Florida Catholic | What Is Legacy Gifting?

What is legacy gifting?

This is the first in an occasional series of columns on the Catholic Community Foundation of Southwest Florida.

PHILIP FLYNN III | SPECIAL TO THE FLORIDA CATHOLIC

Published: 02.15.08

If you look up the word “legacy,” you will often find “money or property bequeathed to another by will” as the first entry. The next is often “something handed down from an ancestor or a predecessor or from the past.”

When we move on to be with Our Lord, what will our legacy be? Will we have done all we can to help those left behind, especially the least among us? Will we have helped our Catholic brothers and sisters to live the faith?

Many of us don’t know what a legacy gift is. We hear terms like “gift annuities” and “endowed funds” and “testament gifts,” and these can be confusing.

Here is a brief overview of legacy gifting to give you information and hopefully get you to ask questions.

Legacy gifting is a term often used to express planned giving. Simply stated, a legacy gift is constructed when the donor is alive, and the gift is given when the donor dies.

The gift usually comes from the estate of the donor. This usually provides the estate a tax deduction, and if set up properly, can provide for the donor’s wishes in perpetuity — meaning forever.

Over the next few months, I will be addressing some of the more intricate financial tools available that can assist us in providing legacy gifts to our favorite Catholic charities.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Flynn is executive director of the Catholic Community Foundation of Southwest Florida. Contact him at 941-441-1124 or Flynn@ccfswf.org.

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What is legacy gifting?

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