Legacy Giving

Planting Seeds of Hope and Faith

"Even if I knew that tomorrow the world would go to pieces, I would still plant my apple tree" ~ Martin Luther

Planting seeds for future fruit is both an act of hope and an expression of faith. We plant in hope that the small seeds will one day produce a tree whose fruit will bless future generations. We plant in faith by entrusting those who follow us to nurture our tree, harvest the fruit properly and use it for the best purposes. Making a planned gift to St. Mary's is a similar undertaking. A planned gift is a seed whose promised fruit will support the church well beyond your lifetime.

Legacy giving is a powerful opportunity to ensure your most sacred values and commitments are part of your legacy. Your planned gift represents your hope for the future mission and ministry of St. Mary's and your faith in generations to come.  I hope this informational brochure plants a seed in your heart, for the many ways your generosity can take root, allowing future generations at St. Mary’s to benefit in ways we can only imagine.

Wills & Bequests

When you die, you give everything away: never will you have been more generous.  You can choose to remember family and friends in your Will as well as charitable entities like St Mary's. Your estate will receive a tax receipt for gifts to the church and other charities.

There are several ways you can approach giving to the church. Some people seek to honour the Biblical tithe, giving ten percent of their total estate to the parish; some treat the parish as they would an additional kin (Say you had three children, you would divide your estate four ways instead of three). Others choose to create an endowment which will ensure the pattern of giving they established during life will continue after death. (For example, if you were accustomed to giving $5,000 annually and multiplied it by twenty, the resulting endowment would yield the equivalent of that annual contribution). Others leave their entire estate to the church.

If you don’t have a will, and you die unexpectedly your estate will be taxed heavily, and the opportunity for you to continue your legacy of generous giving would be lost.

By naming St Mary's in your will, you are giving to the future mission and ministry of the parish, knowing that you will not directly benefit from your gift, but confident that others will.

Gift & Annuities

A Gift + Annuity can be especially advantageous for older donors. By giving part of the money, you currently hold in a GIC to the church and by purchasing an annuity with the remainder, this way St Mary's can financially benefit, while you also increase your income stream.

For example: Helen, at age eighty-five, decides to trade in her GIC of $50,000. She gives St. Mary’s Kerrisdale $12,500 (for which, she gets an immediate tax receipt) and uses the rest of the principal, $37,500, to acquire an annuity. Where she had received only $828 after-tax a year from her GIC, her annuity now generates $4,228 annually.

Appreciated Securities

Giving appreciated securities (equities, bonds, mutual funds) can offer significant tax advantages. By giving St Mary's the securities themselves (rather than selling them and donating their cash value), you can avoid paying tax on any capital gains you might have made.

For example: were you to give the church securities that had originally cost you $400  and were now worth  $2,000 you would realize savings on the capital gains tax of  $320 while receiving a charitable tax credit of $874, so you would save $806 by gifting the securities. If you gave the cash, you would have paid $946 as the net cost of the donation. In this case, you would have saved $140, and the church receives $320 more if you gift the securities.

St. Mary’s Kerrisdale has a trading account with a broker which makes it easy for you to consider this gift idea.

RRSPs/RRIFs/TFSAs

If you choose to give part, or all, of an RRSP, RRIF, or TFSA to the church, your estate will receive a tax receipt upon your death.  As the gift passes outside of your estate, it also lowers the probate fees charged against the estate.

All you need to do is submit a revised Designation of Beneficiary form available from your RRSP/RRIF/TFSA provider.

Life Insurance

By taking out a permanent life insurance policy, with St. Mary's Kerrisdale as both the owner and beneficiary, the premiums you pay will be treated as a charitable donation.

If you already have a life insurance policy and your circumstances have changed (for example, you no longer need to provide for a young family), you might want to consider naming St. Mary's as a beneficiary. Other options exist depending on the type of policy.