Many Ways To Give To Our School

Cash Contributions: 

Gifts of cash immediately go to work to help St. Michael Catholic School. Gifts of cash may be made outright or pledged over a period of up to a number of years. Soon, you can click on the “Donate Now” button to donate to our school. If you prefer, checks should be made directly to our school and can be sent to us at: 542 Cypress Avenue, Garden City, South Carolina 29576.     

Stocks/Securities:  

St. Michael Catholic School welcomes contributions of appreciated securities, such as stocks, bonds and mutual fund shares. Credit is given for the mean value of the high and low prices of the stock on the date of transfer. If you wish to make a gift of securities, please call (or have your broker call) the school office at 843-651-6795 for instructions on making the transfer.

Estates and Bequests:  

A gift made through your will may be the easiest way for you to make a contribution to support our school. A bequest is one of the simplest ways to remember those — including charitable organizations like St. Michael Catholic School — you care about most. If you are planning to make a bequest, there are some points to ponder to ensure your gift will be tax-deductible, and some simple standard language to include in your will. For more information on the generally accepted ways to make a bequest in your will, please contact Debbie Floyd in our school office.

Retirement Plan Assets: 

Naming St. Michael Catholic School as a beneficiary of an IRA, 401(k) or 403(b) can reduce taxes and result in a significant gift to help our school. You are aware that the accumulation of assets in your retirement plan is the basis for a financially secure future. To preserve your retirement assets after your lifetime, consider the benefits of using them in a totally different way. Retirement accounts are often exposed to income taxes and estate taxes at a combined marginal rate that could rise to 65 percent or even higher on large, taxable estates. Yet many of these taxes can be avoided or reduced through a carefully planned charitable gift. Other considerations come into play when deciding on using retirement plan assets for charitable giving. Your account can pass directly to a charitable organization as your primary beneficiary, or it can be transferred to a deferred giving arrangement that will pay an income for life to a family member, after which the remaining assets pass to the organization. You might even consider a deferred gift that is designed to pay a life income to yourself. For more information, please contact Debby Floyd in the school office. 

Life Insurance: 

You can name St. Michael Catholic School as a beneficiary of your life insurance policy. Life insurance can be a tool with many purposes. For example, it can provide liquidity for paying taxes and other expenses at death. But some of the most satisfying uses for life insurance policies are connected with charitable giving. If you have a life insurance policy you no longer need, you might consider contributing it to a charitable cause in which you believe, such as St. Michael Catholic School. Purchasing a new policy and naming the SMCS as beneficiary is another possibility. Perhaps you are considering a sizable bequest to SMCS, provided your family’s future inheritance is not affected. Life insurance can play a part in meeting this goal, too, by replacing for your heirs the amount donated.

In-Kind Gifts: 

In-kind gifts are donations of tangible personal property, such as art and antiques, jewelry, stamps and coins. Some donors opt to sell the property and give the proceeds to SMCS. However, you may be better served from a tax perspective if you give the property directly to the SMCS or leave it to the SMCS in a bequest so you can continue to enjoy it during your lifetime.


Matching Gifts: 

Many employers sponsor a matching gift program that can double — or even triple an employee’s contribution of cash or securities. Ask your Human Resources Office whether your employer has such a program; if so, please send a matching gift form to SMCS. (For recognition purposes, you will receive credit for the total donation.) Corporations, partnerships and other entities that make gifts to SMCS may take a deduction for their contribution. If you own a closely held business, you may benefit by having the business make gifts directly to SMCS rather than making them personally.


Real Estate: 

Before you sell real estate, consider a new option. If you’d like to help fulfill our mission, your property opens the door to a unique giving opportunity: donate the property to us. You can give the property outright, place it in trust, retain the use of it for life or give it by will. All of these methods will enable you to enjoy personal financial benefits while supporting our work in a meaningful way.