What is Legacy Giving?

Legacy Giving (or Planned Giving) can transform the future of Allen Avenue Unitarian Universalist Church and ensure that it thrives well into the lives of future generations. By making a Legacy Gift to our endowment fund, your support of Allen Avenue will last beyond your lifetime.

The typical person who makes a legacy gift isn’t a millionaire or independently wealthy. Rather, most legacy givers are simply members who want to make a commitment to the future of our liberal faith.

Leaving a legacy to Allen Avenue only takes a little planning. It can be as simple as including a bequest to Allen Avenue in your will or trust, or naming Allen Avenue a beneficiary on your retirement plan or insurance policy. See below for more information.

Types of Legacy Gifts: Overview

There are various options for making legacy gifts to the parish. We encourage you to work with your attorney, tax, and/or financial advisor to select the approach that is right for you.

Four basic options are outlined below:

  • bequests;
  • retirement plan beneficiary designations;
  • life insurance beneficiary designations; and
  • charitable gift annuities.

There are additional options you may wish to consider under certain circumstances, including pooled income funds, charitable remainder trusts, and charitable lead trusts, that will not be discussed further here. Pooled income funds are more attractive in a higher interest rate environment. Charitable remainder trusts and charitable lead trusts are more complex and individualized vehicles better discussed with your professional advisors.

Bequests

A bequest is a provision in your will or revocable trust designating a fixed dollar amount, a percentage of your assets, or the remainder of your estate will be given to Allen Avenue, upon settlement of your estate. Most bequests are fully revocable while you are alive.

Language for Wills

You may add a simple codicil to your will to create a bequest for Allen Avenue. You can make a specific bequest by identifying a block of stock or bonds, a specific parcel of real estate, or other clearly identified marketable asset. Or, you can make a cash bequest in a specific amount or as a percentage of your estate. You can also make a residual bequest from the remaining assets in your estate after all other specific bequests and settlement costs are satisfied.

Most bequests are undesignated which makes them available for general use as part of the General Endowment Fund. This fund exists in perpetuity and generates annual income for Allen Avenue. If you wish to designate a bequest for a particular program or other purpose at Allen Avenue, please contact Allen Avenue’s treasurer, treasurer@a2u2.org,  to ensure your bequest can be accepted.

The following sample language can be used to fulfill your charitable objectives:

  • Specific Amount: I give, devise, and bequeath $ ______________ to Allen Avenue Unitarian Universalist Church in Portland, Maine.
  • Percentage Bequest: I give, devise, and bequeath __________ % of my gross estate to Allen Avenue Unitarian Universalist Church in Portland, Maine.
  • Residuary Bequest: I give, devise and bequeath the rest, residue, and remainder of my estate to Allen Avenue Unitarian Universalist Church in Portland, Maine.

Language for Trusts

You may amend your revocable trust to create a bequest for Allen Avenue. This can be done at any time or as part of a review and updating of your trust, which is recommended every 5-10 years as the relevant laws change. You can make a specific bequest by identifying a block of stock or bonds, a specific parcel of real estate, or other clearly identified item. Or, you can make a cash bequest in a specific amount or as a percentage of your estate. You can also make a residual bequest from the remaining assets in your estate after all other specific bequests and settlement costs are satisfied.

Most bequests are undesignated which makes them available for general use as part of the General Endowment Fund. This fund exists in perpetuity and generates annual income for Allen Avenue. If you wish to designate a bequest for a particular program or other purpose at Allen Avenue, please contact the Allen Avenue Treasurer, treasurer@a2u2.org,  to ensure your bequest can be accepted.

The following sample language can be used to fulfill your charitable objectives:

  • Specific Amount: The Trustee shall distribute $ ______________ to Allen Avenue Unitarian Universalist Church in Portland, Maine.
  • Percentage Bequest: The Trustee shall distribute __________ % of my gross estate to Allen Avenue Unitarian Universalist Church in Portland, Maine.
  • Residuary Bequest: The Trustee shall distribute the rest, residue, and remainder of my estate to Allen Avenue Unitarian Universalist Church in Portland, Maine.

