Creating a Plan to Impact Eternity

The fuel that powers missions is the generosity of believers around the world. Depending on the season and circumstances of our lives, this takes different forms. Sometimes it’s hours of fervent prayer; other times it’s preparing for a mission event at church. Sometimes we give out of scarcity and other times out of abundance. God uses it all. Think of the widow who cared for Elijah out of her poverty, contrasted with how God provided seemingly unlimited resources for Nehemiah to rebuild the wall through a king. Both were responsible for the stewardship of what God provided them.

As life picks up momentum with the passing of each year, we begin to think more about the legacy we’ll leave, and hope to make the greatest impact with the time and resources God has given us. One way to achieve this is to take stock of our finances and our plan for giving — for the present, and the years to come. We are keenly aware that good stewardship is aided by an effective financial plan, taking into account proper budgeting, retirement planning and estate planning.

With this comes more preparedness because we can determine how much we need to live on now (budgeting), what we need for the years to come (retirement planning), and how we can have an eternal impact on the Kingdom of God even after we’ve departed this world (estate planning).

I imagine your life is much like mine, it’s hurry up to the next thing, and I rarely make myself stop to evaluate how I’m doing with what I have — time, relationships and financial resources. My purpose here is not to dig deep and present exhaustive data on all the financial vehicles available to you for greater stewardship. Rather, my desire is to simply inform you that there are many good stewardship options to consider.

By taking a closer look at our finances, we’re able to develop a plan that best fits our individual situation. For instance, some types of gifts have a greater positive impact on our tax situation than just giving a gift with a check, credit card or cash. We will touch on this shortly.

There are a number of ways a person can continue impacting the mission field through the legacy of their estate. Thinking through these things can also be beneficial in determining how assets pass down to our loved ones.

Our team will be glad to answer any of your questions about the following gift opportunities. If you don’t have a plan in place, they can steer you in the right direction. It’s amazing to see how God can use ordinary tasks like creating a financial plan to radically grow the kingdom.

Your Servant in Christ,

Larry M. Brown

Stocks: A Gift with Eternal Dividends

In many cases, giving stock results in a greater tax advantage than a cash gift. By giving stock you have owned for more than one year, you can receive a tax deduction for the fair-market value of the stock and not what you paid for it. This allows you to avoid capital gains tax, potentially saving you thousands of dollars.

For example, say you’re going to make a $10,000 gift and are considering selling stock to get the funds. If you sold $10,000 of stock that you had purchased over a year ago for $5,000, you would owe $750 of longterm capital gains tax (15% x $5,000), leaving you with $9,250. You would have to add an additional $750 to get back up to $10,000 for the gift you desired to give.

However, you can avoid the $750 in taxes by giving the stock, and you can then write off the full $10,000 on your taxes. NTM would then sell the stock so the funds could be used for the mission field.

Making this type of gift is easy. Simply notify us of your desire to give the shares, and we’ll give you the information to pass along to your broker. To learn more, call 407-547-2397 or email sdo@ntm.org.

Estate Planning: Establish Your Legacy while Building the Kingdom

As believers, we can be good stewards of our assets, even after death. A will gives you the opportunity to continue transforming lives around the world through your legacy. With this one document you can direct your earthly assets to make a heavenly impact.

A will is also a great way to help your children understand your intentions after your passing. With a will you can avoid a lot of family frustration and help simplify probate, which is the legal process that takes place after a person dies.

If you do not have a will, the state you live in determines how your assets will be divided. This is a lengthy and expensive process. However, having a will in place helps make it faster.

To have your assets totally bypass probate, you will need a trust, which will give you even greater flexibility in how your assets are handled. Both wills and trusts provide peace of mind while also passing on resources to the generation that follows.

Giving through a will or a trust is simple. Some people carve out a portion of their assets to be given to a ministry of their choice upon death. This simplifies the process because any legacy gifts are donated before the assets pass down to the beneficiaries, making sure the intentions of the donor are met.

Wills and trusts are very useful, and we encourage you to seek legal counsel to properly proceed. If you would like help with a will or a trust, or plan to give to NTM in this capacity, contact us, and we will assist you. We can be reached at 407-547-2397 or email sdo@ntm.org.

What is a Gift-in-Kind?

Have you ever heard the term gift-in-kind? It may sound odd, but this is a type of charitable gift where you, a ministry partner, may give an item instead of making a gift by cash, credit card or check.

This includes stocks, mutual finds, cars, trucks, etc. In some situations this may be a preferred method of giving over a cash gift; or when a cash contribution cannot be made, donors can still help the work of New Tribes Mission and receive a tax deduction.

When a gift has been accepted by NTM, a letter is sent to the partner for their tax records. The partner then determines the value of the gift.

To make a gift-in-kind gift, simply call NTM, and we’ll help you out. The NTM Stewardship Development Office can be reached at 407-547-2397.

Receive a Lifetime Income and Support the Mission Field

Charitable gift annuities offer a unique way to receive regular, fixed payments for life, while also making an impact on the mission field.

This type of gift is popular and benefits both the partner and the ministry. In this agreement, the partner gives cash or property and then receives a lifetime stream of income. The portion of funds that go to the ministry are tax deductible to the partner.

Payments to the partner can start immediately and continue for one lifetime, or two if it is a joint life annuity, in which case the annuity payments continue until the end of the second person’s life. If payment is deferred, the interest can grow, and the payments will be larger when they begin, giving the partner more money to live on in the future. The amount of income paid back to the partner is a result of a number of factors (i.e. partner’s age, payout rate).

This is a very powerful gifting method that helps both the ministry and the partner at the same time. To learn more about this type of gift, contact us. The contact information is below.

NTM Stewardship Development Office
407-547-2406
sdo@ntm.org
1000 E. First St.
Sanford, FL 32771