Alternate Ways of Giving

The most common donations are outright gifts, such as cash or a check, which the church receives right away. But many times, people want to hold on to their money and other assets for now, just to be sure they can meet their family’s future financial needs. There are excellent alternatives that allow them to still make a gift. One of these options could be right for you.

 

They’re known as “planned’ gifts. They can be revocable—a charitable bequest in your will, for example—so that you can change your mind at any time. Or, they can be irrevocable—just as outright gifts are—so that you benefit from an immediate income tax deduction. The attraction of irrevocable planned gifts is that they are deferred. You part with an asset today, but the actual giving of the asset to the church is put off for a while—often until after your lifetime (and that of a surviving beneficiary, if you wish). Until that time, you receive benefits from the gift.

 

For example, with a charitable remainder trust, you receive lifetime income from the asset after it’s placed in a trust, and then the church receives the remainder of the trust after you die. Or, you could deed us a remainder interest in your home and still retain the right to live in it for life. At any rate, the key feature of planned gifts like these is that they provide the donor important benefits, as well as the charitable organization.