A planned gift is a lasting investment in the future of Good Shepherd Congregation as a viable, contributing parish to the residents of  Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin. Your support and commitment to Good Shepherd Congregation during your lifetime is greatly appreciated. We invite you to strengthen that commitment by considering one of the planned giving opportunities featured here.

We encourage you to discuss which giving opportunity option best fits your needs with your financial planner, tax professional or your estate planning attorney. Keep reading to find options you might consider.

Please let us know if you have already included Good Shepherd Congregation as a beneficiary of your estate. We would like to thank you and recognize you for your gift.

If you have any questions please call the Good Shepherd Parish Office.

A life insurance policy may be attractive because it affords you the opportunity to make a gift at a sizeable face value value for a minimal outlay of cash. You may give an existing policy, either fully paid or partially paid, or a new policy. Similar to the retirement plan designation, the proposed gift to Good Shepherd Congregation a portion of, or all, the proceeds from the policy. You are entitled to a charitable income tax deduction equal to the cash surrender value of the property and any future premiums paid only if the parish is named as the owner and beneficiary of the policy. Your insurance agent or financial planner can help you make the correct ownership and beneficiary changes.

*The information we have provided above is for estate planning purposes and is not meant to be legal or tax advice. If you have any questions please do not hesitate to consult your financial planner or estate attorney.

Donating part or all of your unused retirement assets, such as your IRA, 401(k), 403(b), pension or other tax-deferred plan, is an excellent way to make a gift to Good Shepherd Congregation.

If you are like most people, you probably will not use all of your retirement assets during your lifetime. You can make a gift of your unused retirement assets to help further our mission.

Benefits of gifts of retirement assets

• Avoid potential estate tax on retirement assets
• Your heirs would avoid income tax on any retirement assets funded on a pre-tax basis
• Receive potential estate tax savings from an estate tax deduction

How to make a gift of retirement assets

To leave your retirement assets to Good Shepherd Congregation, you will need to complete a beneficiary designation form provided by your retirement plan administrator or custodian. If you designate Good Shepherd Congregation as beneficiary, the Parish will benefit from the full value of your gift because your IRA assets will not be taxed at your death. Your estate will benefit from an estate tax charitable deduction for the gift.

More on gifts of retirement assets

Did you know that 60%-70% of your retirement assets may be taxed if you leave them to your heirs at your death? Another option is to leave your heirs assets that receive a step up in basis, such as real estate and stock, and give the retirement assets to Good Shepherd Congregation. As a charity, we are not taxed upon receiving an IRA or other retirement plan assets.

*The information we have provided above is for estate planning purposes and is not meant to be legal or tax advice. If you have any questions please do not hesitate to consult your financial planner or estate attorney.

Through various types of bequests to Good Shepherd Congregation, you may secure an estate-tax charitable deduction for the value of your gift while providing much-needed support to Good Shepherd Congregation for years to come.  You may prefer to include in your will or trust a sum of money, a percentage of your estate, a specific item, or a piece of real estate that you wish to give to the church.

Whatever form of bequest you choose, this gift would not be subject to federal estate taxes and therefore significantly reduces the tax burden of the estate. The value of the bequest may be deducted when the taxable estate is determined, and there is no limit on the deduction amount.

Including Good Shepherd Congregation in your will

A bequest may take the form of cash, securities, real estate or other property. You should specify that the Parish is to receive a certain amount or percentage of your estate, specific assets or the remainder of your estate after providing for heirs.

Following are some examples of bequests:

• Specific bequests makes a gift of a specific dollar amount or specific assets, such as securities, real estate or personal property.
• Residuary bequests give all or a portion of the rest, residue and remainder of your estate after payment of expenses and any specific amounts designated to other beneficiaries.
• Contingent bequests result in a gift to the Parish only in the event of the death of other beneficiaries or the fulfillment of certain conditions describe in your estate plans.

In addition gifts can be specified for a specific purpose:

• General parish operating budget. This is an unrestricted gift and would be used for Parish operating expenses at the discretion of the pastor/parish director after receiving advice from the Finance Council.
• Building Maintenance Fund which is used for the improvement and upkeep of the buildings and grounds.
• Eschweiler New Century Fund which provides continuing support of Good Shepherd Congregation.

