Planned Giving Opportunities

With a charitable bequest to support the work of our Sisters after your death, you can leave a legacy of making a difference in the world for years to come. This bequest may be included at the time of writing your will, or it may be added later by a codicil. A bequest does not affect your current income and may favorably impact the amount owed in estate taxes. Bequests may be restricted or unrestricted and will be used where most needed. You can bequeath a specific amount of money, a specific asset, or a percentage of your estate. Naming the Bernardine Franciscan Sisters as a beneficiary of a specific amount from your estate is easy: 
“I give, devise, and bequeath to the Bernardine Franciscan Sisters_______% of my estate, or the sum of $________, or the rest and remainder of my estate. I direct this gift to be used for the mission and ministry of the Bernardine Franciscan Sisters, in accordance with its charitable purposes."

A gift of life insurance is an easy way to make a significant future gift to our sisters. A review of insurance needs might disclose that some of your policies are no longer useful. The cash value of an existing policy that is no longer needed could be transferred to our sisters. It is also possible to name the Bernardine Franciscan Sisters as beneficiary of a new or existing life insurance policy. You should contact your insurance agent to discuss how best to make such a gift. He or she can work with our Development Office to meet your charitable giving goals.

It may be convenient and tax-wise to make a current or future charitable gift from a company pension plan, 401K, Individual Retirement Account, or other private fund. A charitable IRA rollover allows donors age 70 1/2 or older to make charitable gifts that are excluded from taxable income and count toward their required minimum distribution (RMD). Retirement fund benefits are the most expensive asset for family members to inherit. By naming a charity, such as the Bernardine Franciscan Sisters, as the beneficiary of all or a portion of your company pension plan, IRA, 401(k) or Keogh plan, you can offset some of the taxes your loved ones have to pay and preserve more of your estate for the people and organizations that matter the most to you.

Gifts of appreciated stocks or bonds have the same positive benefit to the Bernardine Franciscan Sisters as a gift of cash—however, a gift of securities is usually more beneficial to you, the donor, than a gift of cash. A gift of appreciated securities generally offers two tax benefits. By giving stock directly to the Bernardine Franciscan Sisters, you avoid paying capital gains tax on the transferred securities. You also may receive a tax deduction for the full-market value of the securities at the time of the gift. Make sure you have owned the securities for more than one year to qualify for these tax advantages. Tax benefits are based on IRS regulations at the time of the designation. 

There are a variety of trust instruments to assist you in estate planning while affording you the opportunity to make a contribution to our Sisters. If your advisor is recommending a trust, the Bernardine Franciscan Sisters’ Office of Development stands ready to assist you.