A Smart Giving Strategy

Did you know that Central has a Resource Oversight Committee? Its purpose is to monitor and oversee the financial and physical assets of the church. I’ve had the joyful privilege of serving on this committee in recent years and as a result I have a firsthand look at our church’s financial health. We are truly blessed as a ministry. The Lord God continues to proclaim His gospel through our ministry, transforming lives down the block and around the world through the generosity of you, Central’s faithful members.

Most of you have heard about our December financial goal of $1.25 million. As you consider how you will participate this month, I wanted to bring to your attention the benefits of giving stock to the church. Did you know you can give shares of stock directly to the church? You can, and when you do there are several benefits of doing so.

When you give stock directly to the church, you avoid paying the capital gains tax on its appreciation. That’s a significant benefit. Ordinarily when you sell stock, you pay a 20% federal tax on any appreciation of the asset. For example, if you bought stock in a company four years ago for $5,000 and it has appreciated to a value of $10,000, selling that stock now would require that you pay $1,000 in federal capital gains tax (20% of the appreciated amount). If, however, you were to give that $10,000 of stock directly to the church, you would not pay the 20% capital gains tax. The church would sell the stock and receive the full $10,000, tax-free. And you as the donor would be able to deduct the full $10,000 on your annual income* tax return.

A lot of you already know this, but some of you may not and with the stock market being up it is likely that many of you have appreciated assets that could provide a very smart way to give to the church this year. Our church staff in the Business Office are available to help you with any questions you might have and can provide you with all of the information you need to transfer your gift of stock. It’s a relatively simple process, but you will want to begin the process in the next couple of weeks if you hope to complete the transaction before the end of the year.

On behalf of your Session and staff leadership, thank you for joining us this year. It is joy to serve with you, and to give with you! Let’s meet our $1.25 million goal and look forward to God doing even more Gospel ministry through us in the year ahead.

God bless you.

Pat Stark
Ruling Elder, Resource Oversight Committee

* In addition to the federal capital gains tax, Missouri also taxes the appreciation at 4.95%. If your total income is $250,000 or greater, you pay an investment tax of 3.8% in addition to the 20% for a total of 23.8%.