Lansing Catholic High School - Giving



		Giving - Gift Opportunities
		How To Give: Gifting Opportunities at Lansing Catholic For most of us, when asked to make a gift to our favorite charity, we usually think of an immediate cash gift. We write a check, send a money order or drop in with the cash in hand. While this form of giving may be the most common, it is not the only way to make a difference here at Lansing Catholic. Gifts of Time and Talent It has been said that volunteers make the world go round! Well, if not the world, they certainly make most things easier and more successful. At Lansing Catholic High School, volunteers are the soul of our operation. Without the generous gifts of time and talent from so many of our alumni, families and friends, we simply could not get the job done. There are many ways to share your time and talents with our school. You could choose to share your expertise in the classroom by serving as a guest speaker or tutor; on the filed as an assistant coach or manager. Perhaps leadership and organizational skills are your forte; our many special events, extracurricular activities, parent groups and more need talents like yours. Opportunities are plentiful and the rewards great. Together, we make Lansing Catholic the best it can be. You are the difference! Click here to go to our volunteer form, choose a way to make a difference at Lansing Catholic, and submit your completed form to us. We will be in touch to help you put your talents to work! Coming soon…an even easier way to volunteer. Watch for details. Giving opportunities also include: Long Term giving…gifts made over time for specific purposes, such as those made during building campaigns like the recent Heritage Campaign. These gifts usually begin with a pledge and are followed by a defined payment over a specified time period. Planned Giving is another option. These gifts are commonly part of a will and can provide significant dollars for our school. Planned gifts are a major factor in building long term stability for an organization. Recent planned gifts in excess of $800,000 pushed our Fr. Mac Scholarship Fund over the million dollar mark! Estate Planning professionals often assist with these types of gifts. Making a Difference An individual or organization can make a gift to Lansing Catholic High School at any time and in many ways. Gifts can be made to the Annual Fund Drive, to a specific endowment fund like the Capital Needs Fund or Scholarship/Tuition Assistance Fund. or to immediate needs funds like the Science Department Fund, Athletic Department Fund, or Fine Arts Department Fund. Gifts can also be given for special projects and campaigns like the Heritage Campaign which includes major facilities renovation opportunities such as the Chapel, Music instruction and practice classroom, Auditorium upgrades, infrastructure improvements and more. Gifts may also be given to Honor or Remember a loved one or Special Occasions. Gifts can be planned to reflect the individual donor’s interests and to accommodate his or her tax situation. Development staff and qualified professionals are available to assist you with these options. Call Mary Frank at (517) 267-2114 for more information. Annual Fund Annual Fund gifts, raised each year from alumni, parents, corporations and friends of Lansing Catholic, help meet current operating expenditures. Annual Fund gifts are especially important. These dollars help fund student financial aid, support services, faculty salaries, academic programs, facilities and grounds maintenance and much more. The Annual Fund helps make up the difference between tuition revenues and the increasing costs of running a quality Catholic high school. Annual fund gifts are primarily cash gifts payable in a lump sum or in installments over the course of one year. Endowed Gifts Endowed gifts are placed in a permanent fund that allows only earned income to be spent. The larger the endowment, the more income available for use each year by Lansing Catholic. Gifts may be made to existing endowment funds at any time. Currently, LCHS has endowment funds for Scholarship/Tuition Assistance(Fr. Mac Fund) and Capital Improvements. Individuals, Businesses or Groups may establish a named endowment to benefit Lansing Catholic Central. Gifts of this type, however, require an initial investment of $5,000 or more. Memorial Gifts Any gift can be made in Honor of a special person (mother, father) or special event (birthday, anniversary) or in Memory of a deceased relative, classmate or friend. Memorial gifts can be made at any time and in any amount. The funds can be designated for endowment, scholarship or special projects. Matching Gifts Participating companies match (sometimes as much as four times) the amount of dollars their employees or retirees give to Lansing Catholic High School. Matching gifts are a wonderful source of income for our school but are often under utilized. Employers and parent companies often offer these benefits to their full time employees or retirees as a way to encourage charitable giving. Please inquire at your company’s personnel office to determine if they match charitable gifts to schools. If your employer does provide matching gift dollars for education, obtain the appropriate form and send it with your gift to Lansing Catholic High School. We will do the rest! Matching gifts are a wonderful way to increase the impact of your gift. A few minutes of paper work can double, triple and even quadruple your contribution to Lansing Catholic. Here’s an example: Mr. J. wants to make a $500 gift to Lansing Catholic. After visiting his employer’s personnel office, Mr. J learns that his employer will match his gift at a 2 to 1 ratio. That means Mr. J’s employer will commit to a matching gift of $1000, when he gives $500 ($500 x 2). Mr. J obtains the Matching Gift Form from his employer. He completes the donor portion of the form and mails the form and his $500 gift to Lansing Catholic. The development staff at Lansing Catholic completes the required gift documentation and mails the request to the matching gift company. A short time later, Lansing Catholic receives the $1000 matching gift from Mr. J’s company; thus the total benefit of Mr. J’s $500 gift becomes $1,500! Matching Gifts are a wonderful way to S T R E T C H your gift to Lansing Catholic. Most companies will have a preset maximum gift amount for any one year period, (i.e., a company may match up to $1,500 per year in charitable giving by an employee). Remember, each year, you can renew your gift to Lansing Catholic and receive a matching gift from your employer. Following is just a partial list of companies that match gifts to educational institutions... Wachovia AXA Morgan Stanley SBC Services The May Corp. Pfizer UBS Kellogg’s Arch Chemicals UPS Illinois Tool Works Wells-Fargo Click here to find out if your employer matches charitable gifts to secondary schools Planned or Deferred Gifts...Legacy Gifts Long-term gifts to an organization are called planned or deferred gifts. The use of such gifts is postponed until a specified future date. An example of a planned gift would be naming Lansing Catholic High School as a beneficiary in one’s will. This reduces the size of the taxable portion of an estate and can lower federal estate tax liability. Other forms of planned gifts include trusts, life insurance policies, transfers of residence and personal property and remainder gifts. Gifts such as these help secure Lansing Catholic’s future providing significant assets that continue to gift our high school for years to come. A Planned gift is an opportunity to create a legacy, to leave a very personal mark on Lansing Catholic and the future of your alma mater. Planned gifts can be designated for specific purposes i.e. capital projects, scholarship, academic programs, teacher training, etc. Donors should consult their attorney or financial advisor for tax information specific to their circumstances. Gifts in Kind Gifts of service, materials, equipment and expertise can also benefit our school and qualify as a charitable contribution. Donors desiring to make a gift of this nature are encouraged to work through the Development Office and selected school personnel (Principal, Athletic Director, Facilities Manager) to determine the usability of such a gift. Wish List A catalogue of current classroom and program needs is published annually. Individuals who want to purchase materials from this catalogue should contact the Development Office 517-267-2114 for more information.