First Lutheran Legacy

With the end of the year fast approaching, it’s a great time to do some financial planning. That could include making a charitable gift before the end of the year to take advantage of tax saving opportunities. Hmmm … “planning”… “gift”… that should remind you of First Lutheran Legacy, our Planned Giving program.

While Planned Gifts are appropriate any time, the end of 2011 presents a unique opportunity for some of us. If you are at least age 70 ½ and have IRA assets, you can donate any of your IRA distributions to a charity through the end of 2011 and not pay any tax on the IRA distribution! This provision is set to expire on December 31, 2011, so it may not be available in the future.

Why might such a strategy make sense for you? There are a number of possible benefits:

• You don’t owe any tax on the amount of the IRA distribution sent to the charity. (Normally, the full amount of an IRA distribution is included in your adjusted gross income – “AGI” – on your tax return.)
  
• While you won’t receive a charitable deduction for the amount of this gift, excluding the distribution from taxable income is worth at least as much – and maybe more – than a charitable deduction. For instance, if you don’t itemize deductions, this approach will result in lower taxes. Also, donating the distribution directly could result in lower state income taxes (charitable deductions don’t affect state taxes). And, including an IRA distribution in your AGI could result in some of your social security benefits being taxed.
  
• Since you are required to take a distribution from your IRA after age 70 ½, whether you want to or not, donating your distribution to a charity can meet the requirements of those mandatory distributions.

There are some special rules to be followed if you want to make such a donation, so please check with a tax advisor to take advantage of this benefit. You can also read more about it at https://content.putnam.com/literature/pdf/II828.pdf. And if you are not over age 70 ½, or don’t have IRA assets, there are still tax savings to be had by making a Planned Gift before year end.

You can also Click Here to download a Legacy Form that you can fill out and give to one of the Legacy Team Members.

First Lutheran Legacy

It’s probably been awhile since you’ve heard or thought about First Lutheran Legacy, our planned giving program. You might recall that the program was unveiled this past spring with great success – over $25,000 of planned gifts were made to the church.

For a little refresher, a planned gift is one that is well thought out by a donor in response to the many blessings God has given them. A planned gift differs from our normal stewardship giving in that it is usually of a larger amount and is either a one-time or less frequently given (e.g., annual) gift. Likewise, a planned gift is different than a restricted or endowment gift in that it is not designated for a specific purpose – it is available for the church to use in helping to accomplish our mission.

Planned gifts can be made ANYTIME! There may be certain times or events where a planned gift is particularly well suited for a donor. Receipts of larger financial resources by a donor such as a bonus, tax refund, inheritance, promotion, prize winnings, gift, etc. all may be perfect opportunities to share God’s blessings in a special way. In addition, including the church in a will is another excellent way to acknowledge God’s role in our financial fortunes, no matter what size they may be.

Many types of assets can be used to make planned gifts – cash, securities that have appreciated in value, IRA assets, life insurance, real estate, certain personal property – almost all of which will provide you with significant tax advantages.
For more information, pick up a brochure in the rack above the credenza in the narthex. Please call Wayne Mosley (440.238.6470) with any questions.

You can also Click Here to download a Legacy Form that you can fill out and give to one of the Legacy Team Members.

Look for more information coming soon as to how a planned gift might be just right for you.

We also have a Simply Giving program through Thrivent.com to have your contributions automatically deducted from your checking or bank account to help make it simpler. Please click here to get additional information and for downloading the enrolment form - please click here.

As of February 18, 2012
Envelope & Loose $72,139.51
Budget Requirements $63,111.20
Ahead $9,028.31

Actual's:
Income - Ahead / (Behind) $5,689
Expenses - Ahead / (Behind) $1,810
Net - Ahead $7,499

As of December 31, 2011
Envelope & Loose $449,686.03
Budget Requirements $450,321.00
(Behind) ($634.97)

Actual's:
Income - Ahead / (Behind) ($11,376)
Expenses - Ahead / (Behind) $20,127
Net - Ahead $8,751

For the period ending Dec 31, 2010
contributions were as follows:

Envelope & Loose $500,365.59
Budget Requirements $457,678.00
$42,687.59 OVER

For the period ending Dec 31, 2009
contributions were as follows:

Weekly Offerings Received $8,549.52
Weekly Budget Requirement $8,145.00
YTD Offerings Received $446,939.04
YTD Budget Requirements $508,126.00
Over/(Under) Budget ($61,186.96)

Our totals for period ending December 31, 2008 contributions were as follows:

YTD Offerings Received $496,819.40
YTD Budget Requirements $499,397.00
Over/(Under) Budget ($2,577.60)