Planned Giving
 

Making a planned gift is one way to “let the future bear witness” to your love for St. Luke’s, with potential benefits for you as the donor, your heirs, and the church.  St. Lydia ​is regarded as the first documented convert to Christianity in Europe.  She was a business owner who helped St. Paul support the early church with her heart, her business acumen, and her financial resources (Acts 16).  The St. Lydia Society at St. Luke’s honors those who have chosen to support St. Luke’s in their financial future and to continue the ministry begun by this religious community in 1885.

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If you would like to explore options for giving or designating your gift, please contact plannedgiving@stlukesevanston.org.  The parish of St. Luke’s thanks you for considering our future in your future.

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Gifts By Bequest

The most common form of deferred gift to support St. Luke’s is a bequest contained in a person’s will or revocable (living) trust. The following language is an example of how a bequest to benefit St. Luke’s may be worded:

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““I give, devise and bequeath to St. Luke’s Episcopal  Church (Evanston, IL), a qualified 501(c)(3) charitable organization located in Evanston, Illinois, _____ percent of my residual estate (or a specific bequest of $__________, or other personal or real property appropriately described) for (The Endowment Fund, St. Luke’s Episcopal Church of the Episcopal Diocese of Chicago) to be used in accordance with the terms of the most recent written directive I have signed with the Church, and, if none exists, to be used as directed by the vestry at St. Luke’s.””
 

Gifts of Retirement Plans

Naming St. Luke’s as a primary or contingent beneficiary of a retirement plan (e.g. IRA, SEP, 401(k), 403 (b), ESOP, etc.) may enable you to make a larger gift than you anticipated because income and estate taxes are not imposed when plan assets are distributed to St. Luke’s. If left to an heir, the plan assets are subject to income tax. Your retirement account’s plan administrator (the company that manages the account) can help you designate St. Luke’s as a primary or contingent beneficiary on the plan’s beneficiary designation form. (Please send St. Luke’s a copy of this form.)
 

Gifts of Life Insurance

You can name St. Luke’s as a primary or contingent beneficiary of a life insurance policy. If you retain any control over the policy, no income tax deduction is allowed; however, if St. Luke’s is named both the sole owner and beneficiary of a paid-up policy, you may receive an immediate charitable deduction for the lesser of the policy’s fair market value or the net premiums paid. Additional premiums that you pay may also be tax-deductible.

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Designation Options

There are three main designation options for gifts to St. Luke’s

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• General Endowment:  The default for planned gifts, an endowment, which may be spent down by vestry approval

• Operations:  For immediate, unrestricted use

• Permanent Endowment Fund:  Highly restricted in use, held in perpetuity, and protected by state law

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Have you included St. Luke’s in your plans?
LET US KNOW
So that we may thank you and plan for the future of St. Luke's