Christian Stewardship Services
Q: Do you want to be an effective Steward of God’s gifts?
Q: Have you ever considered making a gift from your RRSP/RRIF, investments, life insurance or other assets?
A: If you have decided in your heart to give, we can help!
CSS is often referred to as a One Stop Shop for giving tools of information and help. If you have decided in your heart to give, we would be delighted to assist you with your deliberations on the how and when. We can help you decide what giving tools you can add to your tool box.
We recognize there are many ways to give, some are straight forward and others are more complex. CSS can help you determine which tools best fit your goals as well as your specific family and financial situation. One of our Stewardship Consultants can help you take a close look at your situation, and provide advice and guidance to determine the most beneficial way for you to give. Our clients often comment what a valuable service this was to them. Each type of gift has varying advantages depending upon your circumstances so discussing this with a consultant can help you to make the best decision for your situation. Although a selection of tools we often use are shown below, we encourage you to call us with your planned giving questions. We are here to serve you.
A gift to charity made in a will is known as a charitable bequest. Charitable bequests are a fantastic way to turn your Last Will and Testament into a testimony of what is important to you, while helping to support the vision and mission of a charity (or charities) that have been a key part of your life.
Charitable bequests can model stewardship to your heirs and show them what ministries and charities are important to you. A Charitable bequest can help provide much needed seed money to a ministry that you support so the charity can continue to grow and flourish.
A charitable bequest can provide valuable tax savings for your estate – in the same way that charitable giving during your lifetime provides you with tax savings.
There is no fixed method to set up a charitable bequest. It could be a specific gift of property, a fixed dollar figure, or perhaps a percentage/share of your estate. It is up to you to decide how much you want to give. The gift could be given immediately by your estate, or over several years if needed.
If you’d like assistance deciding how to maximize the impact of your charitable bequest, Click Here to request a personal visit.
A special concept of planned giving encouraged by CSS is for donors to adopt a ‘Child Called Charity’ and to include that ‘Child called Charity’ in their Wills. Thus, the donor provides a gift (equal to a child’s share of one’s estate) to be divided amongst the donor’s favourite causes. CSS may be named as the beneficiary of the ‘Child called Charity’ share, and will distribute the gift to the charity(ies) listed in a Letter of Direction written by the donor at the time their will is prepared.
Example: Tom and Wilma Smith are in their 60’s and have 4 adult children. Through their Will, they wish to remember some charities they have supported faithfully. They divide their estate into 5 equal portions. Thus, each of their children will inherit 1/5th and several charities, through CSS, will receive a share as well.
We know you don’t give to charity just because of the tax breaks, but tax savings certainly can be helpful! Did you know that if you donate securities (stocks, mutual funds, etc.) which have increased in value that there are additional benefits other than the tax receipt you receive?
When you sell an appreciated security for your own use, you’re required to pay tax on a portion of the capital gain (the amount the security has increased). However, if you give the security directly to charity, and don’t sell it, the government forgives the entire gain. This has been in place since 2006.
If you are invested in stocks or mutual funds, you should consider discussing how you can use those investments to make your annual donations rather than writing cheques. You’ll be able to support the mission of your favorite charities just as you do now, but much more efficiently from a tax perspective! We invite you to call or email Brian Dol directly to help with the process.
What if the charity you want to support doesn’t have a brokerage account? No problem! CSS is happy to help facilitate these gifts. You can make a transfer of stock to CSS and we will distribute it to as many charities as you wish using our Gift Distribution Service.
Donor Advised Funds are one of the most flexible and powerful giving tools CSS offers. A Donor Advised Fund is like your personal, charitable chequing account. Any deposits you make into the account receive a donation receipt in the year of the gift. 100% of the gift is placed in the account and is available for you to donate whenever you see fit. You may want to make some immediate gifts, and some gifts in the future.
Furthermore, you are free to add funds to the account as you see fit; all additional deposits to the account will receive donation receipts as well.
Donor Advised Funds can be used in situations where a person is facing a one-time tax hit due to the sale of real estate, a business, a farm, etc. They can also be a low-cost alternative to establishing a private foundation.
Endowments are simple, flexible giving tools which allow you to support one or more charity(ies) or cause(s) for a defined period of time, or perpetually!
An endowment is a gift to a charity that is to be used for a special purpose. The charity can only use the gift for that purpose. Since an endowment is usually distributed over a period of time, any amount which is not given to a charity remains invested so the principal of the gift grows until it is required to be used for the specified purpose. You may want to have the entire gift distributed over a period of ‘X’ years, or have the principal locked in perpetuity with only the income distributed each year.
If your family is considering setting up a private foundation, an endowment may be a simpler alternative. Since an endowment is a special fund or account within by an existing charity, there is no need to set up a new organization, board of directors, etc.
CSS manages hundreds of endowment accounts on behalf of individuals and institutions. If you are interested in learning about how you can set up a personal/family endowment of your own, or one on behalf of a charity you support, don’t hesitate to contact us.
Gifts of Life Insurance Proper financial preparedness is important for expenses incurred when a family member passes away. As children age and families accumulate assets to provide for these needs the question arises as to the necessity of life insurance policies. Should you keep it? Cancel it? Donate it? It can be a touch decision and there are many considerations! And the considerations vary based on your age, financial situation, policy type, annual premiums, etc.
The time may come when a Whole Life policy does not require payments as the cash surrender value pays the premiums. At this point some people choose to name a charity as the beneficiary because their estate was going to have a tax bill and the future donation receipt would be helpful. However, another donor may not face a similar tax problem so they cash in the policy and give away the cash during their lifetime.
Considerations with Term Policies may be different as there is no cash surrender value rather an ongoing premium. Depending on the policy it may be worth donation even if the tax implications may be different.
Life insurance can be a useful tool for charitable giving especially when used appropriately. If you have an old life insurance policy (or are considering purchasing a new one), consider speaking with a CSS Stewardship Consultant to get unbiased, third party advice to ensure it suits your needs.
Registered Retirement Savings Plans (RRSPs) and Registered Retirement Income Funds (RRIFs) are important parts of retirement savings. But did you know they can also be powerful donation tools?
There are two ways you can use your RRSP or RRIF to support your favorite charities: 1) During your lifetime, and 2) Via a beneficiary designation or by your will.
Beneficiary Designation or by Will: Many people need their RRSPs/RRIFs during their lifetime, but are able to donate them after their death instead. Income taxes are owed by the estate, plus, there could be three potential unwanted outcomes: funds are subject to creditors, become subject to probate fees, and gifts in the will could be contested by the person’s heirs. This can be avoided by naming charity as a beneficiary of your RRSP or RRIF at your financial institution OR making a beneficiary declaration in your will declaring charity as a beneficiary.
This process is very specialized, so please ask CSS for information on how this might work for you!
A Charitable Remainder Trust (CRT) is an irrevocable gift from which the donor continues to receive an income during his or her lifetime and then at the donor’s death the capital is distributed to one or more charitable organizations. The donor receives an immediate charitable donation receipt for the present value of the gift.
Charitable Remainder Trusts can be established during the life (inter vivos) of the donor or through the will (testamentary). The donor may decide to establish a trust where the beneficiary may be changed (revocable) or make the decision permanent (irrevocable). If the donor establishes a trust that meets the following conditions a charitable receipt may be issued:
The trust may allow any of the above and still provide a gift for the charity, however as the value of the gift is not certain or ascertainable it is not eligible for a donation receipt.
