A legacy of belonging

Your planned gift to UKirk SMU not only supports the ministry here and now; it leaves a legacy of love and belonging for years to come.

Current

Now is the time to secure belonging for the future.

Aspirational

In 2024, the grants that gave us a foothold in ministry will sunset. As our campus ministry continues to grow, it’s important that resources for our ministries keep pace and grow to support and expand along with our vision of belonging for all.

A well-funded endowment is key to our long-term financial health and stability. Growing our endowment is a primary focus for us right now. That’s why we’ve established UKirk SMU’s planned giving ministry to grow our endowment through estate and planned gifts.

By making a provision for UKirk SMU in your estate plans, you become a vital part of our planned giving ministry. By providing for our campus ministry with a legacy gift, you will continue to fund its mission and ministry of belonging long after your annual giving is complete. Because the endowment distributes only investment returns to UKirk SMU; your gift will generate financial support for our ministry in perpetuity.

Including UKirk SMU in your will or estate plans sends a message to future generations that they are valued and beloved. For students who may never have experienced that sense of belonging, even in church or among their own family, your gift is an affirmation of God’s love for them—a gift that is life-giving or potentially life-saving.

Plan your gift today!

Gifts Anyone Can Make

Bequest in your will

Pay nothing during your lifetime. Upon your death, your bequest goes to UKirk SMU. You can leave a specific asset, a percentage of your estate, or just what remains after other bequests have been fulfilled.

Life Insurance Policy

Have life insurance you no longer need? “Whole” or “universal” policies have cash value and can be donated, qualifying you for a tax deduction. Or, you can designate UKirk SMU as the full or partial beneficiary of any policy.

Retirement Funds

Retirement fund assets accumulate tax-free. But at your death, these taxes are levied. By naming UKirk SMU as the beneficiary of the remaining assets in your retirement fund, taxes on the assets are avoided.

Appreciated Securities

Avoid capital gains taxes by giving appreciated stocks, bonds, and mutual funds to UKirk SMU. You can even receive an income tax deduction based on the full market value of the securities. If your securities have decreased in value, sell them, claim the capital loss, and then donate the proceeds.

Personal Property

Donate most any kind of property to UKirk SMU and receive a tax deduction based on the appraised value of the asset. Artwork, antiques, coin collections…there are many possibilities.

Real Estate

You can gift real estate to UKirk SMU as well, enjoy a tax deduction based on the property’s current market value. Want to give your home and continue to live in it? Consider a “life estate”—where it automatically passes to UKirk SMU at your death.

Bargain Sale

Here, you sell personal property or real estate to UKirk SMU for less than its appraised value. You enjoy a tax deduction based on the discount.

Gifts that pay money

Charitable Gift Annuity

By setting up a charitable gift annuity, you transfer cash or property to UKirk SMU in exchange for a partial tax deduction and annual income for life.

Charitable Remainder Trust

Here, assets are transferred to a trust. You receive a tax deduction plus quarterly income. Upon the death of the last income beneficiary, the funds are released to UKirk SMU.

Gifts that protect assets

Charitable Lead Trust

Through a charitable lead trust, you set funds aside to be managed for a specified time period. During that time, UKirk SMU receives an income from the funds. At the end of the term, the funds (which may have grown) are returned to you or your heirs.

Life Estate

Give your home and continue to live in it… with a life estate. Through this option, you give a property (your home, farm, or other property) to UKirk SMU. You continue to use and maintain the property, and at your death (or other time of your choosing), you surrender the property.

Are you interested in making a gift?

Need more information or want to learn how your gift will make an impact?

Please contact our Executive Director at ukirksmu@gmail.com

  • “Every time I walk into Canterbury House, I feel at peace. It’s an experience I’ve never felt in a church community before. UKirk has been a life-changing and healing experience for me, for which I am eternally grateful.”

    Sydni Walker, student

  • “UKirk welcomes every student, just as they are, in a worshipping community where it is safe to wrestle with tough questions of faith. Traditional in worship, progressive in theology, and prophetic in its ethics, UKirk equips students to faithfully be the Church as they go out onto campus and into the world.”

    Mark Chancey, academic advisor

  • “Everything about my experience with UKirk feels entirely serendipitous, and I could not be more grateful for how this ministry grounded me and brought spirituality into my life.”

    Ru Ferguson, alum

Experience the joy of giving the gift of belonging.