Planned
gifts allow a legacy for the school, providing it with substantial income to aid
it in continuing its mission.
The most common and easiest way to plan a legacy is through a
bequest in your Will. These bequests can be made for a specific
amount, a percentage of the total estate, or a portion of what remains after
taxes, debts and other gifts have been made. Bequests can also be made naming
the school as a contingent beneficiary, payable only if a primary beneficiary
does not survive you.
Making or changing a Will should always done with the
assistance of an attorney. The following language would be used:
"I give to St. Elizabeth School, 612 West 187th
Street, New York, NY 10033, $____ or _____% of my estate (or stock), to be used
for its general purposes."
There are several other vehicles that provide benefits both
for the school and the donor.
In a charitable gift annuity, the donor makes a
substantial gift to the school in the form of cash or securities, and receives
income payments for the rest of his or her life.
In a charitable lead trust, the donor places
assets, cash, property or securities, into a trust. The assets are invested, and
then generate annual income for the school for a specified number of years. At
the end of that time, the assets are returned to the donor or the donor’s
heirs.
In a charitable remainder trust, the donor
places assets, cash or securities, into a trust and receives payments from this
trust for his or her lifetime. Upon his or her death, the remaining assets are
paid to the school.
All of these vehicles allow the school to continue to thrive
without cuts in programming or drastic increases in tuition. Planned gifts fund:
