Giving

From the root word, endow, which means to provide for or bequeath a source of income. As an example: Mary and Bill Doe could make a gift to the Chapel to underwrite the cost of the of an Annual Spring concert. Since the intent of an “endowed” gift is to provide many years of financial support for the donor’s cause or event, generally, only the earnings or gains are withdrawn annually so that the corpus of the gift can be retained and invested for future distributions.

Annual Giving keeps the Chapel running day-to-day—everything from staff salaries to paying the utility bills, from all of our Outreach Programs to office supplies. Gifts to the Chapel Endowment Fund are retained and invested to cover the cost of special programs for many years and in some cases as long as the Chapel exists. These are programs that are not be sustained by the Chapel’s annual giving.

Most donations to the Endowment Fund have been unrestricted gifts, allowing the contribution to be used where needed most for purposes designated by the Endowment Fund Committee and Board of Trustees. However, some donors have established restricted gifts, designating specific charitable purposes for their contribution. For example, your gift could support a special music or speaker series, a long-term mission project to a specific underprivileged population, ongoing funding for a favored Chapel activity, or scholarships for youth, members or clergy to attend mission trips or other programs. The potential scope of such gifts are limited only by your imagination and the charitable purposes established by the Chapel.

Everyone’s assets are in many different forms; bank accounts, real estate, IRA’s, insurance policies, etc. Most of these assets are needed for current personal financial needs. Planned Giving is a term used to define a group of planning strategies that integrate lifetime and estate distribution goals. These strategies enable a motivated donor to meet their “giving” goals concurrent with their other living goals. The Endowment Fund is uniquely suitable to accept and coordinate a wide variety of planned giving strategies that your estate planning and legal advisors may recommend, such as:

1. A bequest in a will
2. A gift of real or intangible property (e.g., stocks)
3. A charitable remainder trust
4. Designation as a beneficiary of a life insurance policy
5. Charitable gift annuities
6. Retirement plan donations

The Endowment Fund welcomes your gift-supporting ideas of ways to increase God’s loving ministry through the Chapel. Contact the Chair of the Endowment Fund Committee for additional information.

There are many benefits to a gift to the Chapel Endowment Fund. The most important benefit is very personal. Donors have told us that it comes from the inner feeling that their gift will make an important difference – that this “difference” will be continued for many years, possibly for as long as the Chapel exists. Through the careful, conservative management of the Endowment Fund, the income from investments in the Fund will “endow” a Chapel ministry or special activity that is important to you year after year, even beyond your lifetime. Your gift can be your legacy to the Chapel and its unique, diverse Christian ministry. In addition, there may be a number of financial benefits. Your gift to the Chapel Endowment Fund qualifies the gift as tax deductible. Also, a gift to the Endowment Fund may significantly increase your retirement income and in the same transaction legally avoid any capital gains taxes. Of course, this strategy should be accomplished only with the counsel of your legal and tax advisors.