If you would like to learn more about giving to support the work of Covenant Christian School, please contact the Head of School, Michael Sabo, at msabo@ccs-pc.net.
Monetary Gifts
Monetary gifts provide an immediate benefit to Covenant Christian School and are tax deductible in the current year (to the full extent of the law) if the gift is received by December 31st.
Checks can be made payable to:
Covenant Christian School
Attention: Development Office
2350 Frankford Avenue
Panama City, FL 32405
One Time Donation or Recurring Donations
You can donate by texting ROAR to 53-555 or by clicking
Matching Corporate Gifts
Many employers will match your charitable gifts, meaning your gifts are worth even more. If your company or firm has a matching gifts program, ask your employer’s personnel office for the form to enclose with your donation. The Front Office (vmesser@ccs-pc.net) will be happy to assist with this process.
Gifts of Appreciated Assets
Gifts of appreciated assets provide a tax deduction based on the fair market value of the asset transferred, with the added benefit of avoiding capital gains tax on the appreciation. To ensure proper application of these rules to your gift and individual tax situation, please consult with your financial advisor.
Securities in a Brokerage Account
Contact the Head of School, Michael Sabo, at msabo@ccs-pc.net, to initiate a gift of stock and to ensure your contribution is properly credited. You will be given the account information your broker will need to make the transfer. Covenant Christian School will notify you when your stock gift has been received.
Securities in Certificate Form
Send or deliver an unendorsed stock certificate with a transmittal letter stating your name, address, and the purpose of your gift (e.g., Annual Fund). Under separate cover, send a stock power executed in blank with a copy of the transmittal letter. The amount of your gift will be the securities’ mean value on the date received.
Send both envelopes to:
Covenant Christian School
Attention: Development Office
2350 Frankford Avenue
Panama City, FL 32405
Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs) & Other Qualified Retirement Plans
During Your Life: Individuals may fulfill their annual required minimum distribution by a qualified charitable distribution (a “QCD”) – a direct transfer to a charity of up to $100,000 from their qualified retirement plans (e.g., 401(k)s, IRAs and Keoghs). For a QCD to count toward your required minimum distribution, it must be made by the same deadline as a normal distribution, which is usually Dec. 31 of the tax year in question. A donor cannot claim an income tax deduction for making a QCD, but by utilizing the QCD, the donor can lower taxable income, which may provide greater income tax savings in comparison to making a cash gift and claiming an income tax deduction.
Upon Your Death: Additionally, accumulations in qualified retirement plans can cause the value of many estates to rise above nontaxable threshold values established by Congress, thus incurring federal, and possibly state, estate taxes. Careful planning can minimize the taxes due on retirement plan assets. One option is to designate a percentage of assets from the plan to Covenant Christian School. Because such a gift is for charitable purposes, it is fully deductible from the estate, and may result in more assets being received by heirs.
Real Estate
Real estate gifts are transferred in the same way as appreciated securities and can allow for an income tax deduction at the full fair market value of the property. Capital gains tax can be avoided in most instances, but an appraisal may be necessary to substantiate the value of the gift and the resulting income tax deduction.
Gifts-in-kind
Gifts-in-kind are items given for use through a program or project. Automobiles, trucks, boats, or building materials may be fully deductible, depending on the type of gift. Tangible personal property related to Covenant Christian School’s tax exempt purposes and uses can be fully tax-deductible at their full fair market value. However, the income tax deduction for gifts that are not related to our tax-exempt purposes are generally limited to their cost basis.
Planned Giving – An Enduring Legacy
“What is the use of living, if it be not to strive for noble causes and to make this muddled world a better place for those who will live in it after we are gone? How else can we put ourselves in harmonious relation with the great verities and consolations of the infinite and the eternal?”
— Winston Churchill, Dundee, Scotland, 10 October 1908
Leave an enduring legacy of strengthening classical and Christian education by providing support to the school through deferred gifts, bequests, or trust instruments. We welcome the opportunity to meet with you and your advisors to discuss your philanthropic goals and how you can include Covenant Christian School in your estate and financial plans. There are many ways you can ensure enduring support to the mission of Covenant Christian School through an endowment and other gifts. All discussions are confidential and are held without obligation.
