Ways to Give

Ways to Give - St. Paul's United Methodist Church Foundation

Thank you for your interest in learning more about ways to give to St. Paul’s UMC Foundation. Though not all-inclusive, listed below are several of the more common ways to make gifts to the Foundation, both during one’s lifetime and through one’s estate.

Bequests - There are several generally accepted ways to make a bequest. Learn more about bequests.

Gifts of Securities - St. Paul’s members and friends often find that making a gift of securities to the Foundation is very beneficial due to the tax benefits that derive from such a gift. The current long-term capital gain tax is 15% for most filers. This rate makes giving securities a good alternative to a cash gift of the same value. Learn more about gifts of securities.

Retirement Plan Designation - Donors may designate St. Paul’s Foundation as primary or contingent beneficiary of a retirement plan pursuant to their plan’s appropriate designation procedure (i.e., specific forms).

Life Insurance - There are various methods by which a life insurance policy may be contributed. Learn more about gifts of life insurance policies.

Federal Reserve Items - U.S. Savings Bonds, series E, EE, H, or HH may be given to St. Paul’s Foundation during a donor’s life, and the donor may claim a charitable contribution deduction for their fair market value. However, sale of the bonds is a taxable event, and therefore makes savings bonds generally unattractive for giving during the life of the donors; such bonds may be transferred on a testamentary basis without recognition of income by the decedent or the charity. In any event, you may find it useful to calculate the current value of your bonds.

Charitable Gift Annuity – This gift is a contract between a charity and the donor. The charity agrees to pay the donor (or other person(s) named by the donor) a lifetime annuity income in return for a gift of cash, securities, or other property. The payment may continue for the life of a second individual, such as a spouse or child. The annual payment is a fixed sum, the amount of which is based on the size of the gift and the number and ages of the beneficiaries. The payments may begin at a later time (i.e., deferred gift annuity). Donors who wish to establish a Charitable Gift Annuity with St. Paul’s as a remainder beneficiary are encouraged to establish the gift annuity through the Iowa United Methodist Foundation. St. Paul’s may be named as the remainder beneficiary.

Charitable Remainder Trust - The charitable remainder trust is a separately administered trust established by the donor. It provides for payments to the donor and/or other named beneficiary(ies) either for life or a term of years (not exceeding twenty), whereupon the remaining trust assets are distributed to one or more charities. These trusts may be established during life (“inter vivos”) or at death (“testamentary”). Though the Foundation does not serve as trustee of such trusts, it accepts the role of remainderman and is available to help donors and their advisors in the exploration and establishment of such trusts.

Life estate - An individual may transfer title (i.e., remainder interest) to St. Paul’s to a personal residence, farm or other real estate, and the donor or other persons named by the donor may retain the use of the property for a term of years or the life of the donor/other persons (i.e., life estate).

For more information about any of these gifts, please contact Connie Richardson, Director of Planned Giving at 319-363-2058 or crichardson@stpaulsuc.org. With these gifts and others, donors should seek the counsel of professional advisors for legal, accounting, investment, or other professional advice.