There are many ways to make planned gifts to Camp Arcadia. Below are the most popular options. Questions about any of these may be directed to Chip May or Sarah Olson (contact information listed at the bottom of this page).
Your Will
Do you have a will? It is a basic question, but one that many people prefer not to answer. We don’t like to think about our will because we don’t like to think about life after we are gone. We’d invite you to consider your will as the true building of a legacy: for your family and charitable organizations that have been near and dear to you throughout your life.
The sad reality that as many as 60% of Americans don’t have a valid will. A will is an important final way to tell family and charities what is most important to you. A will simply directs those we leave behind how to divide up what is left. When instructions aren’t given, chaos can ensue and unnecessary tension within family relationships can develop. A will can also be a statement of what was important to you. It can be a final way to demonstrate your values, blessing your family and maybe even some of the organizations, ministries and charities that will continue long after your lifetime.
If you’d like to include Camp Arcadia in your will in any shape or form, contact your attorney about starting the process or adding a codicil. Camp Arcadia, unless otherwise directed, will place estate gifts into the Camp Arcadia Foundation. The Foundation enables Camp to keep registration rates and fees low, launch new programs, and care for our aging facilities. Your gift will qualify you to become a Camp Arcadia Legacy Builder. Click here to ask for more information.
Life Insurance
One of the easiest ways to make a gift to Camp Arcadia is by making Camp Arcadia a full or partial beneficiary of a life insurance policy that you own or intend to take out.
Another way to leave a life insurance gift to Camp Arcadia is to make the camp the owner of the policy. Then, you can send a gift to Camp Arcadia each year to pay the premium. The annual premium payment will qualify as a gift to the ministry each year and so may be tax deductible. Camp Arcadia will then make the annual payment to keep the policy current. Click here to ask for more information.
IRA
Many have found leaving Camp Arcadia individual retirement accounts (IRAs) very beneficial to both Camp and to their estate planning process. The reason is that traditional IRA’s have tax consequences for your children or other individuals. While individuals can take the IRA either as a lump sum or paid out over years, there will be taxes due.
Camp Arcadia gets to avoid the taxes due and therefore can place the entire amount of the IRA into use for ministry purposes.
Giving through an IRA is also very simple because you don’t need to contact an attorney. Simply call your IRA administrator, tell them what you want to do, and they will provide you with the appropriate paperwork.
Additionally, in 2013, Congress passed legislation stating that you may give directly from your IRA to a charity. Your gift counts towards your required minimum distribution for the year and it does not count as income to you (though there is no gift tax credit). Click here to ask for more information.
Charitable Gift Annuity
Are you wanting to make a gift to Camp Arcadia, but you still need income from your money today? A charitable gift annuity may be right for you.
You can transfer an asset or fund a Gift Annuity to a certain level. Then based on your age, you will receive a guaranteed payout for life. A portion of this payout each year will be eligible for a tax deduction and the original gift to fund the gift annuity is partially deductible.
Charitable Gift Annuities are great for people looking to guarantee, or often increase, the income stream off an asset. It is important to note that once you place an asset into the Gift Annuity that you cannot get it back, but you do get the income each year for life. Click here to ask for more information.
Charitable Trust
Some friends of Camp Arcadia have found huge advantages to setting up a Charitable Trust to benefit Camp. Charitable Trusts work two ways.
Remainder Trusts: With a remainder trust, the donor gifts an asset to the trust (often to avoid capital gains taxes), then the donor receives an income from the trust for life or a specified number of years. It is also possible to grant your children or grandchildren a period of time to receive that trust income. Following the prescribed time period, the trust assets are then transferred to Camp Arcadia.
Lead Trusts: These work opposite of remainder trusts. In a lead trust, the charity receives an income stream from the donated assets for a period of years. Following the term of the agreement the asset transfers back to the original donor or to whoever the donor designates.
Both remainder trusts and lead trusts require professionals to set them up. Camp Arcadia is able to use the services of the LCMS Foundation, which does have small fees, but a long history of servicing these charitable vehicles. Click here to ask for more information.
For more information about planned giving contact:
Chip May
Executive Director
(231) 889-4361
Send Chip a Message
Sarah Olson
Donor Relations & Communications Coordinator
(615) 746-7685
Send Sarah a Message
Mailing Address:
Camp Arcadia
PO Box 229
Arcadia, MI 49613
