Planned Giving

Planned Giving Has a Long-Lasting Impact

Interested friends have asked, "How can I help to ensure that the excellent education provided at the Vision of Hope Schools will continue well into the future? What is the most effective way for me to make a gift?" Planned giving is the answer!

You can give a gift today or in the future. Certainly, cash gifts or the gift of appreciated stocks are most welcome at any time.

A cash gift will benefit the schools immediately, and provide you with current tax benefits. If you are planning to give a generous gift in cash, and if you are currently working, check to determine if your place of employment has a matching gift program. Many companies will match gifts that their employees and/or their retirees make. If your company has no such provision, maybe your question will inspire such generosity.

However, at times, a large cash gift might not be to the best tax advantage of the donor. CPAs, attorneys or financial planners might suggest such a donor give a gift of appreciated assets or stock. The gift of appreciated assets or stock is a way to make a significant gift to the schools, and it can help the donor by means of an income tax deduction, avoiding capital gains taxes at the same time.

One type of planned gift that is important to the donor, as well as to the institution, is a bequest in your will or your living trust. Of course, everyone should have drawn up a will no matter what age you are! If you leave a bequest or a gift from your living trust to a non-profit institution, like Vision of Hope, you create an educational memorial that will support your values, and you could reduce some estate taxes that can be incredibly high. A person might leave a specific amount of cash or securities, or a percentage of the gross estate, or the residue of the estate after all else has been taken care of.

There are many more sophisticated ways to make major gifts such as charitable trusts or donor-advised funds. For these, a prospective donor should consult a CPA, a financial planner, or an attorney to discover how to make the most effective gift possible, one that helps the donor as well as the agency to which a gift will be given.

For the Vision of Hope Schools, there are two important places toward which planned giving may be directed: the endowment with a goal of raising $1 million for each campus to provide annual support from the interest, or a gift to the school(s). Presently, pledges and gifts totaling $3.9 million have been raised toward our $8 million endowment goal. A gift or bequest to the endowment helps to ensure support for the schools in the future through tuition assistance, while a gift or bequest to the school(s) will help take care of capital needs, additional personnel, new programs, update technology, etc.

It is clear that every donor wants his or her gift to impact positively the lives of those who receive it. God bless those wonderful people who have remembered Vision of Hope in any way.

For information about gifts to the endowment, you may email us or call the Development Office, 510.533.5768, for more information or a local referral.

Your gifts will ensure that an affordable, quality Catholic education will be available for years to come.