Planned Giving
Including St. Anthony Shrine in your long-term plans is more than just a gift—it’s a profound commitment to the enduring legacy of the “Church on Arch Street.” For over 75 years, we have been a beacon of hope and faith in the heart of Boston, guided by the Franciscan friars of Our Lady of Guadalupe Province. As the center for Roman Catholic ministry in our city, the Shrine offers not only a place of worship but a lifeline through our 20+ outreach and evangelical ministries.
By making a planned gift, you are not only securing your future but also empowering us to continue our vital work. Your generosity ensures that we can remain a sanctuary for all who seek spiritual nourishment and a place where our community can come together in worship and service.
There are many simple yet powerful ways to make a lasting impact, such as including the Shrine in your will or naming us as a beneficiary. We invite you to explore these opportunities to leave a legacy of faith and compassion for generations to come.
Please click the links below to skip to the content you are most interested in.
Legacy Society | Make A Bequest | Donor-Advised Fund | Retirement Assets | Life Insurance | Other Ways to Leave a Legacy
Join the Legacy Society
If you have included St. Anthony Shrine in your estate planning, we would like to honor you during your lifetime by enrolling you in our Legacy Society. Please fill out our Online Confidential Intention Form so we may thank you for your generosity.
If you prefer to print the form, please click here and email your completed form to [email protected].
Make A Bequest
A bequest is a gift provision in your will or revocable living trust. All assets, including cash, securities, real estate, and tangible personal property, may be transferred to St. Anthony Shrine at the end of your life.
A charitable gift from your estate is a favored method of giving that enables you to achieve your financial goals and benefit St. Anthony Shrine. No other planned gift is as simple to make or as easy to change, should you ever need the assets during your lifetime.
A bequest may be right for you if:
- You want to make a gift to St. Anthony Shrine.
- You want the flexibility to change your mind.
- You want continued access to your wealth, should you need it.
- You are concerned about outliving your resources.
Remembering St. Anthony Shrine in your will is a wonderful way for you to make a lasting gift. Large or small, your bequest will make an important contribution to our long-term strength and our ability to carry on with our activities.
But what if you don’t have a will or living trust? You are not alone. Most Americans don’t have a will.
Without a will, the laws of your state will decide how your estate is divided. Typically, the probate court will divide your estate among your closest surviving family members according to a formula, and none of your estate can go to St. Anthony Shrine or any other charity. If you wish to have a say in how your estate is distributed, you must have a will or living trust. We encourage you to work with an experienced attorney to create a will or living trust that accomplishes your goals for your estate.
Ways You can Define a Charitable Gift in Your Estate Plan
There are several ways that you can define the amount of your charitable gift to St. Anthony Shrine. They are:
- A gift of a particular amount of money. For example, you give $25,000.
- A gift of a specific item or items. For example, you give 1,000 shares of ABC Corporation.
- A gift that will be made only if one or more conditions are met. For example, you give $25,000 provided we still offer a particular program or service and your spouse does not survive you.
- A gift that will be made from the remainder of your estate once all other bequests, debts, and taxes have been paid. For example, you give 25% of the remainder of your estate. Often called a “residuary bequest,” this approach assures that your family will be taken care of before your estate makes a bequest to us.
Ways to Specify How We May Use Your Bequest
You have several options for telling St. Anthony Shrine how we may use your bequest once we receive it. They are:
- An Unrestricted Bequest: This is a gift for our general purposes. This can be the most useful kind of gift because it allows us to put your gift to the best possible use at the time we receive it.
- A Restricted Bequest: This is a gift for a specific use, such as a special project or program that is important to you. It is best for you to consult with us before placing restrictions on your bequest to be sure we can carry out your wishes.
- An Endowed Bequest: This is a gift where our organization invests your donation along with the rest of our endowment. We distribute these funds in accordance with our endowment spending policy. This approach assures that your gift will continue to benefit us long after you’re gone. An endowed bequest can be restricted or unrestricted.
- An Honorary Bequest: This is a gift made in honor of someone else. Any form of bequest can also be an honorary bequest. We would be pleased to recognize the people you wish to honor with your gift.
