Through our partnership with Tulsa Community Foundation, and as a service for our donors, Catholic Charities provides complimentary, confidential, charitable tax and financial planning services.

Careful financial planning can help you and your family have peace of mind by taking care of your short-term and long-term financial needs and intentions. Gifts made through thoughtful estate planning, deferred giving, and other forms of planned giving also create extraordinary opportunities to support the mission of Catholic Charities. If you choose to include Catholic Charities in your estate plans, you will be welcomed as a member of our Caritas Christi Society.

It’s never too early to put your financial estate in order. The Advancement Group is our charitable, financial and estate planning office – offering services to those passionate about making sure Catholic Charities is there to serve those in need for years to come.

Planned gifts are a variety of charitable giving methods that allow you to express your personal values by merging your family, financial, and charitable goals. Planned gifts can be made with cash, but many are made by donating assets such as stocks, real estate, art pieces, or business interests—the possibilities are endless.

Planned gifts can provide valuable tax benefits and/or lifetime income for you, your spouse or other loved ones. The most frequently-made planned gifts are bequests to charities, made through your will. Other popular planned gifts include charitable trusts and charitable gift annuities.

Making a planned gift usually requires the assistance of the charity’s development professional and/or a knowledgeable advisor such as an attorney, financial planner, or CPA to help structure the gift. Catholic Charities is able to offer the services of a professional estate planning specialist at no cost to our donors. We provide advice and complete in-depth information for your charitable tax and financial planning, and work directly with your lawyer, accountant, or estate planner, if necessary.

Many people would like to do more to advance charitable organizations, but have other responsibilities to consider.  A gift in your will or trust allows you to give when you no longer need the funds and also lowers your estate taxes. By setting up a will, you can ensure that your last will and testament includes the charities of your choice.

Gifts of life insurance

As you review your financial situation, remember that a life insurance policy is a unique way to give. To qualify for a tax deduction, a charity must be named owner and beneficiary. If your policy is paid up, your deduction will equal the policy’s replacement value. If your policy requires on-going premiums, you will receive a deduction for the premiums you pay.

Gifts that provide lifetime income

Perhaps you would like to give more during your lifetime, but cannot because of your present needs. By considering gifts that provide income, you may be able to achieve your charitable goals and still meet your own needs. Through the use of a charitable remainder trust, you can receive income for the rest of your life, receive an income tax deduction, and eliminate capital gains tax. A charitable gift annuity can also provide you with guaranteed lifetime income and a valuable tax deduction.

Gifts of retirement plans

Naming a charity as beneficiary of some or all your retirement account at death has unique benefits. When a child or heir is named as a beneficiary of the retirement account, they must pay income taxes on those funds received. Because charities are tax-exempt, when they are named as a beneficiary, there are no taxes paid on the funds received – all the funds can be used to advance the charity’s mission.

Gifts of stock or real estate

A gift of appreciated property, such as stock or real estate, can be one of the most advantageous ways of giving. If you have held the property for more than one year, you can avoid capital gains tax and receive a tax deduction for the market value of the property on the date of the gift.

Example: John plans to sell stock worth $1,000 that he bought for $400 and give the money to charity. If John sells the stock, he will have to pay capital gains tax on the $600. Instead, John gives the stock directly to a charity. As a result, he avoids the capital gains tax and receives a $1,000 tax deduction.

Gifts through a revocable living trust

Probate is the legal process that changes asset ownership from your name to your heirs using the courts. Unfortunately, if you have a will, your assets must still go through probate. To avoid probate costs, delays, and invasion of privacy, you may want to consider a revocable living trust. A revocable living trust (or a “living trust”) is a legal entity that, like a will, provides a list of instructions for distributing your assets at death. But, unlike a will, a revocable living trust avoids probate.

Gifts through a charitable gift annuity

A charitable gift annuity is an agreement between you and a charitable organization. You agree to make a gift of cash, stock, or other marketable property. In exchange, the charity agrees to pay you income payments for the rest of your life. At your death, the balance goes towards fulfilling the charity’s mission. By making this kind of gift, you will receive a charitable income tax deduction based upon your age and gift amount. Your annuity payments will be partially tax-free and depending upon the type of property you contribute, you may be able to save your money from capital gains tax.

