Our Legacy Gift Planning campaign is not about death, but about life — making the world a better place for future generations. Leaving a gift planning legacy is a symbol of a relationship, beyond money, with a specific cause. It enables you to make larger gifts than you could make from your annual salary, regardless of income level. It also allows you to donate assets and improve your financial and tax situation — often right away. There are several giving options available to you.

Wills and Bequests

Include the Heart Rhythm Foundation in your will:
"I give, bequeath and devise (state percentage or amount) to HRF, currently located at 1400 K Street, NW, Suite 500, Washington, DC 20005 or its successor organization, also a qualified charitable organization." EIN: 20-0380726.

As many as 70 percent of Americans die without creating a will, leaving the courts in control of their estate. In such cases money and property are distributed according to inflexible state laws, not the wishes of the individual. Giving by bequest costs you nothing now, yet doing so may give you a great deal of satisfaction to know that your future gift will live on. Please support the Heart Rhythm Society’s mission beyond your lifetime by including a bequest to the Heart Rhythm Foundation in your will, or including a supplemental codicil if you do not wish to write a new will.

There are countless ways to help!       Make a general, memorial or honorary donation online or by mail, phone or fax. The Foundation relies on your tax deductible contributions to fulfill its core purpose: To improve the health of patients with heart rhythm disorders. Fax: (202) 464-3405 Mail: Heart Rhythm Foundation 1400 K Street, NW Suite 500 Washington DC 20005 Questions? Please contact Betsy Bogdansky, Director, Donor Relations at (202) 464-3454 or via e-mail

Direct Gifts

Direct gifts are those transferred immediately to the Heart Rhythm Foundation. In addition to cash and credit card donations, the following types of donations qualify as direct gifts and can be put to work right away:

• Stocks (publicly traded or closely held)
• Life Insurance **
  • If you have an insurance policy you no longer need to protect your family and can consider donating it to the Heart Rhythm Foundation you will receive an immediate tax deduction and the knowledge that you will help maintain the beat of the Heart Rhythm Foundation.
    
• Retirement Assets

** Contact your life insurance administrator to request a beneficiary form. You must indicate how much or what percentage of the remaining fund should be designated to the Heart Rhythm Foundation and return the form to your plan’s administrator.

Charitable Trusts

• Charitable Remainder Trust
  A donor can increase the return on investment while maintaining control over assets by establishing a charitable remainder trust. There are two types — an annuity trust and a unitrust.
• Charitable Lead Trust
  This type of trust can be established with income-producing assets, which pays the Heart Rhythm Foundation an income for a period of years with you or your heirs receiving the remainder of the trust.
• Living Trust
  A trust established to take effect during one’s lifetime. The terms of the trust can be changed at any time and there are possible estate tax savings if the Heart Rhythm Foundation is named as the beneficiary of the trust remainder.
• Qualified Retirement Plan:
  The Heart Rhythm Foundation can be named the beneficiary of a Qualified Retirement Plan. If a Qualified Retirement Plan is donated to the Heart Rhythm Foundation on death, there is both an immediate income tax deduction and also an estate tax deduction.

Gift Annuities

• Charitable Gift Annuity (CGA):
  A CGA is a contract (not a “trust”) under which a charity, in return for a transfer of cash, marketable securities or other assets, agrees to pay a fixed amount of money to one or two individuals for their lifetime.
• Deferred Gift Annuity:
  Similar to a Charitable Gift Annuity, except that the payments are deferred to a future date.

Frequently Asked Questions

Survivor Story: Grateful ICD patient and runner Maggie Finnerty competes in marathons and triathlons as a fundraiser for the Foundation, to enable research and public awareness of heart rhythm disorders. She and most of her immediate family have had defibrillators and pacemakers implanted because of her two brothers' sudden cardiac arrest deaths and her mother's diagnosis of non-sustained ventricular tachycardia.

Why support Heart Rhythm Foundation?
The mission of the Heart Rhythm Foundation is to enhance the prevention and treatment of cardiac rhythm disorders by supporting the research, education and advocacy efforts of the Heart Rhythm Society. The Foundation and the Society are committing their energy to achieving the eradication of cardiac arrhythmia disorders. Each year more than 250,000 individuals in the U.S. die from Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA) and more than 2.5 million Americans suffer from Atrial Fibrillation (AF). The prevalence of AF is increasing — as the population ages, this number is expected to more than double in the next 30–40 years. AF can also increase the risk of stroke fivefold, is estimated to be responsible for 88,000 deaths and $16 billion in additional costs to the U.S. healthcare system and accounts for approximately one-third of hospitalizations for cardiac rhythm disturbances. The Society's public awareness campaigns aim to increase public knowledge about AF and SCA, the symptoms and warning signs and the treatments available.

What about my family? Shouldn’t I leave my entire estate to my children and relatives?
This is perhaps the number one cause for reluctance when making a bequest. The truth is that depending on the current tax laws, leaving a gift to charity in your will may reduce the estate tax burden on your heirs significantly.

There is no better way to thank the people or organizations that have had an impact on your life than to make a contribution from your estate through a bequest.

Breakthroughs with cardiac arrhythmia disorders show what a difference the generosity donors have made on heart treatments, diagnosis, and life-saving advances. Every legacy left by our generation will make a vital impact on our children and grandchildren.

With your generosity we can confidently plan and fund life-saving research into the causes, prevention, diagnosis and treatment of heart rhythm disorders.

Donor contributions DO make a difference. A donor’s gift is not the end of the relationship; it is the beginning, which reaffirms one’s support of the Heart Rhythm Society and its endeavors.

Consult Your Attorney

Neither the Heart Rhythm Foundation nor the Heart Rhythm Societyis engaged in legal or tax advisory service. The information here is intended to summarize general facts about different giving vehicles and to provide general gift, estate, and financial planning information. You should always seek the advice of an attorney or other professional advisor to determine the effect of a specific transaction on your own financial situation and your estate. Wills, trusts, and charitable gifts made pursuant to a contractual agreement are governed by state laws, and you should seek advice from your own legal counsel when considering these types of gifts.