Charitable Giving at St. Stephen's -

The United Church has a very unusual Charitable Giving program. Only two churches in Canada offer such a program.

Rev. Heather McLean, a United Church Gift Planner, presented this program to interested members of the congregation last fall. The presentation explained in simple terms how beneficial the program could be to both the donator and St. Stephens.

This is a win-win situation for all parties.

• The church gains by the donation (local church or UCC)
• The donator/s gains three ways:
  • a immediate significant charitable tax deduction (depending on age)
  • a guaranteed annuity with semi-annual payments paying up to 10% per year vs. 3.5% for a GIC (example: $1,000 on $10,000) depending on age (older is better!!) for the rest of their life
  • these semi-annually payments (income) are almost tax free.

Unfortunately this program is only available to those over the age of 60.

I have offered my services to the congregation as a financial advisor to explain this program on an individual basis to interested members at their convenience with total confidentiality. The Special Gifts Committee supports this proposal. There is no financial benefit to me personally, just an opportunity to explain and help implement the program to interested members. I can be reached at my home .

The following are two examples based on $10,000 annuities:

• Single man/woman age 89: charitable tax credit of $4,688. in year of donation; semi-annual payment of $500 based on 10% interest; payments are tax-free income.
• Married couple, husband age 83, wife age 77: charitable tax credit of $2,438 in year of donation; semi-annual payment of $353 based on 7.06% interest; again payments are almost tax free and for as long as the last party lives.

I can develop scenarios tailored for each individual situation, just call and ask!!

Thanks for the opportunity, Bud Wesley.

P. S. It takes about 5 weeks to complete the paper work, so to take advantage of this opportunity for the tax year we must start very soon!