Anyone—regardless of income or stage of life—can make a legacy gift, and you might be able to contribute more than you think! When you consider things like home equity, retirement accounts, and life insurance, your estate may be larger than expected. A gift in your will, trust, retirement accounts, or life insurance can make a tremendous impact on Eagle's Wings Retreat Center, without affecting touching your bank account.
Through the Catholic Foundation of Austin, EWRC has set up an endowment to help with the general operating costs of our retreat facility. Your generous planned support will allow us to continue enriching the lives of Christians and Catholics in a natural environment for years into the future. For more information about how to make a contribution to our endowment fund contact Stephanie Glorioso at [email protected].
What is Legacy Giving? A legacy gift is one that comes from assets and therefore allows you to make a larger gift than you could from income. While some legacy gifts can provide you with a lifetime income, others use tax-smart ways to maximize your gift and/or minimize the tax impact. Most take effect in the future as a final way to create your legacy (and therefore do not affect today’s finances).
Easy Gifts:
Gift in Your Will - A simple and popular way to make a legacy gift is through your Will. You specify a percentage of your estate, dollar amount, an item, or asset that you want your beneficiary to receive after your lifetime. You also have the option of naming Eagle's Wings Retreat Center, Inc. as a beneficiary to your estate. In as little as one sentence, you can complete your gift. This type of donation to Eagle's Wings Retreat Center in your will or living trust helps ensure that we continue our mission for years to come.
The Diocese of Austin has partnered with FreeWill to give all our supporters the opportunity to do create or update their will at no cost to you. You can access this free planning tool at freewill.com/austindiocese.You can designate Eagle's Wings Retreat Center Endowment when choosing your beneficiaries while creating your will with this tool. As always, we recommend consulting with an estate planning attorney to make sure your wishes are properly formalized.
Beneficiary Designations – You can name our Eagle's Wings Retreat Center, Inc. as beneficiary of your IRAs, retirement accounts, and life insurance policies. Retirement accounts require separate change-of-beneficiary forms because they are separate from your will. They can be modified at any time by requesting the form from your plan provider or policy administrator. Make your desired changes and return the form to establish your gift.
Giving From Your IRA – For those age 70 ½ and older you can give any amount (up to a maximum of $105,000) per year from your IRA directly to Eagle's Wings Retreat Center, Inc. without having to pay income taxes on the money. Beginning in the year you turn 73, you can use your gift to satisfy all or part of your required minimum distribution (RMD). These tax-smart gifts are commonly called an IRA charitable rollover, but you may also see it referred to as a qualified charitable distribution, or QCD for short.
More Ways to Give:
Appreciated Securities - for instructions on transferring appreciated securities, please contact Stephanie Glorioso at [email protected].
Donor Advised Funds (DAFs) - are like charitable checking accounts that give you the flexibility to recommend how often and how much money you want to grant to qualified charities like Eagle's Wings Retreat Center. You can also create a legacy gift by naming Eagle's Wings Retreat Center, Inc. as the beneficiary of the entire account or a percentage of the fund. With a percentage, you can create a family legacy of giving by naming your loved ones as your successor to continue recommending grants to charitable organizations. Contact your fund administrator for a beneficiary form. Our EIN is 56-2424430.
Interested in supporting EWRC with a planned gift? Contact Kevin Fenter at [email protected] or (706) 300-4730.