Catholic Charities is pleased to offer the services of Mark Loeber, an expert on charitable gift and estate planning. Through our partnership with Tulsa Community Foundation, complimentary, confidential, charitable tax and financial planning services are availabe for our donors. If you would like to visit with Mark, please contact Laurie Gero lgero@cceok.org or (918) 508-7116 to arrange an appointment. Or, start the process, by filling out this confidential client data form and send it directly to Mark, who will then contact you for an appointment.

Mark Loeber, CAP
Charitable Financial Planner

Mark has more than 20 years of experience in the area of charitable gift and estate planning. His skill and knowledge have helped thousands of donors, as well as financial professionals and enrolled agents with the IRS, on advanced charitable and estate planning issues.

He has a degree in Business Management with an emphasis in Economics. He audited courses in law school studying Charitable Gift & Estate Planning in Virginia and is completing the Certified Financial Planning (CFP) and Certified Gift Planner (CGP) designations.

One of Mark’s greatest passions is helping individuals discover which charitable tools and techniques can best provide for their needs and the needs of their families.

The Caritas Christi Society was established to recognize and show gratitude to people who choose to include Catholic Charities in their estate plans.

Catholic Charities has been blessed with estate gifts from caring people in years’ past. One of those gifts was from Lucy Clark Brown, a woman we didn’t know, who left her estate to serve the poor at our Catholic Charities.

She remembered visiting a Catholic Charities with her father when she was a little girl and her family was struggling and in need of food and emergency assistance. Years later, she decided to help others in need. After her death our Catholic Charities was surprised with a $2 million gift.

The funds were invested until we could follow her wishes and build the building named in her honor and memory at our Tulsa campus.

Thousands of families in need visit The Market at Catholic Charities to receive groceries each year.

Other compassionate people have made bequests or planned gifts that are invested with our endowment. The annual distribution from these investments provides much-needed funding for our programs and services that help more than 60,000 people each year.  The funds also help us maintain our facilities, equipment, and grounds. The gift amounts and the percentage of estates vary, and every gift helps Catholic Charities carry out our mission.

How do I join the Caritas Christi Society?

You can inform us in writing that you have included Catholic Charities in your estate plans and/or provide us with one of these:

• A completed Estate Gift Confirmation form
• A copy of the pertinent information regarding Catholic Charities in your will or trust
• A copy of the life insurance policy that names Catholic Charities of Eastern Oklahoma as a beneficiary
• A letter from your attorney stating that you have included Catholic Charities in your estate plans
• Or contact Deacon Kevin Sartorius – Chief Executive Officer at (918) 508-7111 or kevin@cceok.org or Laurie Gero – Chief Development Officer at (918) 508-7116 or lgero@cceok.org

Your information will be kept confidential. If you give your permission, your name(s) will be listed with other Society members.

It is important that we know of your intention so we can be prepared to honor your intentions. You will also be helping Catholic Charities to prepare for the future.

WE APPRECIATE YOU FOR CONSIDERING CATHOLIC CHARITIES OF EASTERN OKLAHOMA IN YOUR ESTATE PLANS

“The process of arranging planned giving for Catholic Charities was an easy process from start to finish. First, I attended an information meeting on planned giving by Catholic Charities’ planned giving office. After that meeting, I met privately with the planning office to discuss retirement plans and what I wanted to do as far as arranging planned giving. We put together a plan! I included several charities, which were important to me including Catholic Charities’ because their mission is to be Christ’s merciful love to those who suffer. I’m really pleased with the process, from understanding the information and sitting down with the planning office to talk about my situation. Being able to take a broad approach really helped me. I looked at the long term, what I have accumulated in life and what good it can do at the parish where I worship. Every day I see people in need who visit Catholic Charities, and I hope some of them will feel God’s love with my legacy.”

“We spent about one hour with the investment planner and a couple hours with our attorney. Coming from a financial services background, it wasn’t a steep learning curve. We had planned on going this way, and this kind of accelerated the process. For 30 years, we’ve appreciated the community and the mission of Catholic Charities. We want to help support that financially. We want to see it grow and thrive.”