Planned Giving: Build Your St. Matthews Legacy

Checks may be sent by mail to: ST. MATTHEW'S CATHOLIC SCHOOL Attn: Office at St Matthews Catholic School 602 South Main Kalispell, MT 5990

To make a gift or pledge over the phone please call the Office of Development and Alumni Relations at (406) 752-6303

The Office of Advancement can help you make a gift of stock. Please click here to download detailed instructions for making your gift of stock to ESD. Call 214-353-5860 or email Gabrielle Griffin, Advancement Services Director, at griffing@esdallas.org for more information.

A donor-advised fund (DAF) is a philanthropic giving vehicle that provides an immediate tax benefit to you, and allows you to grant funds to charities of your choice over time. You can recommend a grant by contacting your sponsoring organization, or clients of Fidelity Charitable, Schwab Charitable, and BNY Mellon can easily make a designation through the DAF Direct window on this page. The Episcopal School of Dallas' Tax ID is 75-1451116. For more information, please email Kam Bakewell, Director of The ESD Fund and Special Events, at bakewellk@esdallas.org.

Planned Giving provides donors with the opportunity of making a larger gift than would otherwise be possible - and to create a legacy at ESD. Planned gifts can be made through your will, insurance or other financial instruments that meet your individual needs and circumstances.

Does your employer (or your spouse's employer) have a matching gift program? If so, you can ask your company to match your support for ESD. You can double or even triple the value of your donation simply by notifying your employer of your gift. ESD maintains a database of many matching gift companies. You may need to provide ESD’s Employer Identification Number (EIN) on the form. That number is 75-1451116. To see if your company is listed,

A Gift in Your Will or Living Trust A simple, flexible and versatile way to ensure we can continue our work for years to come is a gift in your will or living trust, known as a charitable bequest. By including a bequest to St. Mark's in your will or living trust, you are ensuring that we can continue our mission for years to come. As little as one sentence of bequest language is all that is needed to complete your gift. An Example When Tom and Martha got married, they made a point to put together a will to protect their assets. They both loved St. Mark's and decided to include a bequest of $100,000 to us in their will. As Tom and Martha's family grew to include three children, they decided to revise their gift to ensure their children's future financial security. They met with their attorney and simply revised the bequest language so that their gift to St. Mark's was now a percentage of their estate instead of a specific amount. Tom and Martha now rest easy knowing when they die, their plans will provide for the people and charitable work they love.

Do you have money saved in an employee retirement plan, IRA or tax-sheltered annuity? Each of these plans contains income that has yet to be taxed. When a distribution is made from your retirement plan account, your beneficiaries will owe federal income tax. Consider leaving your loved ones less heavily taxed assets and leaving your retirement plan assets to St. Mark's to support our work. As a nonprofit organization, we are tax-exempt and will receive the full amount of what you designate to us from your plan. You can take advantage of this gift opportunity in several ways: Name us a beneficiary of your plan. All this requires is updating your beneficiary designation form through your plan administrator. You can designate us as the primary beneficiary for a percentage or specific amount. You can also make us the contingent beneficiary so that we will receive the balance of your plan only if your primary beneficiary doesn't survive you. Make a direct gift from your IRA. If you are 70½ years old or older, you can take advantage of a simple way to benefit St. Mark's and receive tax benefits in return. You can give up to $100,000 from your IRA directly to a qualified charity such as ours without having to pay income taxes on the money. Fund a testamentary charitable remainder trust. When you fund a charitable remainder trust with your heavily taxed retirement plan assets, the trust will receive the proceeds of your plan upon your death. The trust typically pays income to one or more named beneficiaries for life or for a set term of up to 20 years, after which the remaining assets in the trust would go to support St. Mark's. This gift provides excellent tax and income benefits for you while supporting your family and our work. A donor advised fund. When retirement plan assets pass to your heirs, distributions are taxed as ordinary income. This income tax burden can be substantial, greatly reducing the value of the intended gift. Instead, you can designate your donor advised fund as the beneficiary of all or a portion of your retirement plan assets. Your fund receives the full amount of the gift and bypasses any federal taxes. An Example Robert and Carol have supported St. Mark's generously over the years. They recently updated their will to leave stocks and real estate to their children. And they left St. Mark’s a $100,000 IRA to be transferred after their death. If Robert and Carol had left the IRA to their children, the children would have had to pay federal income tax on the amount and might have had to take the entire amount in one year or over a number of years set by the administrator of their retirement program. Thus, their children could have lost up to 40 percent to 80 percent of the value of the IRA, depending on the size of their parent’s estate. Robert and Carol are happy knowing they have created a tax‐savvy plan that helps their family and St. Mark’s.

