From Matthew's Hope Ministries
In Summary:
Planned giving plays a critical role in helping Matthew’s Hope plan for the future while allowing donors to create a meaningful legacy. Through bequests, trusts, and other estate-based gifts, supporters can contribute in ways that fit their financial goals and personal values.
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Planned giving can significantly impact how an organization like Matthew’s Hope plans for its future and sustains itself in the long run. This is also an excellent way for people to create a legacy and help others, regardless of their current resources.
Planned giving is the term nonprofit organizations like Matthew’s Hope use to refer to donors' commitments to gifts to the charity as part of their estate plans. While there are a few different ways to give via planned giving, bequests are by far the most popular and easiest type of planned gift. Bequests are gifts left in a donor’s trust, will, or estate plan and given to a nonprofit upon the donor's passing.
Planned giving can have a major impact on how an organization like Matthew’s Hope plans for its future and sustains itself in the long run. This is also an excellent way for people to create a legacy and help others, regardless of their current resources.
Because planned gifts do not affect everyday cash flow, these gifts are accessible to everyone, from those whose incomes rarely permit them to give to major, loyal donors.
Contributions to estate planning can be a game-changer for Matthew’s Hope and its mission, and they also help the donor in several ways.
Donors can allocate how and where they want that money spent. Because wills are fairly easy to update, donors can also keep their bequests up to date by checking in with Matthew’s Hope personnel on where their donations will have the greatest impact. A donor can decide he or she wants part of the gift to go to Matthew’s Hope’s housing, medical clinic, preschool, or any combination of the services it provides. Contributions can also go directly to the organization for use at its discretion.
Planned gifts can come in a variety of forms, from simple bequests to complex trusts — all with different requirements and advantages depending on a donor’s circumstances. There are a few common ways to give, with the first being bequests, which are a popular and fairly simple way to make a planned gift. These ‘outright’ gifts are charitable contributions left as a bequest in a legal will. They are usually given as a specific amount, a remainder of a donor’s estate after other bequests have been paid, or a percentage of a donor’s total wealth.
If the donor has investments, he or she can use a charitable gift annuity, which allows a donor to contribute a large amount of cash or securities in exchange for fixed-income payments for life. The nonprofit keeps any leftover funds, as well as income it earns from investing them.
Planned giving can have a major impact on how an organization like Matthew’s Hope will be able to plan for its future and sustain itself in the long run. This is also an excellent way for people to create a legacy and help others no matter what their resources are now.
There are also a couple of types of charitable trusts, but in each, the remaining funds go to the nonprofit after the trust is terminated. A charitable remainder annuity trust pays the donor a fixed amount based on a percentage of the initial assets used to fund the trust. A charitable remainder unitrust pays the donor a percentage of its principal and is revalued annually, so that payments increase over time. There are also charitable lead trusts, which pay an ‘income’ to the nonprofit for a specified number of years or for the donor’s lifetime. When that term ends, the assets are returned to the donor or their beneficiaries.
Other gift types include non-cash assets, such as stock or real estate; gifts from IRAs (also known as Qualified Charitable Distributions); and Pooled Income Funds. In summary, almost any asset can be left to the charity to sell or use at its discretion.
So, as you can see, there are many ways to give to Matthew’s Hope, either while you are alive through trusts and investments or after you pass through gifts in your will or your trust. If giving a gift that helps your legacy carry on by helping others excites you, it is not difficult to begin. If you first want to talk to the people who are executing the mission of Matthew’s Hope each day to see how your gift can best help, you can speak to Scott Billue or Shelley Bradford.
After deciding exactly how you want to help Matthew’s Hope, it is time to get assistance from the professionals on your team. If you have investments and may want some of them or their proceeds to go to Matthew’s Hope, you should consult your financial advisor. Your accountant can also help guide you on how to reduce the taxes you or your heirs must pay by using charitable gifts. Finally, if you have a will or even if you do not, an estate planning attorney can help you add a gift to Matthew’s Hope in your will or trust. If you do not have any estate planning documents, giving a gift to help the guests of Matthew’s Hope is a great reason to start one.
Key Points:
- Planned giving refers to charitable gifts made through estate plans, with bequests being the most common and accessible option.
- Donors can designate how their gift supports Matthew’s Hope’s programs, including housing, medical services, and education.
- Options include charitable gift annuities, remainder trusts, lead trusts, and gifts of stock, real estate, or retirement assets.
- Planned gifts help Matthew’s Hope sustain its mission without affecting donors’ current cash flow.
- Donors are encouraged to consult Matthew’s Hope staff and their financial, tax, and legal advisors to tailor their planned gifts.
