9 Solutions for Planned Giving

Why Planned Giving?

All of us are indebted to the past, to those who precede us. At the same time, we are seeds of the future, for those who succeed us. We dream and envision and set things in motion. The fruition of our decisions will be known only to others whom we will not meet.We are called to partner in faith with those who have gone before us, and to give the best we have to those who will follow.

Co lu m b i a Th e o l o g i C a l Se m i n a ry is a community of theological inquiry and formation for ministry in the service of the Church of Jesus Christ. Our vision is to provide theological education each year for 225 basic degree students, 200 advanced degree students, and more than 2,000 participants in our Lifelong Learning program, who are committed to making a difference in the world and in the Kingdom of God.

We hope that the information contained in this booklet will help you in determining how best to plan your final act of stewardship. You can have a tremendous impact on the future, on the continuation of Columbia Theological Seminary, and on the lives of others, both students and the ones they influence for Christ.

If you have any questions, please contact:

a r n i e h u l T e e n Director of Development

Columbia Theological Seminary 701 S. Columbia Drive

P.O. Box 520 Decatur, GA 30031-9954

(404) 687-4671 or Toll Free (888) 601-8918

Disclaimer: Please also consult your tax and real estate planning professionals for the tax implications of any designated planned giving.

Bequest

Benefits of your bequest• Receive estate tax charitable deduction.• Lessen the burden of taxes on your family.• Leave a lasting legacy.

How do you make a bequest?A bequest is one of the easiest gifts to make. With the help of an attorney/advisor, you can include language in your will or trust specifying a gift to be made to family, friends or Columbia Theological Seminary as part of your estate plan.

Your bequest optionsA bequest may be made in several ways:• Gift of a percentage of your estate• Gift of a specific dollar amount or asset• Gift from the balance or residue of your

estate

Making a bequest of your retirement assetsA retirement asset, such as an IRA account, makes an excellent bequest to us. If the IRA were given to your family, much of the value may be lost through estate and income taxes. By designating Columbia Theological Seminary as the beneficiary of all or part of your IRA (using a beneficiary designation form provided by your custodian), the full value of the gift is transferred tax-free at your death and your estate receives an estate tax charitable deduction.

How to include Columbia Theological Seminary in your will or trust

Examples of bequest language are shown below. Please feel free to change the numbers or percentages as you desire.

1. Bequest of cash

“I give and bequeath to Columbia Theological Seminary, A Georgia Corporation, the sum of $10,000 to be used for the general purposes of the Seminary.”

2. Bequest of a percent of the estate

“I give and bequeath to Columbia Theological Seminary, a Georgia Corporation, 20% of my estate to be used for the general purposes of the Seminary.”

3. Contingent bequest

“In the event that any of the above named beneficiaries shall not survive me, or shall die during the administration of my estate, within ninety (90) days from the date of my death, or as a result of a common disaster, then I give and bequeath that beneficiary’s share of my estate to Columbia Theological Seminary, a Georgia Corporation, to be used for the general purposes of the Seminary.”

4. Residuary bequest

“I give and bequeath to Columbia Theological Seminary, a Georgia Corporation, the rest, residue and remainder of my estate to be used for the general purposes of the Seminary.”

5. Restricted bequest

Bequests may be restricted for specific areas of our work. Please contact us through our web site or call us toll free at (888) 601-8918 for assistance in determining how to best makethis bequest.

Charitable Gift AnnuityStock or Cash ➤ Gift Annuity ➤ Donor ➤ Columbia Theological Seminary

How it worksA charitable gift annuity is a contract between you and Columbia Theological Seminary, which provides income for you, and a gift for Columbia at your death.

1. You transfer cash or property to Columbia Theological Seminary through a third party. In exchange, you receive a fixed income for life. (Visit our web site to find the payout rate that coincides with your age: http://www.ctsnet.edu/giving-to-columbia). Columbia Seminary receives the remainder at your death.

2. The fixed income can be quite high depending on your age.

3. A portion of your income stream may even be tax-free.

4. You may receive a charitable deduction for your gift of the remainder to Columbia Theological Seminary and the satisfaction of furthering our mission. * Columbia Theological Seminary uses

the percentage rates as established by the American Council on Gift Annuities (ACGA).

Types of assets you may give

• Cash gifts may allow you to use more of the charitable income tax deduction in any given year than gifts made with other types of assets.

• You may make a gift of your appreciated securities to fund a gift annuity and avoid a portion of the capital gains tax.

Start receiving payments now with a current Gift Annuity

If you desire current income, you may transfer property in exchange for your fixed income beginning as early as this year. You will receive a current income tax charitable deduction for the value of your gift to Columbia Theological Seminary.

Deferred Gift Annuity for income at future datePerhaps you are not ready to begin receiving income until a future date, such as when you retire. You can establish a deferred gift annuity, receive a current charitable income tax deduction and receive payments at a designated future time. Best of all, because you deferred your payments, your annual payment will be higher than with a current annuity. Contact us about flexible date options for your future income.

Charitable Remainder Unitrust

Stock or Cash ➤ Unitrust ➤ Donor ➤ Columbia Theological Seminary

How it worksYou can establish a Charitable Remainder Unitrust by irrevocably transferring assets to a trustee, who then invests the trust’s assets and pays you and/or other beneficiaries an annual variable income. At the end of the trust term, the assets remaining in the trust are distributed to Columbia Seminary for the purpose you designate. Benefits of a Charitable Remainder Unitrust• Income for life, lives, or term of years• Defer capital gains on the sale of your

appreciated assets

• Charitable income tax deduction for remainder portion of your gift to Columbia Theological Seminary

• Future legacy gift to our school

Charitable Remainder Unitrust for incomeA charitable remainder Unitrust pays you income that reflects trust investments. There is the potential that your income could increase over time with growth in the trust.

