Continuum: Join our Legacy Society

There are many ways to meet your financial goals while also maximizing your support of Howard Brown Health through thoughtful gift planning.

Options include:

• A gift from your IRA
• A bequest through a will or trust
• Make Howard Brown a beneficiary of your retirement plan, donor advised fund, or insurance policy
• A gift of real estate

When you notify us that you have made a planned gift to Howard Brown, we will enroll you in Continuum, our legacy society.

As a Continuum member, you will receive exclusive access and benefits, including:

• Recognition on website and in annual report
• Mailings such as the annual report and the Community Impact Report
• Invitation for a private, behind-the-scenes tour of the Howard Brown program site of your choice
• Special event invitations

“I have benefited from Howard Brown Health’s services through my very own gender-affirming journey. I remember receiving my first hormone shot, feeling wonderful with the hormones coursing through my body. I went home that night and dreamt of my new life as a woman.

Today I am a proud Howard Brown donor through the monthly Heartbeat Donor Program and make significant annual contributions as a member of the Leadership Council.  Leveraging my life experiences, male and female, I speak on health and discrimination issues affecting LGBTQ+ seniors and youth.  However, I wanted to leave a legacy for tomorrow, so I joined the Continuum Legacy Society with a bequest through my trust. Now I know that when I go, I can continue to support Howard Brown Health’s work of eliminating the disparities in healthcare experienced by the LGBTQ+ community.”

-Stefanie Clark,
Howard Brown’s Aging Services Advisory Board and Vernita Gray Council for Philanthropy

A gift from your IRA

If you are age 70½ or older, you can make a tax-free distribution from your IRA and have the satisfaction of seeing your gift make a difference today.

You can donate up to $100,000 each year to a qualified charity such as Howard Brown without paying income tax on your withdrawal. Plus, if you have not yet taken your required minimum distribution for the year, your IRA charitable rollover gift can satisfy all or part of that requirement.

How to Make Your IRA Gift

1. You contact your plan administrator to direct a distribution in the amount you designate from your traditional IRA to Howard Brown.
2. The distributions go directly to Howard Brown and are not subject to income tax.

View a sample transfer letter.

A bequest through a will or trust

You can leave a lasting legacy to LGBTQ health by designating Howard Brown Health as a beneficiary of your will or trust with a gift of any size.  Your gift may also reduce your taxes.

If you wish to name Howard Brown in your will or estate plan, we should be named as:

Howard Brown Health Center, a nonprofit corporation, organized and existing under the laws of the State of Illinois, with principal business address of 4025 North Sheridan Road, Chicago, Illinois 60613.

Our tax identification number is: 36-2894128

Click here for our legal designation language in a printable format.

Make Howard Brown a beneficiary of your retirement plan, donor advised fund, or insurance policy

You can name Howard Brown as a beneficiary of an insurance policy, donor advised charitable gift fund, or retirement plan by simply identifying “Howard Brown Health Center” as a beneficiary and supplying the requested information.

A gift of real estate

A gift of real estate to Howard Brown Health – either now or in your estate plan – provides a lasting benefit to LGBTQ health. If you have owned the property for more than one year, you may be able to take a charitable deduction equal to the fair market value of your property.  A gift of real estate also will reduce the size and complexity of your estate and will free you of the responsibility of paying real estate taxes and maintaining the property.

Gifts of real estate are a wonderful way to support Howard Brown, but they require careful consideration. Prospective donors are required to provide detailed and specific information about the property. Howard Brown staff will work with you to facilitate this process.

Because real estate will usually be sold soon after it is gifted, the real estate must be free of debt and readily marketable. In most cases, Howard Brown Health will handle all aspects of the sale.

Interested in making a gift?

Contact us today about any questions you have or to learn more about how gift and estate planning can benefit you and LGBTQ health. Your inquiry is confidential.

Call: 872.269.3427
Email: giving@howardbrown.org

Please consult with a professional advisor when gift planning. The information on this website is not intended as legal or tax advice. References to estate and income taxes include federal taxes only.