What is Planned Giving?

A planned gift is an option that helps you make a gift to the National Shrine of St. Jude that you might not have thought was possible. Planned gifts are a valuable tool for sharing the resources you have been blessed with while enhancing your financial situation and security.

Benefits of Planned Giving

• Help support the National Shrine of St. Jude and the Claretians
• Provide yourself with income during your lifetime
• Plan for retirement and family
• Convert low-yielding investments into a source of higher revenue
• Eliminate or avoid paying capital gains taxes

Planned Giving options available to you include:

Gifts of Cash

The simplest way to support the National Shrine of St. Jude is to make an outright gift of cash. Gifts of cash also provide the most immediate tax deductions. Although tax savings are not the reason friends support the National Shrine of St. Jude, they do enable supporters to do more than they might have thought possible.

Memorial Gifts

A special family member or friend can be remembered through a memorial gift. Our Planned Giving Office can provide information on how to establish a memorial honoring someone special in your life.

Life Insurance

For some people, there comes a time when life insurance no longer holds the financial significance that it once did. With grown children and life changes, such as divorce or death, you may be looking for a way to express your charitable desires. You may wish to consider giving the policy to the National Shrine of St. Jude or naming the National Shrine of St. Jude as the beneficiary of the policy. You can name the National Shrine of St. Jude as the beneficiary of a life insurance policy (or a percentage of the proceeds); simply contact the insurance company for the appropriate forms.

Securities

Stocks and publicly traded securities are easy to give and offer great tax advantages. The best stocks to use for charitable giving are those that have increased greatly in value, but are producing a low yield. You pay no capital gains tax on this transaction, and you can deduct the full fair market value.

Retirement Plan Assets

You can name the National Shrine of St. Jude as a beneficiary of your individual retirement account and avoid estate taxes for your heirs. Or, you can use your minimum required distribution, when you are 70 1/2 or older, to make a Qualified Charitable Distribution directly to St. Jude League/Claretians. We urge you to seek the advice of your financial advisor when making this, or any planned gift.

Bank Accounts and CDs

Are you aware that you can name the National Shrine of St. Jude as the "payable-on-death beneficiary" of your bank accounts (savings or checking) or on any Certificates of Deposit? You own the assets for your lifetime and have them available for your use. Upon your death, the assets pass directly to the National Shrine of St. Jude without going through probate. Simply visit your bank and request to name a beneficiary on your accounts or certificate of deposit.