Giving During Life To Provide Perpetual Support

By: Laurie Valentine-Trust Counsel & Chief Operating Officer

You do not have to be a millionaire to be able to provide financial resources that will change peoples’ lives in the Lord’s name.

 Providing support that will continue to give until the Lord returns for your church; state, national and/or international missions; ministries to hurting children and their families; disaster relief; and/or other causes important to you can be accomplished through the creation of a new endowment fund or by making gifts to an existing endowment fund.

An endowment fund is a permanent, perpetual fund managed either by the cause benefited by your gift or another entity such as the Kentucky Baptist Foundation. Only the earnings from the endowment fund are distributed for use by the cause(s) you have designated; the original value of what you give is never spent.

A large gift is not required to establish an endowment fund with the Kentucky Baptist Foundation. It can be started with any amount, to which you may add from time to time over your lifetime. This permits even those of modest means to do much more than they ever dreamed possible. As the endowment fund grows, more lives will be touched and blessed through the support provided.

Endowment fund giving does not have to be an all or nothing proposition. You may want to use a life income gift to fund an endowment fund. Life income gifts allow you to make a gift now that will provide an income stream to you and/or others for life with the endowment fund funded with the remainder of your original gift at your death.

Establishing (or adding to) an endowment fund during your lifetime may provide income tax savings if you itemize deductions and capital gains tax savings if you use appreciated assets to fund your gift.

All with which we have been blessed comes from God. Establishing an endowment fund, whether through a single large gift or a lifetime of more modest levels of giving, permits you to demonstrate your gratitude for God’s blessings and your desire to be involved in touching lives in His name.

The information in this article is provided as general information and is not intended as legal or tax advice. For advice and assistance in specific cases, you should seek the advice of an attorney or other professional adviser.