Bequests or Other Testamentary Gifts
You can provide for Covenant Christian School in your will or in a trust. The full value of a bequest is deductible for federal estate tax purposes, and there is no limit to the size of such a bequest. You may also establish a charitable remainder trust or a charitable lead trust through your will, allowing you reduced estate taxes while both providing for your heirs and leaving an enduring legacy at Covenant Christian School.
You may incorporate a bequest or testamentary trust to Covenant Christian School when your will is originally drafted, or add one later by a codicil to your Will. For other forms of testamentary gifts, you should seek advice from your financial advisor or attorney. If you are interested in speaking with an estate planning attorney, at no cost and without obligation, about benefitting Covenant Christian School through the use of sophisticated estate and tax planning techniques, please contact the Head of School, Michael Sabo, at msabo@ccs-pc.net.
Gifts of Life Insurance
You can name Covenant Christian School as the beneficiary (or co-beneficiary) on a new or existing life insurance policy. In the event of your death, Covenant Christian School would receive the death benefit of the policy. If the policy is subject to estate tax upon your death, your estate would receive a charitable deduction for the amount payable to Covenant Christian School.
If you were to name Covenant Christian School as the owner of the policy and relinquish all incidents of ownership, you can also claim an immediate income tax deduction for the policy’s cash surrender value.
You can also purchase, through relatively modest annual gifts, a new policy naming Covenant Christian School as beneficiary and owner. Not only will you be able to transform a small annual gift into a large one, you can claim the amount of the annual premium as an immediate charitable deduction for income tax purposes.
Retained Income Gifts
If you want to make a charitable gift to Covenant Christian School, but need to retain income for yourself or a family member, consider a deferred, or “life estate” gift. Deferred gifts can allow you to achieve your philanthropic goals for Covenant, while also providing income and important tax savings.
Charitable Gift Annuity
You can make a contribution to Covenant Christian School and receive a fixed annual income from the gift for the rest of your life. The rate you receive is based on your age and will increase as you get older. If you give appreciated securities to create a charitable gift annuity, the capital gain is prorated over your life expectancy; part of the annuity payment is tax-free for the duration of your life expectancy; and you receive an income tax deduction, the amount of which varies, depending on the age of the annuitant. Upon the death of the annuitant (you or your designee), the remaining principal becomes available to Covenant Christian School.
Charitable Remainder Trust
A charitable remainder trust can be established with cash, appreciated securities, real estate, or other marketable assets. Managed by a trustee, a charitable remainder trust provides you with income until your death (or the death of a beneficiary), or for a specified term of years. When the trust term expires, the principal becomes available to Covenant Christian School.
Donors may choose the trust’s annual payout rate. A Unitrust pays income according to a fixed percentage of the total trust value, as revalued each year. As a unitrust’s value increases, payments to the beneficiary also increase. An Annuity Trust pays a fixed dollar amount each year, rather than a percentage of the annual trust value. This dollar amount is selected by you when the annuity trust is created, and it does not change from year to year.
Pooled Income Fund
Pooled income fund operates like a mutual fund. Your gift is comingled and invested with other pooled income fund gifts, generating income payments each quarter to you or a chosen beneficiary. Payments are based on the earnings of your proportionate interest in the fund. Upon your death or the death of the first beneficiary, income payments may pass to a second beneficiary, such as a spouse. When all income beneficiaries have died, your shares in the fund become available to Covenant Christian School.
If you contribute appreciated securities, there is no capital gains tax on their transfer to (or subsequent sale by) the pooled income fund. You are entitled to an income tax deduction for part of the gift, subject to the same contribution ceilings mentioned earlier for outright gifts of cash or securities. Most donors also experience an increase in annual income as a result of the gift. Contact your financial advisor for more information. You can also learn more at CharitableGift.org.
For more information on supporting Covenant Christian School through planned giving, please contact the Head of School, Michael Sabo, at msabo@ccs-pc.net.
The above overview is provided for educational and informational purposes only. It is not intended as, and should not be construed as, legal, tax or investment advice.