Welcome to this supplement to Trinity’s web site. Your Endowment Committee has prepared it expressly to give you some ideas and guidance on how you can continue the heritage, begun almost 130 years ago, for those congregations that will succeed us.

There are many, and sometimes confusing, opportunities available. We will try to briefly explain several of these opportunities and describe their special benefits. Based on your personal interest and financial situation, one or more may be just right for you and your family. Pastor Dennis Tarr, Business Administrator Elizabeth White, or any member of the Endowment Committee, will be happy to answer any question. We also encourage you to discuss your plans first with your family, then with a qualified financial and/or legal advisor for appropriate tax advice since achieving the tax benefits often requires careful planning and proper documentation.

Now, what are those opportunities?

Immediate Gifts of Cash, Stocks or Real Property Cash

Cash
Cash - usually in the form of a check - is the most common form of charitable gift or donation. The gift can be undesignated or given in the memory of a loved one and for a specific purpose. Tax benefits are available if you itemize your deductions on your tax return.

Securities
More and more charitable gifts are being made with non-cash assets, such as stocks of publicly traded companies. There are two ways to donate stocks. Each has multiple tax benefits for you. First, if your stock has appreciated, rather than selling it and giving the proceeds to Trinity, consider donating the stock directly to Trinity. You thereby avoid paying any capital gains tax on its appreciated value yet you are able to claim the full appreciated value as a charitable tax deduction. Trinity will immediately sell the stock and thereby realize its full value.

If, like many of us, you have a stock that has declined in value since you bought it, then sell it, and donate the proceeds to Trinity to realize the capital loss plus the charitable deduction for the donation.

The Benefits for You
• Gift is deductible as a charitable donation if you itemized your deductions, on both your state and federal income tax returns.
• You can avoid the capital gains tax or record a capital loss to offset a capital gain.


Real Estate
If you have owned your home, a vacation home, acreage, or rental parcels for many years, a gift of that real estate can be especially tax-advantageous.

The property’s value may have so appreciated over the years, especially in California, that its sale would result in a sizeable capital gains tax. If given to Trinity, you could avoid the tax and, at the same time, realize a charitable deduction for the full market value of your property at the time of the gift. If you are thinking of such a gift, we encourage you to first talk to a legal advisor.

The Benefits for You
• Avoidance of the capital gains tax
• A major reduction of any subsequent estate tax
• A major charitable deduction

Planned and Deferred Giving
Now let’s review the various means of planned or deferred giving. That is where Trinity is named as a future beneficiary.

A Charitable Bequest
The most common and simplest form of planned giving is a bequest or a legacy gift – remembering Trinity in your will or living trust. In so doing, you are helping to continue the heritage of Trinity for our future generations.

When writing your will or setting up your living trust, there are four common ways to make a bequest:
• Specifying a percentage of your estate
• Defining a specific dollar Amount
• Listing specific properties from your estate such as stocks
• Bequeathing the residue of your estate including all real and personal property

If you already have a will or living trust, a codicil or amendment can be used to easily include Trinity.

The Benefit for You
• The bequest is deductible for federal income tax and estate tax purposes

Specific Purpose Bequest
A gift or bequest can be unrestricted, that is, a gift not designated for a specific application. However, you may have a particular interest, group or activity at Trinity that you especially wish to see continued. It is very easy to include that wish in the bequest. The Endowment Committee would be happy to discuss your wishes with you or suggest various opportunities and needs of the church.

Charitable Gift Annuity
A Gift Annuity is an agreement between you and Trinity. You contribute cash, securities, or other assets to Trinity. In return, Trinity agrees to make regular, fixed payments to you for the rest of your life. The amount of the fixed payments is a percentage of your gift determined by your age. Trinity is the ultimate beneficiary of your gift.

The Benefits to You
• The amount of the payment to you can be fixed and guaranteed for life
• Payments to match your schedule: monthly, quarterly, semiannually, or annually (or even deferred for a few years!)
• A percentage of that payment is tax free!
• A percentage of the gift can be reported as a charitable donation.

And, as with a bequest, you may designate the gift for an express purpose.

Residence Gift
You may also wish to consider the gift of your personal residence, reserving the right to continue to live in the house for life (and, if applicable, the lifetime of your surviving spouse). You would then be entitled to a current income tax deduction for a portion of the fair market value of the property. In addition, the property would be removed from your estate, thus reducing your estate tax.

Retirement Plan or IRA Gifts
Making gifts to charity at death from your retirement plan or IRA can eliminate the income tax that would be payable upon your death and reduces your overall estate for estate tax purposes.

Charitable Trusts

Charitable Remainder Trusts are popular trusts that allow you to receive income for life or for a specified number of years. Both of these trust arrangements can provide numerous benefits to the donor: a charitable income tax deduction at the time the gift is made; reduction or elimination of capital gains taxes on securities or real estate that has increased in value; reduction in estate and inheritance taxes.

The Benefits to You
• An annual lifetime income
• Avoidance or reduction of capital gains tax
• Charitable income tax deduction
• Reduction in estate taxes Charitable

Lead Trusts are established by donors who wish to make large charitable deductions during their lifetime, but still have all their assets inherited by their heirs upon their death.

SUMMARY

Your gift to Trinity should be planned with thoughtful and careful consideration of a variety of factors including your short and long-term financial objectives, current financial circumstances, your age, your estate plan and your charitable goals. Your Endowment Committee is ready to answer your questions or refer you to those who have the answers. Explore your best applications of the resources you wish to apply to further your interests and the continuing mission of Trinity – to worship God, to love people, and to make disciples of Christ.

All communications with us are confidential and do not obligate you in any way. Please contact either Pastor Dennis Tarr, Business Administrator Elizabeth White, or any member of the Committee: Hugh Galt, Bill Peck, Dan Cironi, Diane DeCrona, Bruce Eisenhauer and Bob Gillon.