Beneficiary Designations

Naming the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank as the beneficiary of your retirement plan assets or insurance plan is a simple way to make a legacy gift to the Food Bank.

Gifts made with retirement plan assets or insurance policies avoid the double taxation your heirs would face if you left these assets to them. In addition, you can easily change your plans if your life circumstances change.

When you complete the beneficiary designation form provided by the institution where your account is held, name the “Blue Ridge Area Food Bank” as a full or partial beneficiary and provide our tax identification number (Tax ID# 52-1202644).

Common designation options:

• Retirement plans [e.g., traditional IRA, Keogh, 401(k)]: Including the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank as a beneficiary enables you to avoid substantial income taxes that would have been due if a retirement plan were left to non-spousal heirs. It is strongly advised that you name “Blue Ridge Area Food Bank” as a beneficiary of a retirement plan through the plan’s designation form and not through your will, which may jeopardize tax benefits.
• Insurance policies: There are a number of ways you can name the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank as a beneficiary of an insurance policy, whether through your employer or a separate policy that you hold.

For more information, please contact Karen Ratzlaff at kratzlaff@brafb.org or (540) 213-8404.

Join The Will to End Hunger Society and let us know if you name us as a beneficiary. Download the Statement of Gift Intention Form and return it to us.