Make Sure We Can Carry Out Your Wishes
It is very important that your bequest be accurately and clearly described in your estate plan so that we can carry out your wishes as you intended. We are pleased to consult with you regarding the terms of your bequest to make sure that we will be able to carry out your intentions. In order to avoid any possible question that your bequest is to our organization, be sure to include our full legal name and our federal tax identification number in your bequest.
Legal name: St. Anthony Shrine, Order of Friars Minor Province of Our Lady of Guadalupe Province
Current address: 100 Arch Street, Boston, MA 02110
Tax identification number: 04-2119394
We are happy to provide you with sample bequest language to assist you and your attorney. You have complete flexibility to change your bequest at any time. If circumstances change in a way that makes you want to revise your gift to us, you can.
Tax Benefits
Because your bequest is revocable, you do not receive an income tax charitable deduction when you create it. Rather, your estate will receive an estate tax deduction for the full value of your bequest in the year it is made. Depending on a variety of factors, including the size of your estate and estate tax law at the time your estate is settled, this deduction may or may not save estate taxes.
Bequest Alternatives
In addition to adding bequest language to your will, here are a few other simple ways for you to make a bequest to us:
- Make St. Anthony Shrine a designated beneficiary of a life insurance policy.
- Make St. Anthony Shrine a designated beneficiary of an IRA or other retirement plan.
- Make St. Anthony Shrine a designated beneficiary of savings bonds.
- Instruct your bank to “pay on death” to St. Anthony Shrine some or all of a specific bank account.
- Instruct your brokerage firm to “transfer on death” to St. Anthony Shrine some or all of a specific brokerage or other financial account.
Please let us know if you have included St. Anthony Shrine in your estate plans. We would welcome the opportunity to thank you for your thoughtful gift and to confirm that we can carry out your wishes.
Example
Ramona Maxwell, a widow, has been a supporter of St. Anthony Shrine for many years. Ramona is in good health now, but does not want to be a financial burden to her children should she require expensive health care in the future.
St. Anthony Shrine is one of two charities to which she has been most dedicated. She would like to make a lasting gift to each of them in memory of her husband. After discussing her options with her estate planning advisor, she decides to create a residuary bequest in her will for each of her two favorite charities. Each charity will receive 50% of the remainder of her estate after all other obligations, such as taxes and bequests to her children and grandchildren, have been taken care of.
Benefits
- Ramona’s assets will remain available to her should she need them.
- The revocable nature of her gift will minimize the possibility that she will ever need financial help from her children.
- If her estate is worth what she expects when it is settled, she will be able to provide generous legacy gifts to the two charities that have meant the most to her and her late husband.
Donor-Advised Fund
To give by donor-advised fund, please click below. St. Anthony Shrine’s Tax ID is 04-2119394.
Retirement Assets
The IRA Gift (QCD)
Your IRA can provide a tax-smart way to make an impact with St. Anthony Shrine now. The Qualified Charitable Distribution or QCD (sometimes called an “IRA Charitable Rollover”) is a great way to make a tax-free gift now to St. Anthony Shrine and satisfy your Required Minimum Distribution (RMD), too.
How Do I Qualify?
The Qualified Charitable Distribution (QCD) offers multiple benefits for making gifts from your IRA.
- You must be 70½ years or older at the time of the gift.
- Gifts must go directly from your IRA to St. Anthony Shrine.
- For 2026, total QCD gifts cannot exceed $111,000 per donor.
Benefits of Qualified Charitable Distribution
- If you don’t itemize your income tax deductions, a QCD offers all of the benefits of an itemized income tax charitable deduction
- If you are age 73 or older and must take a Required Minimum Distribution RMD, a QCD gift can satisfy your RMD without increasing your income taxes.
- You may direct your gift to a program or area of your choice.
- It is a wonderful way to create an immediate impact on St. Anthony Shrine.
How Can I Make an IRA Charitable Rollover?
