Catholic Charities
Providing help. Creating hope.

Ways of making a gift 

Responding to those in need
Catholic Charities, Diocese of Venice, Inc. helps people in need without regard to religious preference, race, or economic circumstance through 32 programs across Southwest Florida with professional caring staff members aided by dedicated volunteers. 

You too can help by making a gift to Catholic Charities for directly assisting those in need or you may make a gift to the Catholic Charities Foundation that has been established to develop a permanent fund. The Foundation will help ensure uninterrupted services of Catholic Charities well into the future and make available funds necessary for program expansion. Your gift to Catholic Charities may provide tax benefits to you as well as helping those less fortunate. 

Congress Provides New Way
to Give Tax-Free Donation

If you are 70 ½ and have an IRA,  please read on.

The Pension Protection Act of 2006 contains a two-year Charitable Rollover provision that allows you to exclude up to $100,000 from your gross income for a taxable year for cash gifts from your IRA directly to a qualified charity. Examples: Catholic Charities and Catholic Charities Foundation.

Under this new tax law, your gift must be made directly from your IRA to a qualified charity. The funds you donate will be tax-free and you will avoid any penalty on early withdrawals.

There is a window of opportunity for you to take advantage of this new law. The Charitable Rollover Provision can be used from the current date in 2006 through December 31, 2007.

For those donors who have wanted to use funds from their Individual Retirement Accounts to make a gift to their favorite charity, the new law offers a wonderful opportunity to make a tax-free gift.

You may want to consider using your IRA for a donation to the Catholic Charities Christmas Appeal.

Always consult your IRA plan administrator in order to make your gift and be assured that it qualifies under the provisions of the Pension Protection Act.

Note: Since the distribution from your IRA will not be included in your taxable income, individuals will not be able to claim a tax deduction for the charitable contribution.

Outright Gifts
Outright gifts provide the greatest tax benefit to you and are the simplest type of gifts to make. When made in cash, generally the full amount of the gift is deductible for the year in which the gift is made unless it exceeds 50% of your adjusted gross income. Any amount in excess of the 50% limit may be carried forward for up to five years.   

Gifts of Appreciated Securities

Real Estate & Other Capital Assets 
Many people make larger gifts from assets other than cash. While these gifts provide a current tax benefit and incur no capital gains tax, they may be more complicated to make. If you have owned these types of assets for more than one year they are fully deductible at the fair-market value unless your gift exceeds 30% of your adjusted gross income. Any amount in excess of the 30% limit may be carried forward for up to five years. There is one exception if the nature of the gift comes under the alternative minimum tax rules; a professional advisor will help determine this. 

Deferred Gifts 

There are several types of deferred gifts that may offer significant financial advantages for you.

If you wish to include a bequest for Catholic Charities in a will please use the following language: “I hereby give, devise and bequeath to the Catholic Charities Foundation, Diocese of Venice, Inc., which has its principal offices at 1000 Pinebrook Road, Venice, FL 34292.” Here you may designate a specific dollar amount, or specific property such as your residence, or a percentage of  your estate or a portion or all of the residuary of your estate (what remains after all bequests are made as provided in your will and all taxes and other expense of administering your estate have been paid).

Charitable Gift Annuities : A charitable gift annuity is a legal contract between you and The Catholic Charities Foundation whereby we agree to pay you a specific amount for life and/or for the life of your designated beneficiary. The assets you contribute through a charitable gift annuity are treated for tax purposes as part gift and part purchase of an annuity.

Part of the income received is a tax-free return of principal. The amount of income received is based on the amount of contribution and on the age(s) of the person(s) who receives the income for life. Payout rates are higher for individuals who are older when they establish a charitable gift annuity for themselves. When a person is younger, or when more than one person is to receive income, payout rates are lower. Charitable gift annuity payout rates are established every three years.

Charitable Remainder Trusts: A charitable remainder trust provides income for you, your spouse or other beneficiary and eventually benefits a charitable organization. Your income is immediate for life or for a term of years not to exceed 30 and the charitable organization is to receive the assets in the trust when it terminates. The income can be paid to you for life then to your spouse for life. This can be an excellent way to convert a high growth, low yielding stock into a higher yielding income-producing security without paying capital gains tax and at the same time benefiting Catholic Charities.

By creating a charitable trust and placing assets into it, you can often increase your income and receive that income for a life (or lives) or a term of years. While the trust exists, the assets in it are invested to provide income to you and, hopefully, some growth in the assets as well. Only when the trust terminates are the assets distributed to The Catholic Charities Foundation to be used for Catholic Charities. However, when you create the trust you receive a current income tax deduction for the present value of the deferred gift to the charity. The Catholic Charities Foundation offers three kinds of charitable remainder trusts:

1. Charitable Remainder Unitrust: This trust provides a variable income to you or someone you love for life. You or your beneficiary receives a percentage of the fair market value of the trust assets as revalued each year. At your death, or the death of a beneficiary, the remainder of the trust passes to The Catholic Charities Foundation.
   
2. Charitable Remainder Annuity Trust: This trust provides fixed income to you or someone you love for life. You or your beneficiary receives a fixed dollar amount each year based on the value of the assets transferred to the trust. At your death, the remainder of the trust passes to The Catholic Charities Foundation.
   
3. Charitable Lead Trusts: A charitable lead trust provides income to Catholic Charities for a set number of years. After the set number of years, when the trust terminates, the remaining principal and any accumulated assets pass to your beneficiary (often the children or grandchildren of the donor).

Gifts from Retirement Plans

Giving the assets of your company pension plan, a 401k plan, an Individual Retirement Account (IRA) or a Keogh plan to The Catholic Charities Foundation offers you several benefits such as making a substantial gift to Catholic Charities, reducing your taxable estate, and eliminating the effect of income and estate tax and sometimes excise tax all of which can reduce the amount of your retirement plan by as much as 80% before it reaches your heirs.

Gifts of Real Estate

Contributing real estate, which is reasonably expected to be easily sold, or an interest in such property to Catholic Charities whether a personal residence, family farm, vacation home, condominium, cooperative apartment, business property or speculative acreage can be highly advantageous to you. You will have a significant income tax charitable deduction; you will completely avoid capital gains tax on appreciated, long-term real estate (owned more than one year); and estate taxes for your family will be reduced. Also you may donate your personal residence or farm and retain the right to use and enjoy it for life while enjoying a current income tax deduction for the present value of the charity’s residual interest. 

Gifts of Life Insurance

A gift of life insurance is one way you can make a major contribution to The Catholic Charities Foundation at a relatively low cost. There are several possible options:

1.         You may donate an existing paid-up policy and name The Catholic Charities Foundation as the permanent owner and beneficiary of the policy.

2.         You can deduct the interpolated terminal reserve (in IRS language that means approximately the cash surrender value) as a charitable contribution for income tax purposes.

3.         You may purchase and donate a new policy. The Catholic Charities Foundation can be applicant, owner and beneficiary of the new policy. You make annual contributions to Catholic Charities that equal the premium cost. Catholic Charities then pays the premium. Your annual contributions are charitable contributions for income tax purposes.

The Importance of Using Professional Counsel

Catholic Charities always encourages prospective donors to seek the advice of professional counsel concerning the best giving option for them. We would welcome the opportunity to provide you or your attorney with additional information on any of the methods of giving described in this brochure. 

Catholic Charities Foundation
Good Samaritan Guild  
6900-29 Daniels Parkway, Box 334
Fort Myers, FL 33912
Toll Free 1-866-410-7656

This information is an overview based upon current tax laws; it does not purport to be definitive. We hope it will help you find the most mutually advantageous way to make your gift to Catholic Charities.