What is Planned Giving? | St. Paul's Episcopal Church

Planned giving encompasses a variety of ways that gifts can be made to the church from accumulated resources. It usually involves financial or estate planning; however, it is not reserved for the wealthy.

Planned giving establishes a way for a donor to provide for family members while remembering the church as well. It often enables the donor to provide more for his or her heirs and to make a larger gift than thought possible. It often reduces taxes. Planned gifts can be designated for an organization’s general fund (“Operating Fund”) or for its endowment (“St. Paul’s Foundation“). Planned gifts are either outright gifts (e.g., gifts of appreciated securities, real property, or personal property) or deferred gifts (e.g., charitable gift annuities or charitable trusts).

Planned gifts are made as:

A bequest in a will
A life income gift such as a pooled income fund, a charitable gift annuity, or a charitable remainder trust
Gifts of Special Assets (real estate, closely held stock, life insurance)

Appreciated Stocks

A gift of appreciated stocks you’ve held for more than a year can be a tax-efficient way of making gifts to St. Paul’s. Let’s say you paid $500 for 10 shares of XYZ Corporation more than a year ago, and it is now worth $1,000. You can gift that $1,000 in XYZ Corp. to St. Paul’s and take a charitable deduction for the stock’s fair market value on the day you give it away. You’ll also avoid capital gains taxes on the increase in value over time, which you would have had to pay if you sold the stock then gave the charity the cash. And St. Paul’s can sell the stock free of tax. In short, by making a gift of appreciated securities, you get the same tax benefit you receive for paying cash, plus you avoid potential capital gains taxes.

Please use the following account information when making a gift of securities:
Morgan Stanley, Account #925-075000-117, DTC #0015

Please indicate if the gift is for the Operating Fund or the Third Century Campaign and include the donor’s name. Email Maria Halloran to alert us that the gift is being made.

We caution that everyone’s tax situation is unique, and your tax adviser should be consulted before making any gift of appreciated securities.

Charitable IRA Rollover

For parishioners 70 1/2 or older, the charitable IRA rollover is another way to give. The IRA charitable rollover allows individuals to make certain charitable contributions directly from your Individual Retirement Account. The transferred assets will not be recognized as income for tax purposes. Making a donation under this provision is simple and straightforward. If you would like to make a contribution to St. Paul’s from your IRA, please speak with your IRA administrator.

Year-End Gifts

We are so grateful for all gifts given to St. Paul’s. Gifts given at the end of the year do require specific attention to detail. In order for you to claim a deduction on your 2020 tax return, anything mailed to St. Paul’s must be postmarked by midnight December 31, 2020. In order to demonstrate legal compliance, envelope postmark dates will be used to verify any contributions arriving in early January. Credit card gifts also must be posted to our vendor account by midnight on December 31. If you choose to provide gifts of stock or other securities to St. Paul’s, it is important to initiate these transactions by mid-December to make certain they are posted to our brokerage account by close of business on December 31.