GIVE

Planned Giving Booklet – Gift Planning

Gift planning is sometimes called the “How” of giving. It naturally follows the “Why”—the motivation or reason you want to give in the first place. As Episcopalians we all have our own personal reasons for wanting to make a planned gift to support the organizations and ministries that are meaningful to us. The diocese has created information on gift planning that is described in this brochure. It describes the different ways you can accomplish this through immediate, deferred or life income gifts. It is provided to give you a basic understanding of planned giving options, but it is not a complete reference for all the options available.

Two options that are not detailed in the brochure but might be of interest two you are listed below. If you have any questions about these, please reach out to the Treasurer, Clancy Delong, and he would be glad to answer any questions.

Charitable Donations from your IRA

If you are over 70.5 years of age and have a Traditional IRA (or inactive SEP, inactive SIMPLE, or inherited) you can make a Qualified Charitable Donation directly from your IRA to St. John’s. Benefits include:   

+ No taxation on the amount you donate as you are not withdrawing it, so it will not increase your income.   

+ You may deduct the amount you donate, up to $100,000.   

+ The amount you donate will count as your RMD.

To accomplish this, contact the company that holds your IRA as they will have their own process. Generally, you will direct them to send a check from your IRA directly to St. John’s. 

You cannot donate directly from a 401K, but you can roll over funds from a 401K to an IRA and then donate from there.

Donor Advised Funds

If you are not yet 70.5 yrs old but would like a tax-advantaged way to donate, consider using a Donor Advised Fund (DAF). Work with your brokerage firm (Vanguard, Schwab, Fidelity, other) to set up the fund. Benefits include:   

+ Avoiding capital gains tax on appreciated securities; you can transfer these into the DAF to donate and you will not have to pay the capital gains tax normally incurred when you sell them.   

+ As soon as you transfer securities into the DAF, you can take a tax deduction for charitable giving. Your tax deduction is the full amount of the appreciated security. 

+ You can donate the money whenever you want, even several years from now. Since the standard deduction has been raised, sometimes it is beneficial to consolidate all your itemized tax deductions into one year. You can move 2- or 3-years’ worth of charitable donations into a DAF in one year and then distribute them slowly over the next 2-3 years.

The DAF can distribute the funds to any valid charitable institution. Each brokerage firm has their own process, so you’ll work with them to set up the fund, transfer securities into it, and distribute them when and where you want.