Ways to Give
Fundraising is an important aspect of our advancement efforts. Our fundraising approach is generally to encourage widespread participation in the school’s Annual Fund, although this is not the only avenue of support for Mission Prep.
There are many ways to provide financial support, among the following:
- Endowment giving – Produces annual disbursement that supports tuition assistance and other school programs.
- Capital donations – Goes to facility upgrades and capital improvements, including equipment purchases.
- Planned giving options – Estate gifts bolster school operations or build our endowment.
- In-kind donations – Donated services or products help meet our needs.
Endowment Giving
The diocese is fortunate to have the Clinch Endowment. Participating schools and parishes contribute money to the fund that provides a source of revenue in perpetuity. The endowment is managed by independent consultants as well as by an independent board of directors. The endowment makes an annual disbursement of 4.5% to Mission Prep that supports tuition assistance, among other programs. Mission Prep’s holdings in the Clinch Endowment are approximately $2.1 million.
Capital Donations
Currently, we are seeking lead investors in our historic building retrofit and renovation initiative. Please contact the school to inquire about getting involved. Operating revenue is not typically used to pay for capital projects.
Planned Giving Options
Outright gifts of appreciated stocks or bonds: Allows the donor to save taxes twice through charitable deduction and the avoidance of capital gain tax.
Life income gifts: Funded by appreciated stock, bonds or real estate, the donor can save taxes twice, while providing dependable income for the lifetime of the donor and/or others through pooled income funds, remainder trusts or gift annuities.
Life insurance policies: With the school as beneficiary or owner of the policy. This can be a gift with modest out of pocket cost, particularly attractive to younger donors, and those of any age who have paid-up policies that may be no longer needed for the original purpose
The gift you live in for life: Gifts of real estate, your home or farm, retaining the right to live in the property for the rest of the donor’s life through retained life estate.
The gift you get back: Gifts of income, with the income producing asset place in a Charitable Lead Trust for a fixed time period, returning later to the donor or heirs.
Wealth replacement: Gifts paying a life income to the donor and/or others adding insurance to replace the asset value which would have passed to the heirs. The cost of premiums are often offset by tax savings and/or increased income from the gift plan.
Gifts by donor’s will: In addition to outright bequests, a will can provide remainder trusts, gift annuities, lead trusts and retained life estate plans.
Deferred gift: Any gift that is not considered an outright gift is a deferred gift. The donor receives an income tax deduction and lifetime income. Below are some examples:
- Bequest: A gift made through a will and given to the named beneficiaries after the death of the will’s maker is a bequest. Charitable bequests may be designed when a new will is executed or added to an existing will through a council. The bequest may be a:
- Specific dollar amount
- Percentage of the estate
- Combination of above
- Contingency benefit
- Codicil Bequest into a trust
- Charitable lead trust: A donor may create a trust in which the income is paid annually to your school for a term of years, after which the principal reverts to donor or non-charitable beneficiaries, usually family.
- Charitable remainder unitrust: Provides income to beneficiaries based upon annual valuation of the trust’s assets. At the time the trust is created, the donor specifies a fixed percentage of not less than 5% to be paid to income beneficiaries for life or an expressed number of years. As the trust assets change, so will the amount paid to the beneficiaries.
- Charitable gift annuity: The donor receives a guaranteed income for life. The income paid to beneficiaries is a fixed dollar amount annually, no matter how much the trust earns. The amount must be specified in the-trust instrument as either a dollar figure or a percentage (not less than 5%) of the initial value of the asset used to fund the trust. Since the trust may or may not earn the required annual payment the school must agree to back the trust payment with the other assets of the institution should the trust principal be expended.
- Pooled income fund: A charitable trust arrangement where gifts from many donors are combined and invested by the school or a trustee to produce an income for donors. Each beneficiary is entitled to a prorated share of the pooled fund’s earnings each year for the donor’s lifetime. At the donor’s death, the value of the prorated share of the initial gift goes to the school or it may go to a second beneficiary or spouse. At the death of the second beneficiary, the prorated share of the initial gift goes to the school.
- Retained life estate: A donor retains the right to live in his or her personal residence, farm or condo for life or for the lifetime of more than one tenant, after which the residence becomes the property of the school.
Please contact your attorney or accountant to better understand your own tax situation with regard to planned giving.