Planned Giving FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What kinds of gifts does Five Acres accept?

A: Outright gifts of cash, securities or other property
(e.g., real estate, personally property).

A gift through your will or revocable trust, or through distribution from a retirement plan or life insurance policy.

A gift that returns lifetime payments to you, your spouse, or other individuals, such as a charitable gift annuity or charitable remainder trust.

Q: What assets can I use to make a gift?

A: Cash, publicly traded securities or the remainder of your retirement account. Other possibilities are real estate, closely held stock and artwork.

Q: What tax deductions are available?

A: Outright gifts generate a full income-tax charitable deduction. Those of appreciated securities are deductible at fair market value with no recognition of capital gains.

Gifts of personal property like art, books and collectibles are fully deductible if they are relevant to our mission.

Bequests are exempt from estate tax.

Life insurance distributions are exempt from estate tax.

A lifetime gift of an insurance policy generates a deduction for the value of the policy.

The charitable deduction for a gift that makes payments to you, such as a charitable gift annuity or a charitable remainder trust, is the fair market value of the gift asset minus the present value of the income interest you retain.

Please contact Cathy Clement, Director of Philanthropy and Certified Specialist in Planned Giving at (626) 798-6793, extension 2251 or email her at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it by clicking here for more information.

“Maybe You and I”

Frank Brill's Story:

Every Monday afternoon in Five Acres’ dining room 85-year-old Frank Brill reads with a child. On the weeks students are on vacation Frank sends his student a note on a greeting card. Frank began tutoring in 1996 after a visit to Five Acres with his friend and former resident Grace who told him, “You should be here every week.”

Frank was born in Brooklyn and when he was six years old began a career in show business that continues to this day from telegram deliveries in a Phillip Morris uniform to dancing for tips in the Catskills, to MCA and ABC to Las Vegas, Tahoe and Atlantic City Frank has worked with some of the biggest names in show business.

His heart, however, belongs to the children. Beginning with Grace.

When Frank’s friend Beth Uffner was frustrated by the adoptions system, he introduced her to a judge who was consulting with Frank on a television show about juvenile delinquency. The judge put Beth in contact with a social worker who brought her to Five Acres where she found Grace and adopted her.

Frank couldn’t be prouder of Grace if he were her father. On a wall in his home dedicated to her and his association with Five Acres is a poem Grace wrote for him at age 13. Its refrain is “Maybe you and I” and concludes: “Maybe you and I were just meant to be.”

Frank’s commitment to children like Grace and his young students motivated him to provide for their future support through his estate plan. “I feel rewarded being part of an organization that helps society’s most vulnerable children. It’s not an obligation. I personally feel good helping the children.”

For information about ways to help Five Acres’ children and families in your estate plan, please call Cathy Clement at 626.798.6793, extension 2251 or email her at cclement@5acres.org.