Planning with Purpose: Charitable Remainder Trusts

Sanctuary for Families

As part of our planned giving series, we’re sharing information about charitable remainder trusts, a unique giving option that can provide steady income to you or your loved ones while promoting our mission to support survivors of gender-based violence.

At Sanctuary for Families, estate planning is more than a financial or legal strategy—it’s an opportunity to align your legacy with your values. As part of our planned giving series, we’re sharing information about charitable remainder trusts, a unique giving option that can provide steady income to you or your loved ones while promoting our mission to support survivors of gender-based violence.

What is a Charitable Remainder Trust?

A charitable remainder trust (CRT) is a powerful planned giving tool that allows you to convert highly appreciated assets into lifetime income while also supporting Sanctuary for Families.

Here’s how it works:

You transfer assets—such as cash, securities, or real estate—into a trust you create. The trust then pays you (or another beneficiary) annual income for life or a term of up to 20 years. After the trust term ends, the remaining assets go to the charity of your choice.

This type of gift offers several benefits, including potential income tax deductions, possible reduction in capital gains taxes, and the peace of mind that comes with making a lasting impact.

Two Options for Receiving Payments

You can structure your charitable remainder trust in one of two ways, depending on your financial goals:

  • Annuity Trust: Pays you a fixed dollar amount each year, determined at the outset. This provides predictable income, regardless of investment performance.
  • Unitrust: Pays you a fixed percentage of the trust’s fair market value, re-evaluated annually. If the value of the trust assets grows, so does your income. If it decreases, payments adjust accordingly.

Why Include Sanctuary for Families?

Your generous donations help Sanctuary for Families provide shelter, legal, clinical, and economic empowerment services to survivors of domestic violence, sex trafficking, and related forms of gender-based violence. By naming Sanctuary as the remainder beneficiary of a charitable trust, you are helping to create a lasting legacy of safety, dignity, and healing for future generations.

Getting Started

Establishing a charitable remainder trust requires careful planning. We encourage you to consult with your financial advisor or attorney to determine the best strategy for your estate.

To learn more about how a charitable remainder trust—or other planned giving option—can support Sanctuary for Families’ mission, please visit our planned giving website.

This article is part of our ongoing series on planned giving options. Stay tuned for future installments exploring beneficiary designations, charitable trusts, and more.

Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month: Online Safety Guide for Teens

Sanctuary for Families

For Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month, Sanctuary for Families created a useful guide that highlights what every teen (and the adults who care about them) should know about online safety, digital boundaries, and tech-facilitated abuse.

For today’s teens, friendships, crushes, and dating are inextricable from social media, messaging apps, gaming platforms, and AI tools. Technology can help us connect, but it also introduces real safety risks that every teen should understand.

For Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month, Sanctuary for Families created a useful online safety guide that highlights what every teen (and the adults who care about them) should know about tech-facilitated abuse, digital boundaries, and protective safeguards.

  1. What is Technology-Facilitated Abuse?
  2. Red Flags in Relationships Online
  3. Sexting, Pressure, & Consent
  4. Image-Based Abuse
  5. Impersonation & Sextortion
  6. What To Do If You Are Experiencing TFA
  7. To Parents, Educators, & Caregivers

What is Technology-Facilitated Abuse?

Abuse is not just physical. In many teen relationships, harm can occur through phones, apps, and platforms. This is known as technology-facilitated abuse (TFA), the use of digital tools to harass, monitor, threaten, or control someone.

Red Flags in Relationships Online

The values that shape healthy in-person relationships — respect, consent, boundaries, trust, and safety — also apply online.

Unhealthy online behaviors often involve pressure, manipulation, or monitoring.

Check out examples in the graphic below:


 

Sexting, Pressure, & Consent

Sexting — sending sexually explicit photographs or messages — can be a natural part of personal and sexual development and exploration.  However, teens should understand the emotional and legal risks associated with sexting.

Under New York state and federal law, possessing or sending nude images of a person under 18 is illegal, even if you are also under 18 years old. There is no “safe” way to send or have a nude image of a minor on your device — this is considered possession of child pornography.

Despite this, sexting is on the rise. A 2026 study found that nearly 1 in 3 young people reported having received a sext, and almost 1 in 4 said they had sent one.

Many teens face pressure to send intimate images — up to 70% of teenagers who have sexted reported feeling pressured or coerced to do so.

There cannot be consent if pressure is involved.

Consent is an ongoing mutual agreement between partners that must be freely given, not coerced.

Coercion can look like:

  • “If you loved me, you would send one.”
  • “Wow, you don’t trust me?”
  • “Are we even dating then?”
  • “Everyone does it.”

