Financial Support: Planned Giving

Thornwell offers a variety of ways to help you get involved in our children’s ministry. Some of the most popular and convenient ways are through planned giving.

Bequests

A bequest can be a specific dollar amount, a percentage of your estate, or the remainder of your estate as designated by your will.

Gifts of Real Estate

Your home, farm, or vacation home may have appreciated greatly over time. Consider a gift of real estate to Thornwell and help avoid capital gains. To ensure appropriate transfer, the real estate must be mortgage-free and readily saleable. It must also have clear title and a recent qualified appraisal.

Thornwell will be glad to assist you and your tax advisors. Please contact Nancy Lindeman, Vice President Resource Development and Public Relations at 864-938-2734 if you’d like to discuss this special type of gift.

Life Insurance

There are many types of life insurance gifts. The most common is an existing policy (currently in force and paid up), naming Thornwell owner and beneficiary. The benefits to you are in both gift and estate tax considerations. Federal tax regulations indicate that the gift value of an insurance policy is the cash value of the policy at the time of the transfer of ownership.

Other life insurance arrangements might be purchasing a new policy for Thornwell or replacing charitable gifts in one's estate.

Charitable Gift Annuities

Cash or appreciated securities can be used to fund an irrevocable gift annuity that can provide income to you while making an ultimate gift to Thornwell. The rate of return is determined by your age, the number of beneficiaries, and the prevailing adjusted federal rate for gift annuities. After the lifetime of the annuitant(s), the charitable remainder interest in the gift becomes available to Thornwell. A minimum gift of $10,000 is required.

Annuity Trusts

A charitable remainder annuity trust is an irrevocable trust that provides a payment to one or more beneficiaries for their lifetimes or a term of years. The trust provides a fixed annuity payment, determined when you establish the trust. It must be at least 5% of the initial value of the gift. Payments can be made annually or more frequently. When the trust terminates, the remaining principal becomes available for the work and ministry of Thornwell. A minimum gift of $200,000 is required.

Unitrust

A charitable remainder unitrust is an irrevocable trust that provides variable payments to one or more beneficiaries for their lifetimes or a term of years. The trust payments are determined as a fixed percentage (at least 5%) of the fair market value of the trust assets each year. You select the percentage when you make your original gift; however, since trust assets are revalued each year, trust payments will vary from year to year—increasing or decreasing as a result of additional contributions or changes in the value of trust assets. When the trust terminates, the remaining principal becomes available to Thornwell. A minimum gift of $200,000 is required, and additional contributions can be made to the trust.

Gifts of Securities

When you donate securities in lieu of cash, you get two advantages: you don’t have to pay any capital gains tax on the appreciation and, on the date of your gift, you will receive a deduction for their full market value.

The easiest way to make a gift of securities to Thornwell is by electronic transfer from your brokerage account. Shares will be electronically transferred, and your gift date will be the date the shares enter our Thornwell account. The value of your gift will be determined by the average market value of the securities on the date of transfer.

Contact the Nancy Lindeman, Vice President Resource Development and Public Relations at 864-938-2734 for more information on how to make a gift of stock.