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Forty years ago three prominent American surgeons gathered to discuss the need for a medical society that concentrated on the surgical problems of the intestinal tract. Their discussions and subsequent actions led to the formation of the Society for Surgery of the Colon, the forerunner of the Society for Surgery of the Alimentary Tract (SSAT). Today, the SSAT has a membership of over 2,500 and is in the forefront of its medical specialty. These three surgeons had the wisdom and foresight to perceive of the need for an organization that would support critically needed research, develop new techniques and procedures, and look to the future of the specialty to insure its vitality and commitment to patient well-being. That Societal commitment remains today.
Due to the generous support of the members of the Society and its members the Foundation has made remarkable progress in securing financial support for SSAT initiatives. Science and medicine continue to make startling, even miraculous, progress and the SSAT fosters such discovery within our specialty through its own funding of research and education. To assure that such technological development will continue in our specialty, the Foundation seeks to secure sufficient endowment funding to allow growth in the number and amount of Research Awards and a strong foundation of educational initiatives to support the transmission of the results of new research to a wide audience.
In keeping with the future looking orientation of the three founders of the Society, as well as the leaders who have followed in their stead, the SSAT Foundation is asking our members to consider making a major contribution to the Foundation for endowment purposes. Generally, planned giving is the best vehicle for surgeons committed to the advancement of surgery of the alimentary tract to leave their legacy on the specialty. Planned giving both enhances the Society’s ability to meet the SSAT’s research and education needs and offers donors the opportunity to make substantially larger gifts to SSATF than they might have thought possible. Additionally, planned gifts frequently bring significant benefits to the donor as well as benefiting the donor’s philanthropic interests. Below is a brief description of some of the planned giving vehicles one might consider in seeking to support the SSATF.
Bequests
Perhaps the most commonly used planned gift mechanism is when a donor leaves a charitable donation through a will. Among the most common means of making that bequest are the following:
| Giving a specific dollar amount to the charity of the donor's choice | |
| Bequest of a specific piece of property or other asset | |
| Giving a fixed percentage of the assets passing through the estate | |
| Donation of the residue of the estate, after making provisions for family members and other loved ones |
Charitable Lead Trusts
A donor may create a trust to provide income for a charitable purpose for a given period of time. Upon completion of the time period, the trust can then be transferred to heirs or other individuals with little or even no estate or other related taxes due.
Charitable Remainder Annuity Trust
Charitable Remainder UnitrustBoth of these planned gift opportunities are irrevocable trusts. Each provides income to the donor (or another individual) based upon the value of the property given to create the trust. An annuity trust pays a fixed income based on the value of the assets at the time of the trust's creation. The unitrust provides income based upon a fixed percentage of the annual value of the trust. In creating these wherever, capital gains tax can be avoided, or postponed, and the donor receives an income tax deduction for a portion of the value of the trust property.
Gifts of Appreciated Property
When real estate, stocks, bonds, and other appreciated assets are sold, a tax is due on any capital gain that sale provides. When appreciated property has been held for more than one year and individual may take an income tax deduction based on the current value of the property rather than the cost. Thus, a donor avoids both the capital gain tax and receives a tax deduction for the charitable gift based on the current value of the asset.
Revocable Living Trust
The use of a revocable living trust enables a donor to make a gift of real estate, unities, cash or other assets, knowing that all or part of the gift may be returned upon request.