When the original purpose for a life insurance policy no longer applies—such as educating children now grown or providing financial security for a spouse now deceased—your policy can become a powerful and simple way to support our work. You can use a life insurance policy in two different ways to benefit St. Mark's: Name us a beneficiary or partial beneficiary of the policy. You can add St. Mark's as a beneficiary (or partial beneficiary) of a life insurance policy easily. Simply update your beneficiary designation form with the policy holder. Make an outright gift of an existing policy. You can name us as owner and beneficiary of an existing paid‐up policy. You qualify for a federal income tax charitable deduction when you itemize on your taxes. If you continue to pay premiums on the policy, each payment is tax deductible as a charitable gift when you itemize.

When you are looking for ways to help St. Mark's one gift that allows you to support St. Mark's work while receiving fixed payments for life is a charitable gift annuity. Not only does this gift provide you with regular payments and allow us to further our work, but when you create a charitable gift annuity with St. Mark's you can receive a variety of tax benefits, including a federal income tax charitable deduction when you itemize.

Stocks and mutual funds that have increased in value and been held for more than one year are one of the most popular assets to use when making a gift to St. Mark's. Making a gift of securities or mutual funds offers you the chance to support our work while realizing important benefits for yourself. When you donate appreciated securities or mutual funds you have held more than one year, you can reduce or even eliminate federal capital gains taxes on the transfer. You may also be entitled to a federal income tax charitable deduction based on the fair market value of the securities at the time of the transfer.

If you have built up a sizeable estate and are also looking for ways to receive reliable payments, you may want to consider the advantages of setting up a charitable remainder trust. Benefits of a charitable remainder trust include: Potential for a partial charitable income tax deduction Potential for increased income Up-front capital gains tax avoidance There are two ways to receive payments with charitable remainder trusts: The annuity trust pays you, each year, a variable amount based on a fixed percentage of the fair market value of the trust's assets. The amount of your payments is redetermined annually. If the value of the trust increases, so do your payments. If the value decreases, however, so will your payments. The unitrust pays you, each year, the same dollar amount you choose at the start. Your payments stay the same, regardless of fluctuations in trust investments. An Example Susan, 75, wants to make a gift to St. Mark's but would also like more income in the future. Susan creates a charitable remainder unitrust with annual lifetime payments to her equal to 5% of the fair market value of the trust assets as revalued annually. She funds the trust with assets valued at $500,000. Susan receives $25,000 the first year from the trust. Subsequent payment amounts vary each year depending on the annual valuations of the trust assets. She is eligible for a federal income tax charitable deduction of $299,845* in the year she creates and funds the trust. This deduction saves Susan $95,950 in her 32% tax bracket. *Based on a 1.2% charitable midterm federal rate. Deductions and calculations will vary depending on your personal circumstances.

A Special Opportunity for Those 70½ Years Old and Older You can give any amount (up to a maximum of $100,000) per year from your IRA directly to a qualified charity such as St. Mark's without having to pay income taxes on the money. Gifts of any value $100,000 or less are eligible for this benefit and you can feel good knowing that you are making a difference at St. Mark's. This popular gift option is commonly called the IRA charitable rollover, but you may also see it referred to as a qualified charitable distribution, or QCD for short. Why Consider This Gift? Your gift will be put to use today, allowing you to see the difference your donation is making. Beginning in the year you turn 72, you can use your gift to satisfy all or part of your required minimum distribution (RMD). You pay no income taxes on the gift. The transfer generates neither taxable income nor a tax deduction, so you benefit even if you do not itemize your deductions. For Those 59½ Years Old or Older If you’re at least 59½ years old, you can take a distribution and then make a gift from your IRA without penalty. If you itemize your deductions, you can take a charitable deduction for the amount of your gift. At Any Age No matter your age, you can designate St. Mark's as the beneficiary of all or a percentage of your IRA and it will pass to us tax-free after your lifetime. It’s simple, just requiring that you contact your IRA administrator for a change-of-beneficiary form or download a form from your provider’s website. Tip: It’s critical to let us know of your gift because many popular retirement plan administrators assume no obligation to notify a charity of your designation. The administrator also will not monitor whether your gift designations are followed. We would love to talk to you about your intentions to ensure that they are followed. We would also like to thank you for your generosity. Since the gift doesn’t count as income, it can reduce your annual income level. This may help lower your Medicare premiums and decrease the amount of Social Security that is subject to tax.

