By Nick Vendikos, KHS, Director of Development
Every year we receive bequests from the estates of deceased benefactors.
The Catholic Foundation counts on these gifts as we support programs for Youth Evangelization, Catholic Migration Services, or Catholic Media and Communications, to name just a few.
When you revise or create your will for the first time, we hope you include the Catholic Foundation for Brooklyn and Queens in your legacy giving. Your potential estate gift will help us serve the next generation.
Planned Giving Made Simple
As you consider an estate gift to the Foundation, it may be helpful for you to know your options for giving.
For example, you can make your bequest as an unrestricted gift. This permits the Foundation to use your bequest where it is needed most.
A second type of bequest is designated or restricted to a specific purpose. For example, a gift may be earmarked for a program you feel keenly about or for capital improvements. You could even designate a bequest to establish an endowment.
A third kind would be a combination of the first two. That is, part of the bequest might be used where the need is greatest and the restricted part for the predetermined purpose.
What’s Next?
Once you’ve decided your legacy gift, you must determine how the bequest will be identified. You have at least three options:
I) You can specify an amount.
II) You can name the Foundation to receive a percentage of the residue of your estate — the amount that is left after the bills have been paid and specific bequests have been made.
III) You can name the Foundation as a contingent beneficiary to receive a part of your estate that would have passed to another person had he or she been living.
As you proceed with your estate plans, I hope we can be part of the conversation. You will become a member of our Fons Vitae Society for legacy donors. It also helps our long-range planning efforts if we know where future resources are being directed.
Best of all, it gives us the opportunity to thank and honor you in advance.
For more information on the Fons Vitae Society, please contact me at 718.965.7375 ext. 1624, or at nvendikos@cfbq.org.