Gift of Real Estate

Emanuel and Romilda Richard

A charitable gift unearthed.

Making a charitable gift of real estate through your community foundation can help you turn your property gains into community good. Gifts of real estate range from personal residences and vacation homes to rental properties, farmland, and commercially developed land — the value of which may exceed that of any other asset you own. With the help of your community foundation, you can use real estate to make a bigger charitable difference than you thought possible, avoid estate taxes, and minimize or eliminate burden placed on your heirs.

You may choose to give real estate outright and receive an immediate tax deduction, or retain the use of the property during your lifetime and make a planned gift to your community foundation. You may also choose to convert real estate into a stream of income for the rest of your life by establishing a Charitable Gift Annuity with the community foundation. Doing this lets you transform a low-yield asset into a higher-yield, income-producing asset and claim a tax deduction for the charitable portion of the gift.

A gift of real estate must be professionally appraised to establish its fair market value. It is also assessed for compliance with our acceptance policies to make sure its resale will provide the appropriate value to community.

There is so much more we’d like you to know. For more information and ideas on ways to integrate your financial planning with charitable giving, ask your financial advisor or contact us.

Emanual A. and Romilda P. Richard
Real charitable value
            Her eyes still twinkle after many years of life. One wonders if it is a mischievous twinkle or the twinkle that welcomes visitors and friends. Perhaps it is both.
            She sits in a comfortable chair stroking a purring cat nestled in her lap. She is alert, sharp and straightforward in her conversation. She remembers the world as it was and sees the world as it is today. When she speaks of the hungry, the poor and the unloved children in our community, her pain is unmistakable. These are the pictures that pull at her heart.
            Romilda Pascal Richard came to the United States over eighty years ago. She was three years old and traveled by boat with her parents and two of her sisters. Her parents were leaving Italy for a better life in the United States. They found this new life in Valdese, where they found jobs and a fourth sister was born.
            Emanuel A. “Min” Richard came to Valdese in 1932. He was born in Chicago to Waldensian parents, but he eventually made his home in Valdese and married Romilda on July 19, 1942.
            “Min” and Romilda met at Waldensian Presbyterian Church, where they thrived and became involved in all aspects of church life. Romilda’s special loves were theater and children. She was one of the founding members of the Old Colony Players, and happily remembers playing Jo in “Little Women.” She reminisces, “I just ate that stuff up and loved every minute of it.” She volunteered regularly at Grandfather Home for Children and Valdese Elementary School. She vividly recalls children going to school without shoes, socks or essential clothing. “I never thought that was right. Every child should have enough to eat and be able to go to school with adequate clothing. I have never forgotten buying shoes for three girls who were using cardboard in their shoes to cover up all of the holes in the soles,” recalls Romilda.
            Romilda worked at Alba Waldensian. “Min” started at Alba Waldensian, then worked at the Valdese Credit Union and retired from Northwestern Bank at the age of 57. They worked diligently at their jobs and to improve life for the less fortunate in Valdese.
            After Min’s death, Romilda knew that she wanted to find a way to provide for the needy during her lifetime and after her death. She needed a vehicle to help her clothe and feed the poor, to help the sick and dying, to provide basic needs to school children and to help improve the quality of life in future years in Burke County. She found that she could accomplish all of her goals by establishing an endowment fund with the Community Foundation.
            Eyes still twinkling, Romilda adds, “If our endowment fund can provide clothing and food to needy people – forever. That makes me feel good.”