A planned gift to our church is an expression of your values and commitment to Christian Stewardship. It is a way of saying that after your family and loved ones, providing for your church community here is important to you. A gift from your estate to University UCC strengthens our endowment and sustains God’s mission through the ministry of the Church – a legacy and powerful response to God’s generosity.
Planned gifts are arranged during the donor’s lifetime but not realized by the beneficiary until the donor’s death. There are many ways to plan a gift. There are gifts that provide you with income during your lifetime and gifts that help reduce or avoid income and estate taxes. How you make your gift is important, but more important is the impact your planned gift will have on the causes that matter to you most.
This site is designed to make it easy for you to get the information you need when considering a planned gift. You will also find information to share with your financial advisor and/or estate planner. When you are ready, you can use this site to reach out to us to share your plans, let us know what you are considering, or just to start a confidential, no-obligation conversation about what’s possible.
A planned gift is an expression of your values. It's a way of saying that after your family and loved ones, these are the causes that matter most and providing for them is important to you. A planned gift is important to University Congregational UCC, too. These gifts help strengthen our endowment and sustain our mission.
Since 1891 the saints that came before us have been bringing to life the work of church in Seattle’s University District and beyond. Each one of us has a stake in this community and an abiding interest in seeing it thrive into the future.
Through planned giving, we can turn our hopes and dreams for the future of this church into action. We can fund programs for the homeless and those seeking justice. We can provide resources for pastors. We can make sure that excellence in music continues.
There are as many reasons to build your own UCC legacy as there are members of this amazing congregation. Please consider your options carefully, as they are laid out here, and consider a gift that will endure beyond your lifetime.
Your well-considered planned gift can make an impact on a specific area of need. Consider directing your planned gift to these core missions and ministries or directing your planned gift as an unrestricted gift to University Congregational United Church of Christ.
The Building Sustaining Fund is used to maintain the physical structure of our church facility at 4515 16th Ave NE. Funds in this endowment allow us to make major improvements as they are needed. Donors like you have made gifts to this fund to ensure we have a place in the community to call home and to provide a home as well to other valuable programs.
A Gift to the Pastor’s Discretionary Fund will provide valuable resources that our pastors can use to assist people having a financial crisis in times of need. This fund could be used for a deposit on a rental so that a homeless person can move into a permanent apartment, or it might provide a boost to help pay unexpected medical expenses.
Our children and youth are the future of University Congregational United Church of Christ. Making Youth and Children’s Ministry a beneficiary of your gift to support education and other youth programs is an expression of your commitment to future generations of the UCC.
Music is an essential part of our spiritual experience. Directing your gift to our music fund will help attract and retain talented musical directors, provide funding for musicians to add to worship on special days, allow us to purchase new music for our music library and maintain our valuable musical instruments. With a gift to this fund, you can ensure the artistic excellence of our music program into the future.
A gift to our Love and Justice Ministry helps us to shine a light where it is needed most in this troubled world. This fund helps to pay for new housing, help for people without homes, and assistance to those suffering from injustice. It also allows us to address the systemic injustices that damage our community—racism, poverty, classism, homelessness and others.
The University Congregational UCC Permanent Endowment is the repository for all gifts and bequests that are not otherwise designated. The endowment is professionally managed and invested in socially responsible funds. It allows us to put the gifts from our members - past and present – to work in perpetuity. The income generated by the endowment provides us with flexibility to respond where we are called by God and to make a positive impact within Seattle and in the wider world.
As a donor, you have total discretion over your planned gift. You have options for how your planned gift will be used, what to give and how to give. There are planned gifts you can provide for in a Will or trust and planned gifts that provide income to you and/or a beneficiary for their lifetime.
Through a provision in your written and executed will or living trust, you can make a planned gift (or an outright gift as well) to University UCC in the form of cash, securities, real estate or personal property. There are many types of bequests. Consult with your attorney to choose the one that best fits your needs and intentions.
Download Bequest LanguageYou can turn underperforming or non-income producing assets (cash, stock, CDs, savings bonds, etc.) into a gift to University UCC that provides income to you or you and a loved one. (One example of several available options is a Gift Annuity.) Your UCF Charitable Gift Annuity will return fixed, quarterly payments for life and provide tax benefits, too.
See How It Would Work for YouNaming University UCC as the beneficiary or one of the beneficiaries of a qualified retirement plan asset such as an IRA, 401(k), or 403(b) will accomplish a charitable goal while realizing a significant tax savings.
Download Beneficiary FormWhen you donate appreciated stocks, bonds, or mutual fund shares instead of cash, the benefit the church receives exceeds the cost of the original securities purchased. You'll get a charitable deduction for the full amount of your gift and avoid the impact of the capital gains taxes on the appreciated securities.
Download Stock Transfer InfoPersonal property, such as antiques, collectibles, musical instruments, works of art or vehicles, can be donated to us today or even after your lifetime through your estate. If the property is related to our mission, it's usually fully tax deductible based on its fair market value. In some cases, your gift of personal property can be used to fund a life income gift, such as a charitable gift annuity or charitable remainder trust.
Contact Us for DetailsName University UCC church as the beneficiary of an existing life insurance policy; donate an existing, paid-up life insurance policy you no longer need; or purchase a new life insurance policy and name University UCC as the owner and beneficiary.
Contact Us for DetailsPlanning your estate and legacy for future generations including your charitable interests takes careful evaluation.
Discussing your charitable intentions with us can lead to a much better result than going it alone – and will ensure that your gift is used just as you wish. Act now to be a good steward of the resources you intend to leave behind. Contact us using the contact info below, or submit this form to get more information.
If you are working with a professional advisor or if you are advising a donor, here's a handy guide for including University UCC in a charitable estate plan.
David Anderson
Church Administrator
206 524-2322
danderson@universityucc.org