I never thought about that…

(Gifts you didn’t know you could make!)

Generous donors like you make it possible for Sacred Heart Southern Missions to offer a proven path out of poverty for children and families. If you wish you could do more, consider two hidden assets you might have never thought about: life insurance and U.S. Savings Bonds.

Life insurance provides financial security for your heirs in case of an untimely death. However, your financial needs change over time as your children grow, become independent, and you transition to retirement. Your life insurance policy could allow you to make a generous contribution to Sacred Heart Southern Missions at little or no cost to you and can even provide tax savings.

A contribution of life insurance could make sense if your family is provided for by other means and your policy is paid up or has substantial cash value. It can be as simple as naming Sacred Heart Southern Missions as the beneficiary of your policy which preserves the opportunity to change your gift in the future if need be. Or, if you irrevocably transfer ownership of your policy to Sacred Heart Southern Missions, you can receive an income tax deduction now and a deduction for future premiums.

Over the years you may have purchased U.S. Savings Bonds and tucked them away where they sit, increasing in value each year. But do your bonds continue to serve your purposes? Older savings bonds may no longer accrue interest. Perhaps you have considered redeeming your Savings Bonds but hesitated when you learned that you will have to pay income tax on the accrued interest.

You could redeem your Savings Bonds and use the cash proceeds to make a gift to Sacred Heart Southern Missions. Although you will owe income tax on a portion of the redemption, your contribution to Sacred Heart Southern Missions will provide a charitable deduction that can offset the income taxes.

Another option is to leave your Savings Bonds to Sacred Heart Southern Missions in your will. At the end of your lifetime, your bonds will pass directly to SHSM and none of the interest will be taxed. A tax savvy strategy is to give your Savings Bonds to Sacred Heart Southern Missions, leaving other non-taxed assets for your heirs.

If you need to discuss any of these options please contact Steve Koepke our Director of Donor Relations at 888.217.4829 or via email at skoepke@shsm.org.