A gift of a life insurance policy, that you no longer need, can be an easy way to provide generous support to The Philadelphia Orchestra or Ensemble Arts Philly.

A gift of life insurance could be right for you if:

  • Your life insurance policy is paid up or has substantial cash value.
  • You’ve provided for your family and loved ones by other means.
  • You would like to make a generous gift.

Your life insurance may find a new purpose

You may have purchased a life insurance policy years ago when you wanted to protect your family from financial hardship in case of your untimely passing. Now that your children are grown and independent, your mortgage is paid off, and you have accumulated sufficient assets in your estate to pass on to your family, you may no longer need your life insurance policy for its financial protection.

If this is your situation, consider making a gift of your life insurance policy to The Philadelphia Orchestra or Ensemble Arts Philly. Your policy can provide generous support to our mission without affecting your cash flow.

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How It Works

Designate The Philadelphia Orchestra or Ensemble Arts Philly as a beneficiary of your policy

You can designate The Philadelphia Orchestra or Ensemble Arts Philly to receive some or all of your policy’s death benefit but retain ownership of the policy. You will have the satisfaction of making a generous gift with no immediate cost to you.

This option allows you to change your mind about your gift should circumstances in your life change. Because your gift is revocable, you do not receive an income tax charitable deduction for your gifts, but your estate will receive an estate tax deduction for the amount your policy distributes to us.

It is very easy to designate a nonprofit as a beneficiary of your life insurance policy. Simply contact your insurance agent to make a change in your policy’s beneficiary designation. Be sure to identify us as: 

The Philadelphia Orchestra Association
Address: 300 South Broad Street, Philadelphia, PA 19102 
EIN: 23-1352289

Kimmel Center, Inc. d/b/a Ensemble Arts Philly
Address: 300 South Broad Street, Philadelphia, PA 19102 
EIN: 23-2865855
 

Other considerations

Loans against your policy can create taxable income

If you give a life insurance policy on which you have an outstanding unpaid loan, you may have to declare a portion of the loan as taxable income. Check with your financial advisor; it may be best to pay off the loan prior to making your gift. If you plan to designate The Philadelphia Orchestra or Ensemble Arts Philly as a beneficiary of your policy (Option 2), an unpaid loan against your policy will not affect your tax picture.

Give a paid-up life insurance policy

Sometimes a life insurance policy may be “paid-up” which means it will stay active without any additional premium payments. A paid-up life insurance policy is a valuable asset and makes an excellent gift.

Some states do not allow you to give a life insurance policy to a charity

For your gift of life insurance to be valid, your state of residence must consider a charity to have an “insurable interest” in your policy. Most states do but verify that this is true in your state before you make your gift.