Legacy Society - Ways to Give

Planned giving is simply the process of making a charitable gift part of your estate plan. Many people have the desire to benefit an organization, but they are unsure about the process. By preparing a will, and providing for your church, you will insure that your wishes are fulfilled.

Gifts by Will
A bequest is the most traditional way to provide important help for worthwhile causes. With a gift through your will, you retain full use of your gift property during your life. Your bequest can be a stated dollar amount, or you can leave us a specified percentage of the estate.

Life Insurance
You can name St. Francis or Rosary School as the beneficiary of your life insurance-just contact the company. A better idea may be to transfer actual ownership of the policy to St. Francis or Rosary, or buy and contribute a new policy. Such a gift will entitle you to an income tax deduction, and future premium payments will be tax deductible.

Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs) and Pension Funds
Your estate can save both income taxes and estate taxes if you make St. Francis or Rosary School the death beneficiary of your individual retirement account or other retirement savings plan.

Charitable Gift Annuity
A gift annuity is a contractual agreement between a donor and St. Francis/Rosary, in which the donor transfers assets to St. Francis/Rosary in exchange for its promise to pay him or her an annuity. By donating through a gift annuity, you can accomplish two things:

 1. Contract for fixed payments for yourself, or yourself and one other individual. The rate of your payment is based on your age at the time of the gift. The older you are, the higher the annuity amount.

2. Make a gift to St. Francis or Rosary School. The exact amount of the  contribution is determined using an interest rate suggested by the U.S. Treasury.

Gift of Real Estate with a Retained Life Interest
If you own your own home or farm-or even a vacation home-you may be able to make a gift of the property, obtain an immediate income tax deduction, and still continue to use the property for as long as you wish. Simply give the property, but retain the right to use it for your life (a “life estate”). You can continue to live in your home or farm, and only after your death will the property pass for our benefit. By arranging this gift now, rather than in your will, you receive an immediate income tax deduction for the present value of our future right to receive the property.

These are the most common ways to make a planned gift. The information on this site is not intended as legal, tax or investment advise. Please consult your advisor.

The Catholic Foundation of Oklahoma holds and manages the endowments for all of the Catholic churches and schools in the archdiocese. Separate endowment accounts have been established for both St. Francis of Assisi Church and for Rosary School.

The official bequest language for St. Francis of Assisi Church is:

     “I, (name), of (city, state, zip), give, devise and bequeath to St. Francis of Assisi Church in Oklahoma City, OK, (written amount or percentage of the estate or description of property) for its unrestricted use and purpose.”

The official bequest language for Rosary School is:

     “I, (name), of (city, state, zip), give, devise and bequeath to Rosary School in Oklahoma City, OK, (written amount or percentage of the estate or description of property) for its unrestricted use and purpose.”
 
If a gift of real estate will be made, title to the real estate must be held in the name of the Archbishop of the diocese of Oklahoma City.  The exact language is as follows:
 
     "Paul S. Coakley, as Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City, and his successors in interest, for the benefit of St. Francis of Assisi Church (or Rosary School), Oklahoma City, Oklahoma."