Legacy
Giving: Your chance to make a lasting impact
Legacy Giving
By giving to St. Louis Children’s through your will, estate plan or other legacy gift, you are demonstrating a commitment to transforming children’s healthcare. These generous contributions are established as part of the donor’s overall financial, tax and/or estate planning. Legacy gifts usually consist of assets, as opposed to income, and often allow donors to make larger gifts to St. Louis Children’s Hospital than they normally could make from income alone.
People who make legacy gifts come from all walks of life. What they all have in common is a recognition that the need to do what’s right for kids will continue long after they are gone. Through such a gift to St. Louis Children’s Hospital, you can create a legacy in pediatric healthcare that will have a lasting impact on kids for generations to come.
About St. Louis Children’s Hospital
Your donation to St. Louis Children’s Hospital is more than a gift. It is an opportunity to give more than 100,000 kids the chance to just be kids each year. Some of the world’s most important pediatric breakthroughs are ONLY happening at St. Louis Children’s Hospital.
Your thoughtfulness ensures we are a hub for innovative research to discover new therapies that give children access to cutting-edge care to allow them to thrive and grow.
Your contributions also allow us to extend care to our community’s children and their families through mobile health programs, education and outreach interventions, all while we continue to deliver nationally-ranked patient and family care. Everything we do is better because of donors like you.
Your dedication ensures St. Louis Children’s Hospital continues to impact childhood in revolutionary new ways and fulfill its mission to do what’s right for kids.
Legacy Gift Options
Legacy gifts, typically made with assets rather than income, expand opportunities for donors to make an impact. Often, donors are surprised to learn they can make larger contributions than they ever thought possible. There are many options for those who want to make a lasting impact on St. Louis Children’s Hospital with a legacy gift. Here are some of the most common ways that legacy donors give.
Ways to Give
Bequest
Support St. Louis Children’s Hospital without affecting your current income through a bequest in your will or trust. You can give a percentage of your estate, a specific dollar amount, or the remainder of your estate after your other bequests, such as those to family members, and other expenses have been paid.
Beneficiary Designation
A beneficiary designation is one of the easiest ways you can leave a legacy and support the work of St. Louis Children’s. Simply name St. Louis Children’s Hospital as a full or partial beneficiary of your retirement account, life insurance policy, donor-advised fund or other asset.
IRA Charitable Rollover
If you are 70½ or older, you can give to charity each year from your IRA, tax-free. Your gift can satisfy all or a portion of your IRA required minimum distribution (RMD), potentially offering you significant tax benefits and allowing you to make a tremendous impact on St. Louis Children’s Hospital.
Charitable Gift Annuity
A charitable gift annuity allows you to make a gift to St. Louis Children’s Hospital in exchange for regular fixed payments for life to you, a loved one or you and a loved one. You receive a partial tax deduction in the year you establish the gift annuity, and after all payments have been made, St. Louis Children’s Hospital receives the remainder of your gift.
Charitable Remainder Trust
You or other beneficiaries you choose receive income for life or a term of years when you establish a charitable remainder trust. Establishing a charitable remainder trust with appreciated assets may also reduce your tax liability. After all trust payments have been made, the trust’s remainder supports St. Louis Children’s Hospital.
Donor-Advised Fund
A donor-advised fund allows you to simplify your charitable giving and receive tax benefits. You establish your fund with a gift of cash, securities or other assets to a sponsoring organization. Your fund grows tax-free, and you recommend, at your pace, grants from the fund to St. Louis Children’s Hospital and other charities.
What to Give
Donors often fund legacy gifts through the following assets:
• Stocks and Bonds
• Retirement Assets
• Life Insurance
• Real Estate
St. Louis Children’s Hospital Foundation does not provide financial, legal or tax advice. Please consult with your attorney or tax advisor to determine the benefits and risks of any legacy gift.
