BUDGET DEFICIT? THINK CREATIVELY
Many of your members may be fortunate enough to be receiving a tax refund in April. As the board toils over its budget and deals with potential deficit issues, bear in mind ways in which your members can help themselves and reduce the congregation’s deficit through creative donations of their refund checks and other bequests.
Consider suggesting some or all of these Top Ten Things You Can Do Today to Leave a Legacy that Betty Zivitz, the executive director of Congregation Temple Sinai in New Orleans, LA, gleaned from her research:
- Prepare a will. Only fifty percent of those who pass away have one. Preparing a will gives you control over the distribution of your assets.
- Leave a testamentary gift to the temple. It will continue to help fund the congregation for years to come.
- Leave a specific dollar amount or a percentage of your assets to the synagogue.
- Specifically, consider giving long-term appreciated assets such as stocks, bonds, and CDs to the temple and receive a tax benefit. In most cases, the donor does not have to pay capital gains tax on the increase in value of the stocks, and the income tax deduction is based on the amount the securities are worth at the time of the donation rather than the original purchase price.
- Name the synagogue as the beneficiary of a pension or IRA.
- Purchase a new life insurance policy that designates the temple as the beneficiary.
- Name the synagogue as the beneficiary of an existing life insurance policy.
- Remember loved ones with memorial gifts made to the temple.
- Encourage family members and friends to leave testamentary gifts to the synagogue.
- Work with a financial adviser to best determine how you can include the synagogue in your estate plan.
These ideas will protect the future of the temple while providing your members with tax benefits now. Be sure to properly thank any members who choose to so honor the congregation.
PLEASE NOTE that the Union does not provide tax or estate planning advice. Consult with an attorney and tax adviser if you are considering making a donation.
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For more information on raising funds for your synagogue, download the Union for Reform Judaism's Department of Synagogue Management publication:
Development for Congregations*.