Contact your IRA administrator to request a Qualified Charitable Distribution from your IRA to St. Anthony Shrine.
Information that you may need for the QCD is provided below.
- Legal name: St. Anthony Shrine, Order of Friars Minor Province of Our Lady of Guadalupe Province
- Mailing address: 100 Arch Street, Boston, MA 02110
- Federal Tax ID number: 04-2119394
Other Options
Designate your remaining Qualified Retirement Plan assets as a contribution to St. Anthony Shrine.
Another attractive option is to designate St. Anthony Shrine as the recipient of some or all of what’s left in your IRA, 401(k), 403(b), or other Qualified Retirement Plan at the end of your lifetime.
In addition to having the satisfaction of making a significant future gift to St. Anthony Shrine, your benefits include:
- Your estate can qualify for an unlimited estate tax charitable deduction equal to the value of your Qualified Retirement Plan donated to St. Anthony Shrine.
- Since St. Anthony Shrine is tax-exempt, there will be no income or estate taxes paid on the distribution to St. Anthony Shrine.
- A tax-smart estate planning strategy is to contribute taxable Qualified Retirement Plan assets to St. Anthony Shrine and preserve non-retirement plan assets for your heirs.
Note: Directing your Qualified Retirement Plan to charitable and noncharitable beneficiaries can accelerate the income tax. Always consult with your advisors before naming the beneficiaries of your Qualified Retirement Plan.
Option 3: Designate your remaining Qualified Retirement Plan assets for a life income plan.
Alternatively, you can designate that at the end of your lifetime some or all of the assets remaining in your IRA, 401(k), 403(b), or other Qualified Retirement Plan be used to fund a charitable remainder trust that will make payments to family members or other loved ones for the rest of their lives. When the life income gift arrangement ends, what is left will go to St. Anthony Shrine.
In addition to having the satisfaction of making a significant future gift to St. Anthony Shrine, your benefits include:
- A charitable remainder trust can provide a lifetime of income or payments to your chosen beneficiary.
- The gift portion of your charitable remainder trust annuity can qualify for an estate tax charitable deduction if your estate is subject to estate taxes.
- A tax-smart estate planning strategy may be to contribute your Qualified Retirement Plan assets to a charitable remainder trust and preserve non-retirement plan assets for your heirs.
Life Insurance
A gift of life insurance that you no longer need can be an easy way for you to provide generous support to St. Anthony Shrine.
A gift of life insurance could be right for you if:
- Your life insurance policy is paid up or has substantial cash value.
- You have no loan outstanding against the policy.
- Your family is well-provided for by other means.
- You would like to make a generous gift to St. Anthony Shrine.
How It Works:
Option 1: You give your policy to St. Anthony Shrine.
As the policy owner, St. Anthony Shrine will either cash in your policy and use the proceeds, or maintain the policy until it ends and then receive its face amount. Your benefits will include:
- Qualify for an immediate income tax charitable deduction for the value of your policy.
- No change in your cash flow.
- The satisfaction of making a generous gift to St. Anthony Shrine.
Option 2: You designate St. Anthony Shrine as a beneficiary of your policy.
When your policy ends, St. Anthony Shrine will receive some or all of your policy’s death benefit, as you have designated. Your benefits will include:
- The death benefit of your policy will not be included in your estate, which may save estate tax if your estate exceeds the applicable exemption amount.
- No change in your cash flow.
- The satisfaction of making a generous gift to St. Anthony Shrine.
This option offers the additional benefit that you can change your mind about your gift at any time should circumstances in your life change.
Other Ways to Leave A Legacy
- Real Estate
- Charitable Remainder Trust
- Charitable Lead Trust
- Retained Life Estates
- Bargain Sale
Legal Name
All charitable gifts should be directed to “St. Anthony Shrine, Order of Friars Minor Province of Our Lady of Guadalupe Province, 100 Arch Street, Boston, MA 02110, a Massachusetts 501(c)(3) tax-exempt, charitable organization, or its successor, Federal Tax Identification Number: 04-2119394.”
For assistance, please contact us at 617-778-1645 or [email protected].