How to select the right Unitrust payout for you

There are several Unitrust payout options to meet your needs:• The standard Unitrust pays out a percentage

of the trust assets each year.• Another payout option used commonly

for real estate permits the trust to sell the property tax free and then begin paying you income after the property has been sold.

Charitable Lead TrustHow it works

1. You make a contribution of your property to fund a Trust that pays Columbia Theological Seminary a stream of income for a specific number of years.

2. You receive a gift or estate tax deduction at

the time of your gift.

3. After a period of time, your family receives the Trust assets plus any additional growth in value.

Zero tax planIt is even possible to set up a Lead Trust that will allow you to transfer assets to your family with zero transfer taxes. The IRS assumes that a lead trust is only earning at the current low federal rate. If the actual investments of the Trust produce a higher return than the payments made to Columbia Theological Seminary over the term of the Trust, then the full value of the Trust may be transferred to family with zero gift tax.

Increasing Payment Lead TrustWith increased volatility in the stock market you may also want to consider creating a Lead Trust that makes payments of increasing amounts to Columbia Seminary over time. Your family ultimately benefits from any growth in the Trust after the payments to us are satisfied. Lower payouts to us in the early years allow the Trust to grow more rapidly, thus providing protection for your family in case of below-average investment returns during the initial period.

Gift of Stocks and BondsBenefits of your gift of stocks and bonds• Avoid paying capital gains tax.• Receive a charitable income tax deduction.• Enjoy possible increased income.• Further our mission today!

Make your gift today by electronic transfer!It’s easy. Please contact us toll free (888) 601-8918 for delivery instructions to make a transfer from your brokerage account to Columbia Theological Seminary.

Send us your gift by mailIf you hold securities in certificate form, you will need to use two envelopes to complete your gift. In the first, place the unsigned stock certificate(s). In the other, include a signed stock power for each certificate. You may obtain this from your broker or bank. Please remember to use certified mail.

Gifts of Real EstateBenefits of your gift of real estate• Avoid paying capital gains tax.• Receive a charitable income tax deduction.• Leave a lasting legacy.

How you make a gift of real propertyCertain real property may be gifted to Columbia Theological Seminary by executing or signing a deed transferring ownership after the property has been evaluated by Columbia

Seminary. You may deed part or all of your real property to Columbia Theological Seminary. Your gift will generally be based on the property’s fair market value, which must be established by an independent appraisal.

Can you make a gift of mortgaged property?Please contact us if the property you wish to give has existing debt or a mortgage. Check with us on the capital gains tax implications of your gift. You also may be interested in life income options.

Gift of Retirement AssetsLeaving your retirement assets to usDid you know that 50%–60% of your retirement assets may be taxed if you leave them to your heirs at your death? Another option is to leave your heirs assets that receive a step up in basis (such as real estate and stock) and give the retirement assets to Columbia Theological Seminary. As a charity, we are not taxed upon receiving an IRA or other retirement plan assets.

How to transfer your retirement assetsYour retirement assets may be transferred to Columbia Theological Seminary by completing a beneficiary designation form provided by your plan custodian. If you designate Columbia Theological Seminary as beneficiary, we will benefit from the full value of your gift because your IRA assets will not be taxed at your death. Your estate will benefit from an estate tax charitable deduction for the gift.

Gifts of CashBenefits of your gift of cash• Make an immediate impact on our mission

today.• Provide you with a charitable income tax

deduction.

Make your gift online now!It’s easy. Visit our web site at http://www.ctsnet.edu/giving-to-columbia and complete our online donation form. Your gift will be processed quickly and safely using our secure server.

Send us your gift by mailYou can send us a check or money order. Please let us know if you want your gift used for a specific purpose, by indicating that purpose either on our web site or in a letter to us.

Contact us for more informationIf you have any questions about making your gift, please contact us by mail or by visiting our web site to send us an email with your questions or comments.

Gift of InsuranceDid you know that you can give your life insurance policy to Columbia Theological Seminary today and receive a charitable income tax deduction? You can then make deductible contributions to Columbia Theological Seminary each year which we may use to pay the premiums. We benefit from the proceeds of your policy.

Designate us as beneficiary of your policyYou can also designate Columbia Theological Seminary as the beneficiary of your life insurance policy. You will continue to own and can make use of the policy during your lifetime. The policy will be included in your taxable estate when you pass away, but your estate will benefit from an estate tax charitable deduction for the value of the gift to us.

Contact us for more informationIf you have any questions about making your gift of life insurance, please visit our web site to send us an email with your questions or comments.

We/I would like to: ° Learn more about planned giving

in general. ° Learn more specifically about the gift

marked below: ° Inform Columbia Theological Seminary of

our/my gift marked below: ° Bequest ° Charitable Gift Annuity ° Charitable Remainder Unitrust° Charitable Lead Trust ° Gifts of Stocks and Bonds° Gifts of Real Estate ° Gift of Retirement Assets° Gifts of Cash ° Gift of Insurance° Other

Thank you for considering a planned gift. Please mail to:

Columbia Theological Seminary 701 S. Columbia Drive P.O. Box 520 Decatur, GA 30031-9954 ar n i e hu lT e e n, Director of Development (404) 687-4671 or Toll Free (888) 601-8918

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