Example Bequest Language

The following includes several examples of suggested bequest wording to benefit Good Shepherd Congregation. Each individual situation is unique and, therefore, these examples include only some of the possible gift opportunities. We encourage you to consult your attorney, tax professional and/or financial advisor when determining the best verbiage for your intention.

Percentage of Estate-for unrestricted purposes 

I hereby give, devise and bequeath to Good Shepherd Congregation, a nonprofit Catholic Church in Menomonee Falls. Wisconsin, ______ percent (%) of the rest, residue, and remainder of my estate as an unrestricted gift to be used in the area of greatest need at the time the gift is received. I may choose at a later date to may choose at a later date to enter into a separate agreement between myself and the Parish related to the use of this gift and would request that the Parish utilize the gift in accordance with the terms of that agreement.

Percentage of Estate-for a specific purpose

I hereby give, devise and bequeath to Good Shepherd Congregation, a nonprofit Catholic Church in Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin, ______ percent (%) of the rest, residue, and remainder of my estate to be used for ______________________ at the Parish. It is understood and agreed that should the purpose for which this bequest is instituted cease to exist, then the Parish may devote said bequest for other such uses and purposes as it determines to be in accordance with my original intent in making this gift.

Specific Amount-for unrestricted purpose

I hereby give, devise and bequeath to Good Shepherd Congregation, a nonprofit Catholic Church in Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin, the sum of ______ dollars ($) as an unrestricted gift to be used in the area of greatest need at the time the gift is received. I may choose at a later date to may choose at a later date to enter into a separate agreement between myself and the Parish related to the use of this gift and would request that the Parish utilize the gift in accordance with the terms of that agreement.

Specific Amount-for a specific purpose

I hereby give, devise and bequeath to Good Shepherd Congregation, a nonprofit Catholic Church in Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin, the sum of ______ dollars ($) of the rest, residue, and remainder of my estate to be used for ______________________ at the Parish. It is understood and agreed that should the purpose for which this bequest is instituted cease to exist, then the Parish may devote said bequest for other such uses and purposes as it determines to be in accordance with my original intent in making this gift.

**The information we have provided above is for estate planning purposes and is not meant to be legal or tax advice. If you have any questions please do not hesitate to consult your financial planner or estate attorney.

When someone dies or there is someone you wish to celebrate or even a significant milestone in your life you can give a lasting tribute to that person by making a donation to the church. Gifts can be designated for a variety of uses including operating expenses, the Building Maintenance Fund or the Eschweiler New Century Fund.

According to Wikipedia, “A matching gift fund or matching gift, also known as a matching fund or matching donation is a charitable gift made toward a nonprofit organization by matching the donor’s gift under the provision that an original donor first makes a gift toward that organization.”

An example: an employee of a bank which matches gifts gives $100 to the church. Since this bank is a matching gift corporation, it will match the donor’s $100 gift to the church one-on-one, for a total of $200. While the church member doesn’t get credit for the $200 on her contribution statement, she has the satisfaction of knowing she increased the value of her gift to the church.

In order to procure the matching funds for Good Shepherd Congregation, please check with your employer (usually your human resources department is a good place to start) to see if they have a matching gift program in place. Check to see what paperwork is required for you to double your gift to Good Shepherd Congregation.

If you have any questions about matching gifts please contact Good Shepherd Congregation.

Gifts of appreciated securities include stocks, bonds, mutual funds and other assets. Smart gift planning combines charitable intent with cost-effective planning techniques. Of critical importance is the kind of asset used to fund the gift. Usually, long-term appreciated property can generate the most favorable tax benefits. Reason: Gifts of securities provide a double benefit to the donor, a charitable deduction, in most cases for the full fair-market value of the security, plus avoidance of any potential capital gain tax. Donating securities to the church is easy!

How do I donate securities to the church?

After consulting with your attorney, tax professional or financial advisor, and your have determined you want to make a donation of securities to Good Shepherd Congregation, please contact your stock broker.

Next please notify the church office of your intention or send an email message with the information. It is important to notify the church office because there are rules of confidentiality involved with the brokerage industry (to protect its clients) and the church wants to be able to acknowledge the gift upon receipt. While most brokerage firms will send a letter to the church notifying them of the donation, sometimes the letter is received after the funds have been deposited into the church bank account.