Change people's lives at home and around the world

Make a Gift

Gift Planning Services Manager’s Minute

GPS Newsletter header David Bonner

There is nothing permanent except change.

The Greek philosopher Heraclitus understood that change is central to our existence. It is ever present. Change is sometimes hard, but it can lead to a brighter future.

Those of you who were able to attend this year’s Gift Planning Council conference will remember that Philanthropies Managing Director, Tanise Chung-Hoon, announced that we will be “hitting pause” on the conference for 2018. This will give us a chance to evaluate and explore the best way to use our time and resources as we work with professional advisors in assisting those who wish to benefit the many charitable priorities of the Church. This evaluation process is in harmony with the invitation Philanthropies and its sister departments received to reduce and simplify the programs and initiatives of the Church.

This may or may not include the conference in the future or perhaps the conference will emerge in some modified form, either as to format or timing. Throughout this process, we welcome your thoughtful comments and suggestions. We encourage you to please feel free to share these with your Philanthropies contact, or you may e-mail us at giftplanning@churchofjesuschrist.org. We are confident that the final product of this evaluation process will be something remarkable and unique.

Thank you for the time and effort that you have invested over many years to make the Philanthropies Gift Planning Council conferences successful. This success is directly attributable to you and your unwavering support.

Regardless of what is decided regarding the conference, Philanthropies will continue to engage with you through personal visits to your offices, our website, these quarterly e-newsletters, and other means. We will continue to be a resource for you and your clients.

May 2018 be a wonderful year for you and those you love and serve.

Discover LDSBC Fundraising Priorities

LDS Business College in Salt Lake City, Utah offers a unique market-driven, skills-based education that requires two years or fewer to earn. With 90 percent of their graduates being offered a job in their field within 90 days of graduation, they are doing something remarkable. Vist the LDSBC page to learn more!

New Tax Plan Implications for Charitable Giving

Recent legal changes have begun to prompt many conversations between professional advisors and their clients about the structure of their estate and financial plans. The long-term trend toward reducing estate tax applicability with higher exemptions, combined with this year’s income tax changes, eliminate the need for many tax-motivated charitable contributions, and will likely cause clients to re-evaluate their intentions. As you meet with clients, here are a few discussion points you might find helpful: Not all tax motivations for current charitable contributions have disappeared. As Russell James points out in his recent update at the Planned Giving Design Center, tax planning opportunities remain for gifts of cash and appreciated property, and AGI limitations increased this year to as much as 60%.

Important income tax issues remain for IRA owners and inheritors. Sourcing any intended charitable bequests from qualified retirement plans will avoid those assets being taxed as income to individual heirs. In some cases, the tax savings alone could create an opportunity for a charitable gift in addition to an equally generous inheritance for family.

Non-tax charitable considerations are now more important than ever. Helping clients explore and plan to accomplish meaningful outcomes can deepen the client relationship and add value to their experience.

As always, if you’d like an answer to a procedural or technical question, or if your client would like a deeper understanding of our philanthropic priorities, we would be honored to help.

Spotlight on Todd Hallock

I grew up in Mesa, Arizona. During my senior year at ASU, despite being a referee for church basketball, I joined the LDS Church. This led to some last-minute adjustments in my law school plans. I decided to attend the BYU law school where I met my wife and future law partner, Sara. We opened our firm in Logan, Utah in 1996. We have four children, three of whom are still at home. One is currently attending Utah State. They are really the joy and focus of our lives. While I love to golf, run, and hike in the mountains around our Lewiston home, we are really focused on them right now, attending a variety of school, sports, and musical events.

Originally, we had a somewhat general practice, but about ten years in we felt inspired to focus our practice on estate planning. (Read more)

PG Calc Webinar Invitation

Philanthropies broadcasts monthly webinars from PG Calc. These webinars may qualify for continuing education credit. We extend the invitations for any interested GPC members to join us. We hold these at 11:00 a.m. and are often followed by a Q&A session with members of the Gift Planning Services team. We are located at 1450 N. University Avenue in Provo. Here are the upcoming webinars (as well as the entire 2018 schedule):

In addition, our 2017 Gift Planning Council conference presentations have been added online, with the videos soon to follow. Please feel free to view these at the Gift Planning Council website.

Contact Us

For a detailed discussion of the services we provide you and your advisors, please contact us at 1-877-650-5377 or by email.