Planned Giving

How do you get the most value from your nest egg, protect your heirs from unecessary taxes and make a significant impact on the Catholic Church? You may wish to consider leaving a portion of your retirement plan assets to the Archdiocese of Milwaukee, OR your Parish OR Parish School.

Did you know that money saved in an employee retirement plan, IRA or tax-sheltered annuity contains income that has yet to be taxed?

Your heirs will owe income tax upon receiving distributions from these assets after your death. With this in mind, you may want to leave your loved ones assets that are income tax free and give your retirement plan assets to the Church, which is a tax-exempt charity. Leaving retirement plan assets to charity is a very tax-efficient way to leave a gift.

Consider these gift options

Using beneficiary designation form provided by your plan administrator

• Designate the Archdiocese of Milwaukee, OR your Parish OR  Parish School as the primary beneficiary for a fixed percentage (1 to 100 percent) of your retirement plan assets.
• Designate a specific dollar amount to be paid to the Church before the remainder is divided among family beneficiaries.
• Make the Church the contingent beneficiary to receive the balance of your retirement asset if your primary beneficiary doesn’t survive you.

How to Make a Gift

• Contact your retirement plan administrator for a change of beneficiary form.
• Decide what percentage or dollar amount you would like the Church to receive, and include the legal name of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee, OR your Parish OR Parish School as your beneficiary on the beneficiary form.
• Return the form to your plan administrator and keep a copy

We invite you to contact us for more information.

Most of us think of life insurance as protection, especially for our loved ones. But it is also an excellent tool for making charitable gifts you can use to champion the good works of the Church. For a fraction of the death proceeds paid during your lifetime, you could leave a very substantial gift to charity upon death.

When the original purpose for the protection no longer applies—such as to educate children now grown or to provide financial security for a spouse now deceased—your life insurance can be redirected to help support a worthwhile cause.

• You can name the Church either as the sole beneficiary or a partial beneficiary of your policy.
• You can name the Church as the contingent beneficiary, in which case we receive death benefits only if your primary beneficiary or beneficiaries precede you in death.

Estate Tax Advantages

When you name the Church as beneficiary of your policy, the amount we receive results in a charitable deduction to your estate. You will not receive a charitable income tax benefit during your lifetime because you still own the policy. 

Donating a New Policy

Perhaps you don’t own an existing policy but you understand the benefits of purchasing a life insurance policy and naming the Church as owner and beneficiary of the policy.  Rather than paying premiums to the insurance company, you make tax-deductible cash gifts to the Church to cover the annual premiums.

Gift of a Paid-up Insurance Policy or Policy with Cash Value

You can donate a paid up insurance policy (a policy that requires no further premium payments) or a policy with cash value to the Church and receive a charitable income tax deduction. When you own a life insurance policy with accumulated cash value, you have a cash asset which can also be donated to charity.

What About Term Insurance?

Term life insurance is usually purchased with a particular time frame in mind. If you determine you no longer need the term insurance benefit, you could name the Church as the beneficiary and continue to pay the premiums rather than cancelling the policy. You could also transfer ownership of the policy to the Church during your lifetime and make annual donations to offset the cost of the premiums.

Contact us for more information.

Stock that has increased in value is one of the most popular assets used for charitable giving. Donating securities can offer even more tax benefits than writing a check. With careful planning, you can reduce or possibly eliminate federal capital gains tax while supporting our work. this applies to stock you have owned for more than one year.

Benefits

• You receive an immediate income tax deduction for the fair market value of the stock on the date of transfer, no matter what you originally paid for them.
• You pay no capital gains tax on the stock you donate.
• It’s easy to electronically transfer appreciated stock.

Important Caution:

In using this planned giving technique, it is important that you donate publicly traded stocks you have owned for more than one year and that are worth more than when you first purchased them. If you have stock losses, consider selling the stock yourself and take any allowable tax deduction for your loss.  Then donate the cash proceeds of the sale to the Archdiocese and take advantage of your charitable gift donation.

Securities held by your broker

Inform your broker that you wish to donate securities to the Archdiocese of Milwaukee and ask them to electronically transfer your intended shares using the information below.  Please notify us about your stock gift to ensure receipt and acknowledgement.

Brokerage Firm:  Robert W. Baird & Co
DTC Number: 0547
Broker:  Sullivan Group
Contact Number: (414) 765-3609

Account Name: Archdiocese of Milwaukee
Archdiocese of Milwaukee Account Number: 1179-9500
Transfer Form

Account Name:  Catholic Stewardship Appeal
Catholic Stewardship Appeal Account Number: 1997-4125
Transfer Form

Account Name:  Love One Another Capital Campaign
Love One Another Capital Campaign Account Number: 6702-5068
Transfer Form

Certificates you hold

If you hold the actual stock certificates, you must sign a stock power form for each certificate you wish to transfer to charity.  You may obtain a stock power from your broker or financial institution. When you sign the stock power, be sure to sign your name precisely as it appears on the certificate. For example, if you are listed as John A. Johnson on the certificate, sign it John A. Johnson.  You should never put stock certificates in the mail.  Rather, personally deliver the stock certificate and the stock power forms to:

Bob Pfundstein​
Archdiocese of Milwaukee
3501 S Lake Drive
Milwaukee, WI 53211
(414) 769-3583

Mutual funds

Mutual fund transfers usually require a longer time to transfer as each mutual fund company has its own requirements for making charitable contributions. Call Bob Pfundstein (414) 769-3583 so that he can work with you to determine the best method of transfer and to discuss your intent. The Archdiocese may need to create an account with your mutual fund company before the transfer can occur, so allow at least one month for the transfer.