If you have an extremely valuable asset that you want to keep in the family, you may find that a lead trust can allow you to make a series of gifts to St. Mark's and avoid the gift and estate taxes that could reduce the asset's value in the future. Far and away the most popular type of lead trust, a charitable lead annuity trust, pays a fixed amount each year to St. Mark's and is more attractive when interest rates are low. A charitable lead unitrust pays a variable amount each year based on the value of the assets in the trust. With a unitrust, if the trust's assets go up in value, for example, the payments to St. Mark's go up as well. Since gift and estate taxes do not begin to apply until an estate exceeds $5.4 million per individual (and $10.8 million per couple), lead trusts only provide valuable tax benefits under rare circumstances, but in those instances, the benefits can be significant. Lead trusts work best with assets that: Exceed the gift/estate tax exculsion in value or are likely to exceed that amount in the future Are likely to appreciate significantly over time Produce an income large enough to make a regular payment to St Mark's You would like to keep in the family and pass on to future generations An Example George is widowed and would like to support St. Mark's and provide for his children. Following his advisor's recommendation, George funds a charitable lead annuity trust with a small apartment building valued at $5 million. The building produces a net income of 8 percent of value (or $400,000) per year and George expects it to grow in value at roughly 5 percent annually for the next 20 years. George's trust pays $300,000 (6 percent) of the initial fair market value) to St. Mark's each year for 20 years, which will total $6 million. After that, the balance in the trust goes to his children with no tax on the transfer.

A gift of real estate can benefit both St. Mark's and you. When you give us appreciated property you have held longer than one year, you qualify for a federal income tax charitable deduction. You avoid paying capital gains tax. And you can eliminate that property's maintenance costs, property taxes, and insurance. Another benefit: You can also eliminate the difficulties of selling the real estate. Ways to Give Real Estate You can give real estate to St. Mark's in the following ways: Submit a few details and see the benefits of an outright gift. See My Benefits An outright gift. When you make a gift today of real estate you have owned longer than one year, you qualify for a federal income tax charitable deduction equal to the property's full fair market value. By donating the property to us, you also eliminate capital gains tax on its appreciation. A gift in your will or living trust. A gift of real estate through your will or living trust allows you to potentially make a larger gift than you could during your lifetime. In as little as one sentence or two, you can ensure that your support for St. Mark's continues after your lifetime. Submit a few details and see the benefits of a bargain sale. See My Benefits The terms of a bargain sale offer the ability to sell your property to St. Mark's for less than what it is worth. The difference between the actual value and the sale price is considered a gift to us. A bargain sale can be an effective way to both give a gift and receive some value from the property. Submit a few details and see the benefits of a charitable remainder unitrust. See My Benefits A charitable remainder unitrust. Sometimes appreciated real estate can fund a trust that can provide an income stream for life or a term of up to 20 years. Your estate planning attorney, who will draft your trust, can give you more details. A charitable lead trust. This gift can be an effective way for you to benefit St. Mark's and simultaneously transfer appreciated real estate to your family tax-free. You should consider funding the charitable lead trust with real estate that is income-producing and expected to increase in value over the term of the trust. An Example Janet purchased a rental property years ago and has watched it grow steadily in value. Still active in her career and traveling frequently, she's beginning to find management of the property more and more of a hassle. At this stage of her life, Janet has decided to move to a 55+ condominium development, where all exterior maintenance is provided and she doesn't have to worry about security issues. Janet sees this as an opportunity to give her rental property to a charity that's important to her while realizing valuable tax benefits. Janet avoids capital gains tax on the appreciation and qualifies for a federal income tax charitable deduction of $250,000, which is the property's fair market value today. She is able to claim 30 percent of her $200,000 adjusted gross income, or $60,000, in the year of the gift. In the five years following, she can continue to use up the remaining $190,000 deduction. Janet is happy in her new condo and loves knowing that the gift of her property will make a big difference supporting our mission.

