Legacy Giving

Why Consider a Planned Gift?

Throughout our lives, we come to recognize more deeply the many ways God has blessed us, and we respond in gratitude by supporting God’s work in the world. A planned gift offers a way to extend that generosity beyond our lifetime, continuing to nurture the ministries we care about most. Through planned giving, individuals and families can create a lasting legacy—an enduring expression of gratitude and faith that helps sustain and strengthen the parish for generations to come.

How do I make a planned gift?

There are many ways individuals and families can make a planned gift that reflects what matters most to them while also integrating their charitable, family, and financial goals. Planned gifts can take many forms and can be made in any amount. You might choose to endow your annual pledge so that your support continues in perpetuity, or designate a bequest to sustain a particular ministry or area of parish life that is meaningful to you.

Whatever your vision, we would be honored to work with you to help shape a gift that reflects your faith, values, and hopes for the future of St. Stephen’s. Planned giving is an opportunity to create a lasting legacy—one that will continue to support the life and ministry of this parish for generations to come.

If you are interested in learning more about planned giving at St. Stephen’s, please contact the parish office. All conversations and commitments are held in confidence and are known only to the appropriate clergy and financial leadership.

  1. Make St. Stephen's the beneficiary of your IRA or 401(k)

    You can do this by completing a beneficiary designation form with the company which manages the IRA. The designation could be for St. Stephen's to be the primary beneficiary, partial primary beneficiary, contingent beneficiary, or partial contingent beneficiary.

  2. Make St. Stephen's the beneficiary of your life insurance policy.

    This is accomplished when the donor signs a beneficiary designation form from the insurance company. The designation could be for all the proceeds available under the policy or for partial proceeds.

  3. Give appreciated property

    You could give real estate or stocks to St. Stephen's during one's lifetime. 

  4. Make a bequest in your will

    The bequests can be for a specific amount, a percentage or remainder of your estate, or as a contingent bequest. Also, the bequest can be for a specific piece of property or other tangible asset. The bequest designations can be restricted or unrestricted.

  5. Give a bequest through a codicil to a will

    If you already have a will, you can make a codicil to your will and designate that a specific bequest is also being made to St. Stephen's in addition to the other provisions in the will.

  6. Make a Life Income Gift (LIG)

    Through a LIG, the donor makes an irrevocable one-time gift and receives a charitable deduction in the year of the gift, but the donor continues to receives income for the remainder of his/her life, and, upon death, the remainder is given to the parish.

  7. Establish a donor advised fund

    This enables you to receive the tax-deduction in the current year and continue to designate what organizations receive the financial benefits of that fund. St. Stephen's could be one of several recipients of that gift.