Thank you for considering a gift to Atlantic Christian School. There are many ways to give and there is no single “best way” to contribute. Contributions are very personal decisions and can be structured to meet individual circumstances. By considering the various options, donors often discover ways to increase the amount they originally intended to give. ACS is happy to meet with donors to further discuss or explain giving opportunities. All donors are advised to consult their tax advisers.
Below are ways to give to Atlantic Christian School:
Outright Gifts
Gifts of Cash, Check, and Credit Card. Gifts of cash are the simplest method of giving. These gifts can be made in the form of cash, check/money order, or online on this website with your VISA or MasterCard under the “Donate Online” tab.
Gifts of Appreciated Property. An alternative to gifts of cash that some donors find more beneficial is giving appreciated property, particularly securities and real estate. While some gifts of real estate may involve certain timing issues, gifts of negotiable securities are nearly as easy to make as cash gifts.
Pledged Gifts. Pledges give donors the option to make payments toward a gift over time and often this flexibility allows a donor to give a larger total gift. Payments on a multi-year pledge can be made in a variety of ways, such as monthly, quarterly, bi-annually, or annually.
Matching Gifts. More than 15,000 companies and subsidiaries have a program that matches gifts made to support education. Find out if your company participates in matching gifts by contacting your Human Resources Department. This is a great way to double or triple the size of your gift to Atlantic Christian School.
Planned and Deferred Gifts
There are a number of gift arrangements that provide special benefits to donors and may help them achieve thei overall estate planning goals as well as their philanthropic goals. Planned and deferred gifts will not help meet the school’s immediate needs, but they can make a significant contribution towards securing Atlantic Christian’s future.
Bequests. The simplest way to make a deferred gift is to include a provision for a bequest in one’s will.
Life Income Plans. These gifts, the most common of which is a Charitable Remainder Trust, allow a donor to give assets to Atlantic Christian School but retain an income for life or over a set number of years. Similarly, donors may designate that the income goes to children, grandchildren, relatives, or friends.
Example: Tom and Kathy, grandparents of Brian, age 16, want to donate to the Endowment Fund but are worried about giving up assets that produce the income on which they now live. They give $100,000 in appreciated stock to establish a charitable remainder trust and receive an immediate income tax deduction for their gift that year. They avoid paying capital gains tax on the stock’s appreciation, and the trust pays them 7% of the value of the trust’s principal for the rest of their lives. After their deaths, the assets of Tom and Kathy’s trust are distributed to Atlantic Christian School.
Life Insurance. Many people own some form of life insurance. Often these policies were purchased to provide protection that is no longer needed. Children have grown, financial circumstances have changed, yet the policy is still in force and may have significant cash value.
An individual can use an insurance policy to fund a gift to Atlantic Christian in two ways:
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Make Atlantic Christian the primary beneficiary. The donor retains ownership of the policy and has access to the policy’s cash value.
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Make Atlantic Christian the owner of the policy. The donor relinquishes all rights to the policy.
Other Arrangements
In addition to the options described here, there are other ways to make a charitable gift that may work well for you. Atlantic Christian’s Director of Development and Communication would be happy to meet with you to further discuss or explain giving opportunities. Thank you in advance for your generosity to Atlantic Christian School.
For more information, please contact:
Carole Karabashian
Director of Development and Communication
(609) 653-1199, ext. 323
ckarabashian@acseht.org