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End of Year Generosity

Christmas is a time to celebrate God’s gift to the world: the birth of the Christ Child. Through the birth of Jesus, God has entered the world to dwell among us and offer each of us the gift of a deep, abiding relationship with God. The birth of Jesus indeed brings “Joy to the World.”

In response to God’s gift to us, we in turn offer our gifts to God.

As we approach Christmas and the end of the year, my wife and I are making additional financial gifts to God through Oak Hill and other ministries we support. For me, this is a deeply spiritual act. I find great joy reflecting on the blessings in my life and offering generous gifts to ministries dear to my heart.

I invite you to share in the joy of generosity this season. Take time this week to reflect upon the blessings in your life. Then prayerfully consider what gifts you will offer to God.

Below is information about end-of-year giving through Oak Hill. See which of these opportunities for generous giving resonate with your soul.

May the gift of the Christ Child bring joy to your life this season.

Stephen

Gifts for the Christ Child: No One Hungry

There are always folks in Central Texas who worry about putting food on the table – families with children, senior citizens on fixed income, young adults trying to get started on their own. Hunger is not limited to a specific demographic, but the last couple of years have been especially tough for those living with food insecurities.

This year’s Gift for the Christ Child once again benefits the Central Texas Food Bank and the people it serves including 1 in 4 children in Central Texas.

The Food Bank serves a 21-county area of Central Texas. It works with almost 300 partner agencies to serve approximately 75,000 hungry Texans each week. Your gift to the food bank makes you a partner as well in assuring that everyone has food on the table.

And, your gift to the food bank is a great investment. Each $1 you donate provides four meals, but during this holiday season, many organizations and companies step forward with matching grants. Already your donation is being dooubled with a matching grant allowing each dollar you give to feed 8 people. Last year, each $1 we gave qualified for matching grant funds that provided, not 4, or 8, but 12 meals for each of our donated dollars. We expect a similar matching program this year.

As you count your blessings and make your shopping lists, we invite you to be generous in giving to our Gifts for the Christ Child. To make your gift online, go to the church webpage www.oakhillumc.org and click on the giving button. Under fund, select "Central Texas Food Bank." Thank you for your generosity in supporting this vital ministry.

Use your IRA Required Minimum Distribution as a Charitable Donation

Once you turn 72, you must start taking annual Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs) from your Traditional IRA. Your first RMD must be taken by April 1 of the year following the year you reach age 72. Every year thereafter you must take an RMD by December 31. The amount of your RMD is calculated by dividing the value of your Traditional IRA by a life expectancy factor, as determined by the IRS. You can always withdraw more than the RMD, but remember that all distributions are taxed as income. If you don’t make withdrawals, you’ll have to pay a 50% penalty (that’s right, 50%, not a misprint!) on the amount you should’ve withdrawn.

If your make periodic or annual lump sum charitable contributions, there is a tax strategy related to your RMD that is worthy of consideration. Instead of taking your RMD and paying applicable taxes, consider directing your IRA custodian to transfer some or all of the RMD to a qualified charity (Oak Hill UMC e.g.).

By directing your IRA custodian to transfer the RMD (all or part) to a qualified charity you realize these benefits:

You reduce your total taxable income, thus reducing your tax liability whether you itemize or just take the standard deduction
You avoid paying tax on your IRA contribution and/or any realized gain
You can fulfill your annual pledge commitment (that you were going to do anyway) in one easy step
You add to the working capital of the qualified charity of your choice and hopefully, that choice is OHUMC

What a deal!

This information is not intended to be a substitute for specific individualized tax, legal, or investment planning advice. Where specific advice is necessary or appropriate, you should consult with a qualified tax advisor, CPA, financial planner, or investment manager.

By Brad McMahon

In Stock for Christmas

A great way to make a donation to the church is by transferring to the church common stock held in your name. Actually, any investment grade security (stocks, shares of a mutual fund, shares of an exchange traded fund, etc.) that you own can be given to the church as part of your annual pledge contribution or just as an additional gift to the church. And, in general it is almost always better to donate these kinds of investment instruments than it is to donate cash. The main reason being: donating stock allows you to avoid capital gains tax, which you would incur if you sold the stock and gave the cash. And, by the way, you still take credit for a charitable gift equal to the original value of the stock plus all of the gain.

To execute such a transfer of stock from your portfolio, contact the OHUMC financial administrator, Angie Bragg and inform her of you intention to make such a donation. She will walk you through the remaining steps for transfer, the main step being to direct your custodian (broker, bank, etc.) to coordinate with Angie Bragg so a direct transfer to the church account can take place. You may have to provide your custodian a written order to execute the transaction, which would likely be just a one or two sentence email or signed letter stating your desire to make the transfer.

As long as your stock donation has a value of $2 or more, and you make the donation to a deductible gift recipient charity (OHUMC is one of those), you can claim on your tax return the full value of the securities that you donated. Like any other tax deduction, you should keep a receipt or proof of the transfer in case you are ever audited by the friendly and gracious auditors of the Internal Revenue Service. In the situation we are addressing here, proof of the transaction would be your OHUMC statement of giving (showing receipt of the gift by the church) & your custodial account statement showing the transfer of the securities out of your portfolio. That documentation should be sufficient for any reasonable audit.

By Brad McMahon

Experience Joy with us this Holiday Season!

Check out our Joy website for all things Christmas. It's all here: Christmas Eve worship times, Our Choir's Christmas Cantata, The Light in the Darkness service, Gifts for the Christ child information, The Christmas Movie Festival, and more activities coming soon. We hope you make plans to join together with us this Christmas season.