Preserving LPPC’s Cemetery

Volunteer for cemetery grounds cleanup

The dictionary tells us that “stewardship” is the careful and responsible management of something entrusted to one’s care.  We often think of “Stewardship” in strictly financial terms, but true stewardship in a Christian community is a more human concept with broader implications. At LPPC, we have many opportunities for volunteerism which is a giving of our time and talents. Opportunities to put our time and talents to work with projects like: cleaning up the cemetery and church grounds, raking leaves for seniors, providing painting/carpentry talents to The Philadelphia Project/Habitat for Humanity, sewing kit for Days for Girls, setup and cleanup at All Saints Community Dinner, walking/fundraising for hunger projects just to name a few. In the spring and fall, specifically, there are calls for volunteerism in the cemetery picking up branches, rocks, trash, etc. These are great, family friendly mini-projects. Please consider coming out to work for an hour or two to help keep our cemetery beautiful.

Planned giving generally refers to a variety of ways gifts can be made to Lower Providence Presbyterian Church (LPPC) and/or Cemetery rather than ongoing present gifts of cash. Planned gifts can be comprised of both small, medium and large gifts, and are not the province of just the wealthy. Planned gifts often take effect at some future time, such at the donor’s death. Planned gifts often come with large tax benefits to the Donor.

Common forms of planned gifts:

• By WILL. This is the simplest form of planned gift, under which a donor leaves a bequest in his/her Will to be given to LPPC/Cemetery after his/her death, of a specific amount of money or a specific asset, or a percentage of his/her estate. The gift to the Church is free of federal estate tax, and usually of state inheritance tax. The gift made in the Will can be changed by the donor at any time before death.
• LIFE INCOME GIFTS
  • The Donor can make an irrevocable gift ultimately to LPPC/Cemetery, but reserves for his/her lifetime (or a term of years) an income interest in the property donated (or the Donor can specify that someone else may receive the income interest for life or a term of years, such as a surviving spouse). Species of this kind of gift can take the form of a POOLED INCOME FUND from which the Donor or his/her designee retains the actual income from the pooled fund (minimum gift $2,500), or a CHARITABLE GIFT ANNUITY, from which the Donor or his/her designee retains for life or a term of years a fixed dollar amount (minimum gift amount $5,000). In both cases, a portion of the gift is tax deductible in year of gift, and in the latter case, a portion of the income interest retained is income tax exempt.
  • The Donor can create a CHARITABLE REMAINDER TRUST (minimum gift $100,000) which has substantial favorable tax consequences. The Donor retains for his/her life an income interest for life, consisting of a total return of at least 5% of the value of the trust (which can be followed by an income interest for the life of another, such as the Donor’s spouse). The Donor receives a current income tax deduction for a portion of the gift in the year made, and an estate and inheritance tax deduction for the value of the remainder interest passing to LPPC following the death of the Donor. Moreover, if the property funding the trust is appreciated, the Trustees can liquidate the trust assets and reinvest the proceeds free of the customary capital gains tax that would have been generated if the Donor himself/herself had sold those assets.
  • CHARITABLE LEAD TRUST is a trust (minimum gift $100,000) in which a Donor gives property to a trust which then pays the income to LPPC/Cemetery for a term for years, after which the trust terminates and the trust assets are paid outright to the Donor or members of the Donor’s family. This is fairly complicated, but there are significant tax advantages to the Donor and his/her family.
• GIFTS OF REAL ESTATE, APPRECIATED PROPERTY, AND TANGIBLE PERSONAL PROPERTYIf a Donor has various forms of property which have appreciated in value over the Donor’s cost basis, and this property is donated to LPPC/Cemetery, the property can usually be liquidated by the Church free of the imposition of any capital gains tax which would have been generated if the Donor had sold the property. Moreover, the Donor ordinarily will be entitled to take a charitable income tax deduction for federal income tax purposes in the amount of the full fair market value of the property at the date of gift.

• LIFE INSURANCE POLICIES AND RETIREMENT ACCOUNTS
  • LIFE INSURANCE
    Many people who are no longer youngsters have life insurance policies which they no longer need to protect their families, and indeed, many of them have forgotten they own them and they no longer count on the policies to protect their families after their demise. In fact, many of these policies are fully “paid up” and the Donor can maintain the policies without any cash outlay each year for premiums. These are perfect candidates for planned gifts to the Church. Owners of such policies can simply designate LPPC/Cemetery as beneficiary of the proceeds of the policies on the Donor’s death – the Donor will not get an immediate income tax deduction, but the Donor’s estate will not have to pay any estate or inheritance tax on the policy proceeds. An even better technique is for the Donor to transfer ownership of the policy to LPPC, which in turn the Church can name itself beneficiary, and decide whether to keep the policy in force and collect the death benefit at the Donor’s death, or to cash in the policy and receive the cash surrender value. The Donor will be entitled to a charitable income tax deduction for the cash surrender value at the time of the transfer of the policy to the Church.
  • RETIREMENT ACCOUNTS
    Many people have tax sheltered retirement accounts with substantial balances. The only disadvantage of these is that when funds are withdrawn by the Owner, the amounts are subject to full federal income tax. Although Congress has limited the following tax benefit in recent years, it is unclear whether the favorable tax treatment will be available in future years. If available, the tax benefit of donating funds from retirement accounts directly to LPPC is substantial, enabling a Donor to save significant income tax by making such a donation. The planned gift must be made in writing. A Donor may choose to allow LPPC/Cemetery to expend the assets as the Church deems appropriate, both principal and income (this is the default position which governs if nothing to the contrary is prescribed in the gift). As an alternative, the Donor may require that the gift be added to the Endowment, with income only (at the rate specified by LPPC annually for Endowment funds) to be used generally for the Church’s purposes as it sees fit, or for a purpose specified by the Donor.