Legacy Society
When you inform us of your legacy gift to St. Louis Children’s, you will become a member of the Legacy Society and enjoy the following benefits:
• Recognition in the donor hall at St. Louis Children’s Hospital and in print publications
• Invitations to exclusive Legacy Society events for member recognition and insider information on important hospital initiatives
• Subscription to St. Louis Children’s Hospital Foundation magazine
*With the exceptions of IRA charitable rollovers and gifts from donor-advised funds, all gift types listed on Page 4 make donors eligible to join the Legacy Society.
Please inform us of your legacy gift
If you have already included St. Louis Children’s Hospital in your estate plan or if you make a new legacy gift to benefit St. Louis Children’s, please contact Carri Meyer, Executive Director, Philanthropy, at Carri.Meyer@bjc.org or 314.286.0979.
Informing us of your legacy gift intention does not make the intention legally binding, and you do not need to share specific details unless you are comfortable. We only ask that you consider informing us of your intention so you are appropriately thanked and recognized and to help ensure that your gift, when received, is directed according to your wishes.
Values-Based Estate Planning
Values-Based Estate Planning is a gift we offer to St. Louis Children’s Hospital supporters — the gift of confidential, comprehensive estate planning consultation at no charge and with no obligation. Without the pressure to give to any specific cause, this planning process captures your values and priorities, outlines your intentions, considers tax implications and protects your assets.
For those who already have an estate plan, this serves as an unbiased second opinion. Changes in assets, interests, family situations and tax laws create the need for regular review and updating to make sure your plan addresses your priorities.
We have partnered with a national leader in charitable estate planning, Thompson & Associates, who will guide you step-bystep through what can otherwise be an overwhelming process of deciding what will happen with your assets when you’re gone.
Participants of this values-based estate planning process report a better understanding of their plans. They feel empowered when they find they can provide more than expected for their loved ones as well as the charities they care about, and are satisfied knowing their values have been thoughtfully expressed.
Thanks to their desire to plan for the future, Ken and Kate Fox worked alongsideprofessionalstocreateavalues-basedestateplan.
This service is provided by St. Louis Children’s Hospital Foundation as a gift of appreciation. All information shared is held in strict confidence with Thompson & Associates and will not be disclosed to St. Louis Children’s Hospital Foundation or any other source.
Thompson & Associates does not draft legal documents, manage money, sell services or products or ask you to make a gift. At the end of your sessions, you leave with a roadmap based on your values — all ready to be executed by your own financial and legal advisors.
Heartfelt Care Leaves a Lasting Impression
In the fall of 2004, Ken and Kate Fox received shocking news no parent ever wants to hear. Their oldest son, Gregg, was diagnosed with a brain tumor. The tumor was successfully removed from his brain stem, and after five years of monitoring, Gregg was released from the hospital’s care. Even though their son was no longer a patient, the exemplary care offered at St. Louis Children’s Hospital left a lasting impression on the family.
For the Foxes, a combination of retirement and a new chapter as empty nesters led them to begin the values-based estate planning process with Thompson & Associates through St. Louis Children’s Hospital. The process began with identifying what’s important to Ken and Kate through a questionnaire to gauge what values, dreams, goals, passions and people the Foxes considered important and how the couple wished to be remembered.
Through a series of meetings with Thompson & Associates, the Foxes captured their values and priorities, outlined their intentions and
Meet our Consultant
Eddie Thompson, Ed.D., FCEP
As founder and CEO of Thompson & Associates, Eddie has planned thousands of estates and provides leadership and direction to more than 40 seasoned charitable estate planners. Eddie serves as the Chair of the Charitable Estate Planning Institute, a public charity offering top level education on charitable estate planning for development staff, gift planning officers and professional advisors.
protected their assets on a roadmap that would allow them to take care of their family while remembering the institutions they felt strongly should have their support.
Both Kate and Ken note their meetings with Thompson & Associates were positive and productive. Positive in the fact that they always left feeling good about their conversations with him and productive in the fact that they made good progress each meeting by understanding what they had accomplished and outlining the next steps. The step-by-step planning never felt overwhelming, even though there were big decisions to make.