Fewer than half of all American adults have a will. If we are serious about and committed to our church while we are alive, then providing for our church when we are gone makes sense, too. A bequest of property, financial instruments, savings, accounts, and other resources may be of benefit to your estate, allowing more of what you have acquired in this life to continue the work of the church and leave more for your loved ones as well.

Whatever decisions you make, please make them in consultation with a qualified planner. Also, please remember that for a gift to be counted as a charitable contribution in 2020, for tax purposes, it must either be received by the church by December 31, postmarked by December 31, or transacted online by December 31. Making these decisions and putting them into place early will help ensure that your contribution is credited to you. Your financial decisions can help to advance the kingdom of God. Together, and through God’s abundant grace, we are creating Disciples and changing lives. Thank you for all you do.

You may wish to look at changes created by the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. Giving through qualified IRAs is a strategy that is now even more important than before for many of our members who are at least 70 ½ years old at the time of this writing.

Online giving can be done in either or both of two ways:

• Direct Debit Giving is used to automatically transfer funds from your checking or savings account to the church’s bank account.
• Credit and Debit card Giving lets you make offerings using a credit or debit card or another bank account. Text GIVE to 901-910-1220 and you can make an easy payment via your phone at any time.

Getting started is quick and easy! Just follow these 3 easy steps:

1. Visit the church website or app and click the donate now button at the top of the page (germantownumc.org)
2. Choose the Fund you would like to support
3. Fill out the contact information and debit/credit card information

Because we believe in being good stewards of what God has entrusted to us, we encourage you to thoughtfully consider the advantages of giving appreciated stock to Germantown United Methodist Church.

By giving appreciated stock to a charitable organization such as GUMC, you avoid paying capital gains tax on the increased value of the stock. Because you are giving to a charitable organization, your gift is deductible for the market value of the stock at the time it was given.

Please ask your financial advisor if this is a viable option for you.

Appreciated Securities are a Win-Win:

• GUMC receives a gift as good as cash that will be used for God’s work.
• Donors receive a charitable tax deduction equal to the fair market value of the stock and avoid capital gains tax on the appreciated value of the stock.
• A reminder: You can accelerate your tax deduction and, at the same time, significantly help GUMC by giving stock before year-end in payment of your pledge for next year. The church will earn interest on the deposited funds and will be able to use your contribution for next year’s operating expenses. You, of course, get to take credit for the gift against any tax liability for this year.

Steps to Give Securities to GUMC

1. Notify Sharon Panis at 901-758-6530 or spanis@germantownumc.org and mail/email her the Stock Gift Form – for GUMC (pdf).

2. Notify your broker to transfer a specified number of shares of stock to Germantown United Methodist’s account at Merrill Lynch. To do this, please complete and send the Stock Gift Form – for Broker (pdf) to your broker.

Please note that Germantown United Methodist policy is to immediately sell all stock gifts and deposit the proceeds from the sale into the church bank account.