In safe sexting:

  • BOTH people consent — the person wants to send a message or image, and has been told by the other person that the other person wants to receive them
  • Participants exchange messages without pictures or videos (e.g. phone calls, texts)

If sending a photo (between adults), it’s best to:

  • Not include any identifying markers in a photo (face, tattoos, piercings, birthmarks, background of picture)
  • Ensure live photo is turned off
  • Consider the security of the app being used to send images
  • Understand that once an image is sent, control over it is lost

Image-Based Abuse

Image-based abuse, or non-consensual intimate image abuse (also known by the victim-blaming term “revenge porn”), is the sharing, posting, or forwarding of an intimate photo or video (real or digitally altered) of another individual without their consent.

It is ILLEGAL in all 50 states to non-consensually share intimate photos or videos of another person.

If you have experienced image-based abuse, know it is not your fault, and you are not alone. There are numerous avenues to stop the abuse, have the content taken down, and hold the perpetrator accountable, including Orders of Protection and requests to take down content on social media.

You have the right to expect private images to remain private.

If you have sent images of yourself, including while you are underage, you are still entitled to protection and help.

Impersonation & Sextortion

Online relationships can feel very real — and they can be. But it is difficult to know who you are really talking to online.

It is very common for perpetrators to impersonate a young person (“catfishing”) — often pretending to be a young, attractive girl or woman — in order to pressure someone to send an intimate picture.

This dangerous practice is called sextortion. It’s an increasingly prevalent form of abuse where a person threatens to disseminate another person’s sexually explicit images if they do not comply with their demands.

Historically, offenders have targeted young girls to extort them for money. But today, it’s young boys who are the overwhelming target — a 2024 study by the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) found that 90% of victims of financial sextortion were boys between the ages of 14 and 17.

If you are the victim of sextortion, know that help is available. Your family, loved ones, and community are here to support you, and there are resources to assist you.

Here are some tips to remain safe online:

  • Do not share personal information on gaming platforms or social media
  • Be wary of people trying to transition off video games to social media platforms
  • Know that having mutual friends with other users on social media does not mean you should automatically trust them
  • Trust your instincts if something feels off

Warning signs of a potentially unsafe online connection:

  • The relationship progresses quickly
  • They avoid video calls/meetings in person and only want to stay on apps/text
  • They have a limited or suspicious social media presence
  • They request money, gift cards, or images
  • Their profile and personality feel “too perfect”
  • They have an odd texting style

What To Do If You Are Experiencing TFA

Cyber sexual abuse and sextortion are illegal, and abusers can be held accountable. Victims should feel safe to seek help in New York State, even if they have shared intimate images of themselves as a minor.

Please know that giving in to blackmail requests hardly ever results in the threats stopping.

If explicit images of you (real or digitally altered) have been posted or shared, or you are getting threats about images being exposed, follow these steps:

1. Know that this is not your fault

2. Document evidence – EXCEPT nude photos under 18

Save screenshots, usernames, and messages. However, do NOT save or copy any nude or partially nude images of young people under 18, including yourself.

3. Block — but don’t delete

Block the offending account, but don’t delete messages, even if you are scared or upset. Conversations and profiles could be needed for reporting and getting assistance.

4. Seek support

Talk to a trusted adult, counselor, or organization for support and to get help getting your pictures taken down.

5. Report — and get content taken down

  • Take It Down (NCMEC) is a free service that can help you remove or stop the online sharing of nude, partially nude, or sexually explicit images or videos taken of you when you were under 18 years old.
  • Missing Kids has resources on how to remove intimate image content from many platforms, including TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube.
  • Love is Respect has excellent resources on teen dating violence.
  • Day One offers services to NYC youth age 24 and under.

To Parents, Caregivers, & Educators

Being a victim of sextortion can be incredibly difficult, especially for young people. Studies have found sextortion to be closely linked with the risk of suicide.

Having open, non-judgmental conversations with young people about online behavior, consent, and sexting can dramatically reduce risk of harm. Teens are more likely to seek help when they feel safe talking about uncomfortable experiences and know they can count on you for support.

Safety online is possible. With knowledge, boundaries, and support, teens can build respectful and healthy relationships — online and offline.

If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence, know that there are resources available. The National Domestic Violence Hotline provides confidential support and information 24/7 at 1-800-799-SAFE (7233).

If you live in New York City, please get in touch with Sanctuary for Families to get help.

Planning with Purpose: Beneficiary Designations

Sanctuary for Families

By naming Sanctuary for Families as a beneficiary, you ensure your legacy continues to support survivors of gender-based violence. You may choose to designate a specific amount, percentage, or the remainder of an account such as an IRA—helping sustain Sanctuary’s mission for generations.

Estate planning is more than a legal process — it’s a way to protect your loved ones while also championing the causes closest to your heart. As part of our planned giving series, we’re exploring one of the simplest, most flexible options available: beneficiary designations.

What Are Beneficiary Designations?

Instead of including a gift in your will, you can directly name Sanctuary for Families as a beneficiary of certain accounts or policies. This option often requires only a simple form and allows you to make a meaningful impact with little effort. Examples include:

  • IRAs and retirement plans
  • Life insurance policies
  • Donor Advised Funds (DAFs)
  • Commercial annuities

Why Choose Sanctuary?

