Suggested Giving Plans

A Special Commitment

We are inviting every member of the Holy Cross family to make a substantial commitment to the Cross Currents Campaign.  As you discern your gift or pledge amount, please keep in mind the following considerations:

• Your commitment may be paid one-time, monthly, quarterly, or annually over 36 to 60 months.
• We will send you regular payment reminders in accordance with the payment schedule you indicate.
• Cross Currents is a special project that requires funding over and above our typical annual revenue streams. Pledges made after June 30, 2020 do not support the Knights Fund.  As you budget your pledge, please anticipate that we will invite you to participate in the Knights Fund in future years as you make payments toward any Cross Currents pledge you might make.  Annual fundraising events such as the Hall of Fame Dinner, Golf Classic, and Walkathon will also continue to run as donors make and pay pledges to the Cross Currents. 

Tax Advantages of Thoughtful Giving

• Tax Deductions. Annual contributions to this campaign are fully tax-deductible (except in the instance of the IRA charitable rollover, further explained below). Beginning in tax year 2020, all donors qualify to deduct up to $300 in charitable giving—even if you do not itemize your deductions!
• IRA Charitable Rollover. If you have a traditional IRA and are aged 72 or older, you must take a required minimum distribution (RMD) every year.  You are permitted to make a qualified charitable distribution (QCD) to satisfy all or part of your annual RMD.  Through a QCD, you may transfer up to $100,000 per year to Holy Cross High School.  As a charitable gift, this distribution comes straight from your IRA to Holy Cross.  It does not pass through your hands and therefore is not taxed as income, but it does count toward your annual required minimum distribution.  Please note that since the funds are not claimed as income and you do not pay income taxes on the rollover, the rollover amount cannot be deducted on your tax return.
• Appreciated Stock or Securities. If you have held stock outside a retirement account for one year or more and were to sell it, the proceeds of the sale would be subject to capital gains tax.  However, you can avoid this tax by giving the stock directly to a charitable institution like Holy Cross.  When you do this, you are allowed to take a tax deduction for the full, current market value of the stock.  As a charitable institution, Holy Cross sells the stock immediately and pays no capital gains tax.  This results in both a bigger deduction for you and a larger gift to Holy Cross.  To make a gift of stock, please instruct your financial advisor to contact the Advancement Office at (718) 886-7250, extension 545.

Employers’ Matching Gifts Programs

Many employers offer matching gift programs that provide employees and retirees the opportunity to multiply their gifts to educational institutions.  We encourage all donors to apply for matching funds directly with their human resources department.  Once your gift is received at Holy Cross, our Advancement Office can provide whatever verification your company requires to approve your application.  You will need to inform your employer of your gift before Holy Cross can attempt to redeem a matching gift from them.

Planned Giving

Planned gifts provide alumni, family, and friends with alternate, often tax-advantageous ways to make gifts to Holy Cross High School.  Below we have listed just a few common options.  Please contact Jimmy Conboy, our VP Institutional Advancement, at (718) 886-7250, extension 546, should any of these options appeal to you.

• Bequests to non-profit institutions are exempt from estate taxation. Gifts may be made in specified dollar amounts or as a percentage of an estate.  It is possible to bequest cash, real estate, stocks, bonds, coins, etc.  Bequests can be recognized towards the Cross Currents Campaign as long as they are formally documented through a letter of intent.
• Whole or Universal Life Insurance Policies no longer needed for lifestyle protection may be gifted to charitable institutions like Holy Cross for the cash or surrender value of the policy.
• Retirement Plan Benefits that are not distributed to the plan’s owner during his/her lifetime may be subject to both estate tax and income tax upon the owner’s passing. To avoid this “double jeopardy,” consider gifting these assets to Holy Cross.  Simply list Holy Cross as the beneficiary or contingent beneficiary of all or part of your IRA or retirement plan benefits.
• Charitable Trusts allow the donor to place funds in trust to benefit both loved ones and Holy Cross. In the case of a charitable remainder annuity trust (CRAT), the donor places funds in trust, and the trust in turn pays a fixed dollar amount every year to a beneficiary (usually the donor) for life or for a set number of years.  When the trust expires, the remainder becomes a gift to Holy Cross.  Charitable remainder unitrusts (CRUTs) operate on the same principle, but instead pay a set percentage of the trust’s corpus each year to the donor/beneficiary.  Charitable lead trusts, on the other hand, provide financial support to one or more charities for a set period of time (such as the lifetime of the donor), with the remaining assets eventually going to family members or other beneficiaries.  Depending on how they are set up, charitable trusts can be powerful tools in retirement and estate planning and often carry significant tax benefits.

Questions