Ways to Give

There are many ways you can give to The Ridgewood at Shenango Valley to make a positive difference in the lives of our residents. In addition, the way you give can also benefit your own financial and tax situation.

To find out what giving option is right for you, talk to your financial planner. You can also learn more about the giving opportunities available by contacting Dawn Hartman, Director of Strategic Giving, at 724-588-7610 ext. 1214 or Teresa Findley, Director of Annual Giving, at 724-588-7610 ext. 1237.

Check/Credit Card

The simplest way to give is an outright gift by check or credit card. Simply click on the link below to get started.

Securities

Gifts of stock or appreciated securities can be transferred to The Ridgewood at Shenango Valley. There can be several benefits to you for doing this, including an immediate charitable deduction and avoidance of capital gains tax. Consult with your financial professional for guidance.

Recurring Gift

If it’s in your heart to give to The Ridgewood at Shenango Valley on a regular basis or you’d like to spread out a large donation over time, you can set up a recurring monthly gift. The simplest way to do this is to set up a recurring payment through your online banking. The gift will then be automatically withdrawn each month from your checking or savings account and sent to The Ridgewood at Shenango Valley. You can stop recurring monthly gifts at any time.

Bequests

A charitable bequest in a will or living trust is the most common type of planned gift arrangement. It can be structured in a variety of ways. You can elect to leave The Ridgewood at Shenango Valley a specific dollar amount or a percentage of the total value of your estate after you have provided for family and friends. Charitable bequests cost you nothing during your lifetime, can be changed if your needs change and can minimize potential estate costs and taxes. Talk to your legal advisor for assistance. If you do include The Ridgewood at Shenango Valley in your estate plans, please let us know so we may thank you for your gift.

IRA Charitable Rollover

If you have a traditional IRA, at the age of 72, you will have to begin withdrawing a minimum required distribution each year, which is taxable income. If you don't need that money for your personal use, another great option is gifting it directly to St. Paul's from your IRA tax-free.

Retirement Plan

Another tax efficient way you can make a donation is to name The Ridgewood at Shenango Valley a beneficiary of all or a portion of a retirement account, such as an Individual Retirement Account (IRA), 401(k), 403(b), etc.

Retirement plans are some of the most heavily-taxed assets if left to heirs. In addition, recent changes to the law have eliminated stretch IRAs for non-spouse beneficiaries. Because of these reasons, some donors elect to leave other assets to their heirs, and name a charity as the beneficiary of their retirement plan instead.

Life Insurance

You can name The Ridgewood at Shenango Valley as a beneficiary or owner of your life insurance policy. This entitles you to an income tax deduction.

Charitable Gift Annuity

A Charitable Gift Annuity (CGA) is an irrevocable charitable gift that pays you and/or a spouse or other beneficiary a fixed income, part of which may be tax-free. It is guaranteed income for life. After the passing of the donor(s), the remainder of the CGA goes to the charity.

A CGA can start immediately or can be deferred to begin at a future date which you choose. The longer the delay between the creation of the deferred CGA and the start of payments, the larger the income tax charitable deduction resulting from the gift and the higher the annuity rate.

Charitable Remainder Trust

There are two kinds of charitable remainder trusts - annuity and unitrust. Both are irrevocable and offer charitable tax deductions similar to a charitable gift annuity.

With a charitable remainder annuity trust, you receive a fixed annuity payment from the trust each year, which is calculated by a percentage rate of the original gift. For example, if the rate is 6% of a $150,000 gift, the annual annuity payment would be $9,000, regardless of the amount of the principal. With this kind of trust, there is a possibility that the donor could outlive the principal available in the trust.

With a charitable remainder unitrust, you receive a fixed annual percentage of the balance of the fund each year. Because of this, the payment will vary from year to year as the fund goes up and down. For example, if the fund starts out at $100,000 and your rate is 5%, your pay-out that year would be $5,000 (S100,000 x .05). If the fund grows the following year to $115,000, the pay-out would go up to $5,750 ($115,000 x .05).

With both kinds of trusts, upon your passing, the remaining principal would become a charitable gift to The Ridgewood at Shenango Valley.