By naming Sanctuary for Families as a beneficiary, you ensure your legacy continues to support survivors of gender-based violence. You may choose to designate a specific amount, percentage, or the remainder of an account such as an IRA—helping sustain Sanctuary’s mission for generations.

In addition to possible tax advantages, this type of planned gift allows you to create lasting change without affecting your current financial security. However you choose to give, your legacy will reflect a commitment to safety, justice, and healing.

How to Get Started

Designating Sanctuary as a beneficiary is straightforward. Simply request a form from your retirement fund, insurance provider, or bank, or contact your account administrator.

To learn more about how your legacy can support survivors, visit our planned giving website.

This article is part of our ongoing series on planned giving options. Stay tuned for future installments exploring beneficiary designations, charitable trusts, and more.

When Abuse Causes Brain Injury: Why Intro 29 Matters for Survivors

Sanctuary for Families

When people think of traumatic brain injuries (TBIs), their first thought might be football collisions or car crashes. But TBIs are also prevalent among survivors of domestic abuse or intimate partner violence, although most never receive a proper diagnosis or treatment.

TW: This article contains descriptive information about physical violence. Please engage in self-care as you read this article.

When people think of traumatic brain injuries (TBIs), their first thought might be football collisions or car crashes. But TBIs are also prevalent among survivors of domestic abuse or intimate partner violence, although most never receive a proper diagnosis or treatment.

In abusive relationships, TBIs can result from blows or jolts to the head or from strangulation that cuts off oxygen to the brain. These forms of violence are alarmingly common — research shows that up to 94% of injuries women sustain from intimate partner violence (IPV) involve the neck or head. Studies also estimate that 60% to 92% of women subjected to intimate partner violence have experienced at least one TBI caused directly by abuse.

A Hidden Epidemic

TBIs resulting from intimate partner violence can be difficult to recognize, as symptoms can have a delayed onset. Many survivors also avoid seeking emergency medical care due to stigma or out of fear of their abuser, and even when they do, they may not disclose head trauma for the same reasons.

At the same time, many healthcare providers are not aware of how common IPV-related TBIs are. Survivors are rarely screened for head injuries in emergency settings, which means providers must piece together what happened without clear information. The result is a dangerous gap in care.

The repercussions are serious. Because TBI symptoms overlap with PTSD and other conditions, IPV-related brain injuries are often misdiagnosed, leaving survivors without the support they need to recover.

Common symptoms of TBI include headaches, dizziness, confusion, memory problems, mood changes, and sensitivity to light or sound. These effects can last for months or even years, profoundly shaping every aspect of a survivor’s daily life. And without intervention, these symptoms can escalate.

The long-term consequences are also significant. TBIs can contribute to mood disorders, chronic pain, and sensory, motor, and cognitive impairments, which in turn make it harder to sustain employment or maintain healthy relationships. When these challenges go unaddressed, the risk of substance use can increase.

Without a proper diagnosis for TBI, survivors may lose access to the medical care, accommodations, and legal protections that could support their recovery. Their symptoms can also be misunderstood as noncompliance or unreliability rather than recognized as the result of a serious injury.

This is where policy change becomes essential.

What Intro 29 Does — and Why It Matters

Just a few weeks ago, New York City moved to confront the hidden crisis of domestic and intimate violence-related TBI with the passage of Intro 29 – legislation that requires all NYPD and FDNY first responders to receive training to identify and respond appropriately to TBI symptoms during domestic violence calls. This will help ensure that head trauma is not misinterpreted as resistance and that survivors are met with safety, understanding, and care.

Intro 29 also directs the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene and the Mayor’s Office to End Domestic and Gender-Based Violence to lead a citywide awareness campaign so that survivors, families, and communities recognize that IPV can cause brain injury and know where to get help. This marks real progress toward closing the gap between what survivors endure and what systems are prepared to address.

“Survivors of gender violence suffer so many harms that are not readily visible … We must bring TBI out of the shadows and into the light.”
— Sanctuary CEO Judy Kluger

Sanctuary’s Commitment

Sanctuary for Families strongly advocated for the passage of Intro 29 and believes in the promise it holds for survivors across New York City. As this new legislation rolls out, we stand firm in our commitment to:

  • Provide training and technical assistance to partners on practical TBI screening and referrals;
  • Offer trauma-informed counseling, legal advocacy, and connections to medical care;
  • Elevate survivor-centered practices so recognition leads to real, sustained support.

This work requires partnership from across our city.

We will keep pushing for strong implementation and a citywide response that truly centers survivor safety. Join us in raising awareness about IPV-related traumatic brain injury and consider making a gift to support our work with survivors.

GET HELP  DONATE

If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence, know that there are resources available. The National Domestic Violence Hotline provides confidential support and information 24/7 at 1-800-799-SAFE (7233).

If you live in New York City, please get in touch with Sanctuary for Families to get help.