, the process for recommending grants, etc.

Heart of New England Council’s tax ID number is: 04-2349692  

Please make checks payable to Heart of New England Council and mail to the following address:

Heart of New England Council, Boy Scouts of America
394 Pleasantdale Road
Rutland, MA 01543

What is a Donor-Advised Fund?

donor-advised fund (DAF) is a philanthropic vehicle established at a public charity that allows donors to make a charitable contribution, receive an immediate tax benefit, and then recommend grants from the fund to public charities of their choice over time.

How Does it Work?
  1. Establish your DAF by making an irrevocable, tax-deductible donation to a public charity that sponsors a DAF program.
  2. Advise the investment allocation of the donated assets (any investment growth is tax-free).
  3. Recommend grants to qualified public charities of your choice.