Please click HERE to download a PDF containing the full Legacy Giving Information.
Seek Advice! Individuals’ financial and family situations differ.
Please consult with your financial and legal advisors.
Gifts to the UUCC Endowment Fund
Ongoing or one-time cash donations can be made to the Endowment Fund for general use of the congregation (unrestricted) or specific purposes (restricted). Restricted gifts are subject to gift acceptance policies so should be arranged in advance by contacting the Endowment Board.
Tribute cash donations honor individuals, accomplishments, or milestones, or honor the memory of someone who has died.
- Donations can be made by check or online. Remember to provide the name of the person you are honoring so the person or their family can be notified of your tribute.
- Specifying in your estate plans your desire for donations in your memory to benefit the Endowment Fund can be a way of allowing those who wish to remember you to extend the legacy of UUCC in your name.
Gifts by will or trust
- Will – By including the Endowment Fund in your will, with either a specific dollar amount or percentage of the remaining estate, you can create a legacy without distributing the funds until your death.
- You don’t need to create a new will. Simply ask your attorney to prepare a codicil, a document that amends your original will. This is a common way to make minor changes.
- Suggested bequest language: “I bequeath to the Endowment Fund of the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Columbia the sum of $_____ or _____ percent of my residual estate, whichever is greater.”
- Please note – Some wills include contingencies that disqualify the gift from the Wake Now Our Vision Legacy Challenge Match. However, what is often called a ‘second to die’ contingency—which entails everything being left to a spouse/partner with the legacy gift being made upon the death of the surviving spouse/partner—is eligible for the Match.
- You don’t need to create a new will. Simply ask your attorney to prepare a codicil, a document that amends your original will. This is a common way to make minor changes.
- Trust – Including the Endowment Fund in a trust can be in the form of a revocable or an irrevocable trust. The former retains the right to change the designation; the latter creates the legacy at the time of the trust initiation. There may be tax consequences of this choice. The donor should consult a tax expert relative to the specifics.
Gifts by retirement and investment accounts – Not everyone wants to commit to making a gift in their wills. Some prefer the increased flexibility that a beneficiary designation provides by using:
- IRAs and retirement plans
- Life insurance policies
- Commercial annuities
Here’s how to name the UUCC Endowment Fund as a beneficiary in 
simple steps:
- Contact your retirement plan administrator, insurance company, bank or financial institution for a change-of-beneficiary form.
- Decide what percentage (1 to 100) you would like to give and name the UUCC Endowment Fund, along with the percentage you chose, on the beneficiary form.
- Return the completed form to your plan administrator, insurance company, bank or financial institution. If your form requires UUCC’s tax ID number, contact the UUCC office.
- Notify the Endowment Board of your gift so you can be recognized and welcomed as a member of the Margaret Odell Society. (Anonymous gifts are also welcome.)
Gifts by asset transfer to the Endowment Fund create an immediate legacy that may have favorable tax implications. Professional advice relative to the valuing and the tax treatment of the gift is recommended. Transfers of assets that are not easily converted to cash are subject to gift acceptance policies so should be arranged in advance by contacting the Endowment Board.
Gifts through the Unitarian Universalist Association’s Planned Giving Programs
- The Umbrella Giving Program enables you to designate the beneficiaries as the UUCC Endowment Fund, other Unitarian Universalist entities, the UUA, or a combination of these up to 100%, all managed at no cost to you or the beneficiary.
- UUA’s Charitable Gift Annuity is a way for you to support the UUCC Endowment Fund and feel confident that you have dependable fixed amount of income in your retirement years. It provides you with fixed monthly income payment during your lifetime and allows UUCC to further its work. You may qualify for a variety of tax benefits, including a federal income tax charitable deduction when you itemize. Donating appreciated securities can provide additional tax benefits.
- The Pooled Income Fund (PIF): A pooled income fund gift is an easy way to receive income for life and make a generous gift to the UUCC Endowment Fund at the same time. A pooled income fund works like a mutual fund. Your gift is combined and invested with the gifts of other donors who contributed to the PIF. You receive payments that reflect your share of the fund’s net income. You receive income payments for life, possibly more than you were receiving from the cash or assets that you donate. That income may grow over your lifetime. Upon your death and, if designated, the death or your partner, the principal of your gift is paid to the UUCC Endowment Fund and other beneficiaries.
Click HERE to return to the main Legacy Giving page.