The 1832 Legacy Society recognizes the founding of American Baptist Home Mission Societies and honors individuals who have included ABHMS in their long-term financial and estate plans, through bequest provisions in their wills, by establishing life-income gifts, or through other forms of deferred giving.
A deferred, planned gift to American Baptist Home Mission Societies as part of a family’s estate plan provides a meaningful way of supporting mission while achieving important financial goals. A planned gift also allows individuals to make significant legacy gifts that may not have been possible during earlier life stages. These gifts also offer certain tax benefits and can provide advantages, such as a lifetime income to the donor or others.
Legacy Society members have made provisions in their wills or other estate plans to benefit American Baptist Home Mission Societies and have informed the American Baptist Foundation of their commitment.
How to join
Membership is granted to those who have made a planned gift to the American Baptist Home Mission Societies Foundation in one or more of the following ways:
- A bequest in the form of a percentage of an estate, a specific dollar amount or a specific asset, such as securities, closely-held stock, real estate or tangible personal property (for example, jewelry or art);
- Gifts that provide life income, such as charitable remainder trusts or charitable gift annuities;
- Gifts of qualified retirement plans, such as IRAs and 401K plans;
- Gifts of real estate through retained life estate arrangements and
- Gifts made through charitable lead trusts.
If you have already made a provision for American Baptist Home Mission Societies in your estate plans, thank you! Please contact us and share your commitment so we may welcome you as a member of the 1832 Legacy Society and express our gratitude for your generosity.
John Mason Peck, an American Baptist missionary to the western frontier of the United States.
Joanna P. Moore was an American Baptist missionary. She was the first white woman missionary appointed by the American Baptist Home Mission Society, and worked predominantly among Black communities of the American South.
Jitsuo Morikawa was a Japanese-American Baptist preacher, theology and denominational leader.
Gifts of Stock or Appreciated Securities
- You transfer appreciated stocks, bonds, or mutual fund shares you have owned for more than one year to American Baptist Home Mission Societies.
- ABHMS sells your securities and uses the proceeds for our programs.
Benefits
- You receive an immediate income tax deduction for the fair market value of the securities on the date of transfer (even if you originally paid much less for them).
- You pay no capital gains tax on the transfer when the stock is sold.
- Giving appreciated stock can be more beneficial than giving cash. The “cost” of your gift is often less than the deduction you gain by making it.
Charitable Remainder Unitrust
How It Works
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You transfer cash, securities, or other appreciated property into a trust. The required minimum for this type of gift is $100,000.
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The trust pays a percentage of the value of its principal, which is valued annually, to you or beneficiaries you name.
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You may use your real estate to fund a charitable remainder unitrust (CRUT), which may be structured to provide lifetime income for you and/or others, or income for a term of years.
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When the trust terminates, the remainder passes to American Baptist Home Mission Societies to be used as you have directed.
Benefits
- Receive income for life or a term of years in return for your gift.
- Receive an immediate income tax deduction for a portion of your contribution.
- Pay no up-front capital gains tax on appreciated assets you give.
- You can make additional gifts to the trust as your circumstances allow for additional income and tax benefits.
Giving from Your 401k or IRA Retirement Plan
How It Works
- Name or designate American Baptist Home Mission Societies as a beneficiary of your IRA, 401(k), or other qualified retirement plan.
- Pass the balance of your retirement assets to ABHMS by contacting your plan administrator.
- Important! Tell ABHMS about your gift! Your plan administrator is not obligated to notify us, so if you don’t tell us, we may not know.
Benefits
- Continue to take regular lifetime withdrawals.
- Maintain flexibility to change beneficiaries if your family’s needs change during your lifetime.
- Your heirs avoid the potential double taxation on the assets left in your retirement account.
Retained Life Estate
- You transfer the title to your residence, farm, or vacation home to American Baptist Home Mission Societies and live there for the rest of your life.
- Continue to live in the property for life or a specified term of years, and continue to be responsible for all taxes and upkeep.
- The property passes to ABHMS when your life estate ends.
Benefits
- You can give us a significant asset but retain the security of using your property for the rest of your life.
- You receive an immediate income tax deduction for a portion of the appraised value of your property.
- You can terminate your life estate at any time and may receive an additional income tax deduction OR you and ABHMS may jointly decide to sell the property and prorate the sale proceeds.
Charitable Lead Trust
How It Works
- You contribute securities or other appreciated assets to a Charitable Lead Trust. Our suggested minimum gift is $1,000,000.
- The trust makes annual payments to American Baptist Home Mission Societies for a period of time.
- When the trust terminates, the remaining principal is paid to you or heirs.
- Income payments to us for a term reduce the ultimate tax cost of transferring an asset to your heirs.
- The amount and term of the payments to ABHMS can be set so as to reduce or even eliminate transfer taxes due when the principal reverts to your heirs.
- All appreciation that takes place in the trust may go tax-free to the individuals named in your trust.