Contact us for assistance.

One way to give is to create a donor advised fund at an investment firm with charitable funds such as Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund or Vanguard Charitable or at a local community foundation . 

A donor advised fund is a separate fund that is administered by a foundation or investment agent.  After you contribute assets to a donor advised fund, the administrator of your fund gives you or other family members the right to recommend gifts be made from your fund to qualified charities. You can determine the frequency of charitable gifts, how much you would like to donate, and name the charities that will benefit from your gifts. Check to make sure that the investment agency or foundation administering your fund  has granting policies and objectives that align with your charitable intent and that the charities you want to support are qualified charities.

If you already have a donor advised fund, you can make a gift to the Archdiocese of Milwaukee, the Catholic Stewardship Appeal, your parish or your parish school using assets already designated for charity.

You may have the option to leave the charitable fund assets to a qualified charity when your fund terminates or you are no longer making gifts from the fund. Please consider adding the Archdiocese of Milwaukee or your parish, or parish school as an account beneficiary in this case.

If you are considering creating a donor advised fund that will benefit the Archdiocese of Milwaukee, your parish or parish school please let us know. Discussing your charitable intentions with us will ensure that your gift accomplishes your intended goals.

Contact us for assistance.

Did you know you could donate your house to charity, take an income tax deduction, and continue to live in it rent-free?  A life estate gift is an arrangement in which a donor gives his or her home to a charity while retaining the right to live in the home for the remainder of his or her life.  The property must be mortgage and obligation free in order to use such property for a life estate gift.  If the donor is itemizing deductions, the donor receives an immediate income tax deduction equal to the present value of the remainder that will pass to the charity.  The charity may sell the property upon the donor’s death. 

How It Works

• You sign a deed transferring the title to your residence, farm or vacation home to the Archdiocese of Milwaukee.  You continue to live in the property for life and you are responsible for all property taxes, repairs and upkeep.
• The property passes to the Archdiocese of Milwaukee at your death.
• You do not retain the right to sell or mortgage the property during your lifetime.

Contact us for assistance and to review the Archdiocese’s current policy for accepting real estate gifts.

Are you interested in making a charitable gift that provides you income each year for the rest of your life?   A Charitable Remainder Trust may be the appropriate giving vehicle for you.

A Charitable Remainder Trust is an irrevocable trust that pays a specified amount or specified percentage of the value of the trust assets each year to one or more people for a fixed term of years (or for the life of the individual recipients).   At the end of the fixed term or at the death of the last individual recipient, the remaining trust assets are distributed to the charity.  A Charitable Remainder Annuity Trust provides a fixed payment; a Charitable Remainder Unitrust pays out a fixed percentage of the trust value each year.

Benefits

• Your gift benefits charity.
• Your gift provides an additional source of lifetime income for you, your spouse or other significant persons.
• Your gift provides a potential increase in the income you are currently receiving from your investments.
• Annuity trusts and Unitrusts provide tax benefits as well as financial rewards.

How It Works

• You transfer cash, securities or other appreciated property into a trust.
• Each year, the trust makes payments to you or beneficiaries you name.
• When the trust terminates, the remainder passes to the Archdiocese of Milwaukee to be used as you direct.

Ways to Fund Your Charitable Trust

• Cash. Writing a check is the least complicated way to fund the trust. The trustee can then invest the cash.
• Stock. Appreciated stock is an ideal choice, especially if your stock produces only a modest income. Contributing low-yield stock can immediately boost your cash flow by means of a higher payout from the trust. You escape up-front tax on the stock’s capital gain and receive a income tax charitable deduction. Stock is easy to transfer to the trust.
• Real estate. You can contribute appreciated real estate (without a mortgage or lien) that you’ve owned for more than one year and realize benefits similar to those for a stock gift. The donated property may be a residence (a personal residence must be vacant upon contribution), undeveloped land, a farm or commercial property.

Contact us for assistance and more information.

Do you want to benefit from the tax savings that result from supporting the Archdiocese of Milwaukee, yet you are reluctant to permanently transfer assets that you’d like your family to receive someday? Consider a Charitable Lead Trust.

A Charitable Lead Trust is similar to a Charitable Remainder Trust but, instead of passing to charity at the end of the trust term, the trust assets revert to the donor (or are paid to designated beneficiaries) at the end of the trust term.  During the term of the trust, the charity receives a stream of income in a specified amount or a specified percentage of the value of the trust assets.  Depending on how the trust is structured, the donor may be able to claim an income tax deduction in the year the trust is established in an amount equal to the present value of the future gifts to charity. 

Benefits

• You support the Archdiocese and provide for your family.
• Income tax deductions can be significant.
• The amount and term of payments to the charity can be set so as to reduce or even eliminate transfer taxes due when the principal reverts to your heirs.
• All appreciation that takes place in the trust passes tax-free to the individuals named in the trust.

How It Works

• You give assets (typically securities or other appreciating assets) to a trust that pays the Archdiocese of Milwaukee an income stream for a number of years, which you choose. The longer the length of time, the better the tax savings may be to you.
• The trust makes annual payments to the Archdiocese.
• When the term is up, the remaining trust assets pass to you, your family or other beneficiaries you select.

Of all the charitable vehicles available to you, this is among the most complex. Your legal and tax advisors can help you determine whether a charitable lead trust is right for you.

Contact us so we can assist you through every step.