Planned Giving
Our team is available to guide you in considering giving options.
Making A Gift That Lasts for Generations
Philanthropy is one of the most important things in the St. Luke’s community, as it binds us together and provides comfort and reassurance to our patients, family members, and staff. Planned giving, also known as legacy giving, is a way for you to make a gift in your will, living trust, or other part of your estate plan that will benefit St. Luke’s for generations to come.
If you're considering a planned gift, our team is available to assist you in exploring options to find the best fit for your needs and interests. We invite you to call us at (208) 505-2981.
Bequests
A bequest is a gift from your estate. It could be a transfer of cash, securities or other property. You can make a bequest to St. Luke’s Health Foundation by including language in your will or living trust, leaving a portion of your estate to St. Luke’s, or by designating St. Luke’s as a beneficiary of your retirement account or life insurance policy.
Gifts of Stock
You may choose to transfer ownership of stock to the St. Luke's Health Foundation. We are able to provide general instructions on making this sort of gift, and answer any specific questions you may have.
Retirement Accounts
An easy way to make a legacy gift is to designate St. Luke’s as a beneficiary of your retirement plan. Funds in most retirement plans have never been subject to income tax. So, your heirs will usually have to pay income tax on the proceeds. Gifts to charitable organizations, like St. Luke’s, however are income tax free. An efficient tax and estate plan uses retirement funds to make your charitable gifts and distributes other assets for heirs.
If you are 70 ½ years old or older, you can take advantage of a simple way to benefit St. Luke’s and receive tax benefits in return. You can give up to $105,000 from your IRA directly to a qualified charity such as ours without having to pay income taxes on the money. This popular gift option is commonly called the IRA charitable rollover, but you may also see it referred to as a qualified charitable distribution, or QCD for short.
Charitable Trusts
The charitable remainder trust is a tax-exempt irrevocable trust designed to reduce the taxable income of individuals by first dispersing income to the non-charitable beneficiaries of the trust for a set time and then donating the remainder amount of the trust to the designated charity. You can set up a trust using cash, stock or real estate and you may designate your gift to support your favorite program or service or provide for perpetual funding of a program.
A charitable remainder trust offers you many rewards including generating income, tax benefits and the ability to make a significant gift to community health care at the end of your life.
Endowed Gifts and Named Funds
You can help support programs and services for future generations by establishing a named endowment fund to support a specific area or by giving to help grow an existing fund. St. Luke’s Endowments are monies held by St. Luke’s and invested to provide annual income for designated purposes. The “spending rate” represents a percentage of interest generated by the principal investment. The spending rate is set to permit the endowment to fund its stated objective while also growing the initial investment.
Like an endowment, a named fund can be set up to support a program or service that is of interest to the donor. Special purpose funds can also be named and funded similar to an endowment. However, these funds are used as needed and can be fully expended over time rather than being held indefinitely. The minimum amount to start a named or endowed fund is $25,000.
Planned Giving Resources
Deciphering the Details
Each planned giving option has benefits to consider, along with specific processes and regulations to follow in making your gift. For more details, we invite you to review our planned giving resources or call us at (208) 505-2981.
Legacy Society
Legacy Society members are individuals or couples who have generously named the St. Luke’s Health Foundation in their estate plans. These types of gifts help ensure that we can continue to support health care excellence long into the future.
Donor Stories
Adaline and Gerald
Adaline and Gerald James of Vale, Oregon made a substantial gift to support the health of future generations, leaving a significant portion of their estate to St. Luke’s. Upon their passing, St. Luke’s received almost $895,000. What is so incredible, yet typical of our generous donors, is that St. Luke’s did not know about this gift prior to the couple's death. Although Adaline and Gerald had been donors to St. Luke’s in the past, they chose to keep their estate gift a secret. During their lifetime, they gave three gifts totaling $125. Their estate gift was over 7,000 times larger than their lifetime giving!
The Foundation team wishes we could have thanked Adaline and James personally, and honored their gift during their lives. We are truly grateful for their generosity. Their gift will endure in our general endowment and be used where the need is greatest over time.
Do you think planned giving may be right for you?
Our team is available to guide you in considering giving options. Call us today at (208) 505-2981 or send us an email.