Memorials and Tributes If you have a loved one who has been influenced by St. Mark's, establishing a memorial or tribute gift is a meaningful way to honor your loved one or celebrate a special occasion such as a birthday while supporting the educational program at St. Mark's. Your memorial or tribute gift will be a lasting tribute to your loved one and make a difference in the lives of our students. An Example When Sarah's father passed away, she knew she wanted to do something that would establish a lasting legacy for him. She remembered that during his lifetime he was always praising St. Mark's for its tireless efforts to better his community. So Sarah decided to make a gift to St. Mark's in her father's name using appreciated securities. Not only will her father's legacy live on at St. Mark's thanks to the gift and a commemorative plaque, but Sarah also received a federal income tax charitable deduction (because she itemizes her taxes) and eliminated capital gains tax on the securities.

An endowment gift to St. Mark's today provides a brighter picture for our future. When you make a donation to our endowment, you give a gift with both immediate and long-term benefits. Here's how it works: Endowment donations are invested. A portion of the annual income from the investment is used to address immediate needs at St. Mark's. The remaining funds are reinvested to ensure indefinite support. An Example Longtime supporters Susan and Charlie have two goals: First, they want to make sure St. Mark's continues to receive support after they're gone. Second, they want to memorialize Charlie's parents, Mr. and Mrs. Jones. Susan and Charlie make a $25,000 donation to St. Mark's, which we invest, and each year, a portion of the income from the invested money will be used to support our mission in honor of the Joneses. Plus, Susan and Charlie qualify for a federal income tax charitable deduction on their taxes.

A donor advised fund, which is like a charitable savings account, gives you the flexibility to recommend how much and how often money is granted to St. Mark's and other qualified charities. You can recommend a grant or recurring grants now to make an immediate impact or use your fund as a tool for future charitable gifts. Take Action! Visit Your Fund 1. Recommend a grant 2. Impact St. Mark's Go This search tool will open a third-party website, owned and operated by an independent party. We assume no responsibility for the material. You can also create a lasting legacy by naming St. Mark's the beneficiary of the entire account or a percentage of the fund. With a percentage, you can create a family legacy of giving by naming your loved ones as your successor to continue recommending grants to charitable organizations. Contact your fund administrator for a beneficiary form. DAF Basics Still learning about DAFs? Discover the ease of opening a donor advised fund—plus the advantages you’ll enjoy—with your FREE guide One Stop Giving: The Convenience and Simplicity of Donor Advised Funds. An Example Joe and Laura want to give back to their hometown by putting their money where it will do the most good. They establish a $25,000 donor advised fund with a community foundation. The couple receives a federal income tax charitable deduction for the amount of the gift. They also get all the time they need to decide which charities to support. After researching community needs with the foundation's staff, Joe and Laura recommend grants for St. Mark's (which they've supported for years) and the Animal Rescue League. The foundation presents the charities with checks from the Megan Fund, which Joe and Laura named in honor of their granddaughter. Joe and Laura are delighted to start this personal legacy of giving.

Designating St. Mark's as a beneficiary of your bank accounts, certificates of deposits, or brokerage accounts is a simple and straightforward way to support the School. Payable on death (POD).* By placing a POD designation on your bank account or certificate of deposit, you can name one or more persons or charities as the beneificiary or beneificaries of some or all funds once you die. The beneficiary you name has no rights to the funds until after your lifetime. Until that time, you remain in control and are free to use the money in the bank account, to change the beneficiary or to close the account. By setting up your bank account or certificate of deposit in this way, the estate planning and administration process is simplified. The executor or administrator of your estate will not have to take any action to ensure that your account transfers to whomever you designated. Simply ask your bank representative about the one or two easy steps you need to take in order to place a POD designation on your bank account or certificate of deposit. Transfer on death (TOD).* By placing a TOD designation on your brokerage or investment account, that account will be paid over to one or more persons or charities after your lifetime. It is not necessary for the TOD designation to transfer all of the account solely to charity—you can designate a certain percentage of the account. Like a POD account, with a TOD account the beneficiary you name has no rights to the funds until after your lifetime. Until that time, you are free to use the money in the brokerage account, to change the beneficiary or to close the account. A TOD designation also simplifies the estate planning and administration process. The executor or administrator of your estate will not have to take any action to ensure that your securities transfer to whomever you designated. To set up the TOD endorsement, simply contact your investment advisor and provide instructions regarding the change. *State laws govern payable on death accounts and transfer on death accounts. Please consult with your bank representative or investment advisor if you are considering these gifts.