Foundation Services

Christian Aid Ministries Foundation provides our supporters ways to direct various kinds of material resources to CAM and other charities of choice. Our Biblical Stewardship Services department provides estate planning literature, seminars, and personalized estate designs to our supporters free of charge. We believe God gives us stewardship of temporal assets to be managed by eternal values, and these services help us be Biblical stewards.

Donor Advised Fund

This is a way for you to make tax-deductible gifts to charities of your choice, while protecting your privacy and simplifying long-term giving. You may have highly appreciated real estate, securities, or other assets you wish to sell or give to a charity. An irrevocable contribution of all or a specified portion of the property enables you to minimize or avoid capital gains taxes and receive a tax deduction for the year in which you make a gift, even if not all the funds are disbursed to charities during that year. Christian Aid Ministries Foundation will place your gift in a Donor Advised Fund, where over time it may be used in various CAM programs and other charities of your choice. You may recommend when and to which charities funds are disbursed from your Donor Advised Fund, and will receive an quarterly report of fund activity.

Charitable Gift Annuities

This is a way for older supporters to generate income for the rest of their lives while making a charitable gift to Christian Aid Ministries. A Charitable Gift Annuity is an agreement between you and CAM Foundation*. In exchange for your non-refundable gift of cash or other property, CAM Foundation will pay you a specified annuity for the rest of your life. The annual amount is fixed at the time you make the gift, and does not fluctuate with the economy, so you know how much income you will receive every year. The rate is determined by your age, as established by the American Council on Gift Annuities. You will receive an income tax charitable deduction for a portion of your gift in the year it was given. Each year you will also receive a tax statement from CAM Foundation indicating the breakdown of your taxable and tax exempt annuity income for the previous year. Regular annuity payments will continue until your death, when the remaining balance of your original gift will be used in CAM programs.

Charitable Trusts

A trust is often the easiest means of making sure your wishes are carried out in the use and disposal of your property, during your lifetime or the lives of others. Effective use of trusts may also minimize or eliminate estate taxes. Basically, a trust is a form of property ownership. As the donor, you create the trust by transferring property to a trustee for the benefit of one or more beneficiaries. You prescribe exactly how you want the trustee to manage the trust property during your life and after your death. Different trusts may be tailored to meet your unique needs.

• Charitable Remainder Trusts can be established to provide lifetime income, minimize capital gains taxes, and avoid probate. After your death, the remainder of the assets pass to charity to be used by Christian Aid Ministries and other charities of your choice.
• Charitable Lead Trusts allow you to pass assets on to family members with little or no gift or estate tax payable, by first donating a portion of the trust’s income to charity and then, after a specified period of time, transferring the remainder of the trust to the beneficiaries. Your trust would make annual payments to Christian Aid Ministries and other charities of your choice for a specified number of years, after which time the assets remaining in the trust would go to your beneficiaries.

Bequests

A bequest is a transfer of property to charity through your will. If your estate or assets are subject to a federal tax, a charitable bequest through your will may save you significant taxes.

• • Outright Bequest

You can specify an outright gift of cash, securities, real estate, or tangible personal property to go to charity. We recommend that for an outright bequest, you consider a percentage of your total estate rather than a fixed amount, since the value of the assets today may change by the time the bequest is disbursed.

• • Residual Bequest

You can make specified bequests to your heirs, after which the residue, or balance remaining in the estate goes to charity, whatever amount that may be.

• • Contingent Bequest

You have a scriptural obligation to provide for dependent family members (I Tim 5:8), and you may wish to provide for others who are close to you. This enables you to make a bequest to charity, contingent on providing first for those who depend upon you. For example, you could provide for a charity to receive a bequest from your estate only if your spouse does not survive you.

Estate Planning Seminars

Biblical Stewardship Services conducts estate planning seminars in churches and community meetings on:

• Why it is important to have a will
• Choosing a guardian for minor children
• Biblical principles related to estate transfer
• Handling household goods and effects
• The benefits of a revocable living trust
• How estate and capital gains taxes may be minimized or avoided

To schedule a Biblical Stewardship seminar, please call Jon Stoltzfus at 717-354-2434.

Estate Design Services

Christian Aid Ministries Foundation offers personalized estate design planning services free of charge to our supporters. To schedule a private appointment, please fill out the form below or call 330-893-4915 and ask for Biblical Stewardship Services. All estate information shared with CAM will remain strictly confidential.

* Annuities will be issued by either CAM Foundation or CAM depending on the state in which you live.