Retirement Plan Beneficiary Designations

You can designate Allen Avenue as a beneficiary of your IRA, 401(k), or 403(b) plan, for a specific amount or a percentage of total assets. Such gifts can save on income and estate taxes.

Leaving a portion of your retirement plan account to Allen Avenue can help you get the most value from your estate and protect your heirs from taxes. These retirement assets are subject to income taxes when paid out to a taxable entity (i.e., most people, even your spouse or children), even when the estate is too small to owe estate taxes. These taxes can reduce the amount received by your heirs by up to 35 percent.

In contrast, nonprofit organizations such as Allen Avenue are eligible to receive the full amount at your death without facing any income tax liability. Income taxes can be avoided or reduced through a carefully planned charitable gift. There are three common approaches:

  • Designate a specific amount to be paid to Allen Avenue before the remainder is directed to family or other individuals.
  • Designate Allen Avenue as a primary beneficiary for a percentage (1 to 100 percent) of your retirement plan account.
  • Make Allen Avenue the contingent beneficiary to receive the balance only if a loved one, as primary beneficiary, doesn’t survive you.

To implement your wishes, please contact your plan administrator, then complete and sign whatever forms are required. This can often be done on-line. You may wish to contact your attorney to be sure you are using the correct language.

Life Insurance Beneficiary Designations

You can designate Allen Avenue as a beneficiary of all or a portion of your life insurance benefits.

A traditional life insurance policy (with an accumulated cash value) can be a valuable asset. If the original purpose for the protection no longer applies—such as to educate children now grown or to provide financial security for a spouse now deceased—a life insurance policy can be redirected to help support a worthwhile cause such as Allen Avenue.

To implement your wishes, please contact your life insurance agent or company and obtain and complete the needed change of beneficiary form. You may wish to contact your attorney to be sure you are using the correct language.

Charitable Gift Annuities

Allen Avenue’s Charitable Gift Annuity program is professionally managed and administered by the Office of Legacy Gifts at the Unitarian Universalist Association and State Street Global Advisors. Allen Avenue’s treasurer, treasurer@a2u2.org,  can help connect you to the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) to establish a charitable gift annuity.

A charitable gift annuity is a good arrangement for someone looking to augment their retirement income because it generates a fixed dollar income for the rest of your life. In exchange for your irrevocable gift of at least $10,000 in cash or publicly traded securities, the UUA will pay you a lifetime income based on your age (minimum 65) at the time of your gift. At the end of your life, money remaining in the annuity (the ultimate gift) is distributed to Allen Avenue (and/or the UUA) as you specify. The gift annuity can be for one or two people, so a spouse or other loved one can also receive payments for life.

A portion of the initial gift is income tax–deductible based on IRS rules about the expected value of the ultimate gift. Charitable gift annuity payments are partially income tax–free throughout your estimated life expectancy. If you use appreciated stock to make a gift, you can usually eliminate capital gains tax on a portion of the gift and spread the rest of the gain over your life expectancy.

Legacy Gift Form, Giving Guide & Contacts

Thank you for your interest in making a Legacy Gift to Allen Avenue.

To notify us of a legacy gift/record a bequest, complete our Legacy Giving Form  and return it to the church office.

For more information, download our Legacy Giving Guide.

UUA Planned Giving Information:

(617) 948-6509, Email: legacy@uua.org

Tax Information/EIN

  • Allen Avenue Unitarian Universalist Church in Portland, Maine is an IRS-qualified tax-exempt organization.
  • We are a member in good standing of the Unitarian Universalist Association.
  • Allen Avenue’s federal identification number (FEIN) is 01-0273147
  • A completed IRS Form W-9 Request for Taxpayer Identification is available upon request.
  • For tax purposes, bequests, legacies, devises, or transfers to the Church are deductible as they accord with the provision of the Internal Revenue Code.