Planned Giving: Pay Tribute to an Important Person in Your Life
On your life’s journey, who has inspired you?
Few of us find success and happiness on our own. We rely on the encouragement of others, including family, friends, and mentors. Maybe some of these important people even connected you to the causes you cherish today.
If someone in your life inspired your commitment to one or more of the ELCA ministries you support, what better way to honor them than by attaching their name to something that will celebrate their legacy of dedication?
Create a tribute gift to any ELCA ministry through the ELCA Foundation and you will:
Publicly honor the important role they played in your life
Further the mission and ministry of the ELCA
Possibly enjoy tax benefits
How to Start Honoring Your Hero
You have many choices on how to put your feelings of gratitude into action. You can give any ELCA ministry a gift in someone’s honor today or in the future.
A gift today could fund our immediate needs or an upcoming project, giving you (and your hero, if they are still living) a chance to see your generosity in action. Through a future gift, you can honor your inspiration without affecting your finances today.
Gifts You Can Give Today
Cash: The simplest way to make your gift is to write a check. By doing this you may be entitled to an income tax deduction.
Appreciated assets: If you make an outright gift of an appreciated asset that you’ve owned longer than one year, you may be entitled to an income tax deduction for the full fair market value of the asset, while eliminating the capital gains tax on the asset’s appreciation.
IRA: If you are 70½ or older, you can make a gift from your IRA of any amount up to $111,000 this year without counting the distribution as income.
Donor advised fund: If you have a DAF, consider recommending a grant to support an ELCA ministry. You qualify for a federal income tax deduction in the year you contribute to the fund.
Gifts You Can Give in the Future
A gift in your will or trust in your loved one’s name: Your gift can be a specific amount, a percentage of your estate, or the residue of your estate, which will pass to us after your lifetime.
Beneficiary designations on a variety of assets: Retirement plan assets, life insurance policies, brokerage accounts, bank accounts, and real estate(via a “transfer on death” deed) are simple and worry-free ways to make a gift. Because retirement plan assets may be taxed heavily after your lifetime, naming us as the beneficiary is a popular option.
Gifts That Live on Forever
Honorary endowments: With this powerful way to give, you make a gift now or through your estate plan. Endowments are structured so that a small portion of your gift is used each year to fund a particular purpose, with the balance invested for future growth. This helps ensure that the named fund will create a legacy in perpetuity. This also means that your loved one’s name is forever associated with the benefitting organization’s mission.
We Are Walking Together: We would be honored to discuss how your kindness can become your legacy. Please contact your GCS Director for Generosity and Mission Support, Rev. Dan Potaznick, or your regional gift planner, Lisa Higginbotham.