Belhaven College graduates have long been known for the impact they have made throughout the world to glorify Christ’s kingdom in their varied professions, vocations, and ministries. In an effort to preserve and expand Belhaven’s mission, we are excited to announce the 100 Legacies for Belhaven Campaign. Put simply, we want to identify at least 100 friends to help establish a lasting legacy for future generations through the creation of 100 planned gifts that name Belhaven as beneficiary.
The “100 Campaign” will seek to create awareness of the benefits for not only creating a will, but also developing a comprehensive estate plan that will allow donors to expand the mission of Belhaven and provide for their family and loved ones. With numerous tax advantages, creating a planned gift can truly be a “win – win” for everyone.
Over the course of the 100 Campaign, friends can watch the number of planed gifts grow as the dial above the 100 is filled in with color. Our goal is to see the dial become solid green!
Over the 127 years of Belhaven’s existence, the College has been blessed by many alumni and friends who have made regular and annual gifts to sustain Belhaven’s Christ-driven mission…. these gifts are essential! The 100 Campaign seeks to not only identify those who have already named Belhaven in their estate plans, but also encourage our friends to consider a strategically developed planned gift that will leave a lasting legacy for the College. Through wise estate planning, individuals can often leave a gift to the College that is 10-20 times greater than what they might be able to give on an annual basis.
“People often think that making a planned gift is an extremely complicated process,” noted Vice President for Institutional Advancement Kevin Russell. “That’s just not true! No matter your age or stage in life, it is extremely easy to make a significantly larger gift to Belhaven through any one of several planned giving options.” Quite simply, a planned gift is any written document that names Belhaven as a future beneficiary of a portion of one’s assets. Planned gifts include but are not limited to:
Wills You should have a well-planned will as the centerpiece of an effective and thoughtful financial plan. In fact, the government has a will for you unless you prepare one for yourself...and it does not benefit your family.
When preparing or revising your will, you can make important choices that make it possible to fulfill your personal wishes. One sentence in your will can make a difference for your charitable intent for Belhaven College.
Consider, “I give, devise, and bequest to Belhaven College (insert percent, amount, or nature of gift).”
You could make a significant gift to the College eventually, for a small cost today. A life insurance policy can offer a convenient way to fund a meaningful gift to Belhaven College. The policy can be one that you established some time ago and no longer need, or it can be a policy that you take out now and name Belhaven College as the beneficiary. The policy can be on your own life or someone you name.
You can give your home or other real estate. This has become increasingly attractive. Tax benefits occur when you do. You can even give your property to Belhaven and live in it for the rest of your life. That’s called a life estate contract. You can have immediate tax deductions equal to the value of the property.
You could earn guaranteed income for life, get a big tax deduction for doing so, and eventually provide scholarships for Christian education at Belhaven through what is called a Gift Annuity. With your gift, you create an annuity that makes annual payments to you based on your age. Once established, a gift annuity will increase your spendable income, give you a charitable deduction for a income tax savings, and provide future scholarships for students to attend Belhaven.
Retirement Plans You might have been taking part in saving for retirement through Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs), 401 (k)s, Keoghs, and other plans. You may find that after first providing for your loved ones you can make a meaningful gift to Belhaven from “what is left” in your retirement accounts.
You can generate income for yourself and your family for life, or specified period, through a Remainder Trust. Upon your death, or the death of all the beneficiaries, the remaining assets go to Belhaven. At the time of your gift to Belhaven, you will enjoy a tax deduction, remove taxable assets from your estate, and gain income for you and others you name.
You could give money for Belhaven education today and in time get it back for your grandchildren. You can do that through a lead trust where you transfer some of your assets to Belhaven. Belhaven will manage the assets to provide payments to the College. You will decide how large the payment is and for how long. When the terms are complete, the trust goes back to you, your grandchildren or other heirs that you name.
All those who make a planned gift to Belhaven automatically become a part of the Heritage Society. The Heritage Society is a leadership group of donors who desire to provide for the long-term success of Belhaven College through the establishment of a planned gift. As a member of the heritage Society, you will...
We hope that you will prayerfully consider how you could join the 100 Legacies for Belhaven Campaign. The Development office is blessed to have two highly experienced planned giving officers in Larry Mills and Jay Chance. Either of these gentlemen would be glad to offer you counsel and ideas that would be best for your personal situation. Please contact us at 100Legacies@belhaven.edu or (601) 968-8738 for assistance or simply complete the reply card and envelope attached to the center of this issue of the Tartan.
