|
Planned Gift Annuity Extends Eleanor Hubbard's Support to Leadership Development Programs
Eleanor Hubbard was not a larger-than-life personality. She was, by all accounts, quiet, unassuming, and steadfastly dedicated to making a difference in the world without making a fuss. When Hubbard passed away in late October, 2011, she had spent a lifetime supporting the Girl Scouts and her faith community, both locally and in the Massachusetts Conference.
She had a long and lasting influence on the Massachusetts Conference, United Church of Christ. Hubbard had served as Co-Chair of the Massachusetts Conference's last capital campaign (1995 - 2001), "The Gift and The Promise". She was very active in the wider church, which included service on the United Church of Christ's Board for World Ministries (now Wider Church Ministries) at the national level. And she passionately believed that even small gifts, carefully planned and made, could make a difference in large endowment campaigns.
Part of Eleanor Hubbard's lasting contribution was her willingness to roll up her sleeves and get involved. As her close friend Ruth Bohrer remembered, "She accepted life as it came to her. She was a diligent worker, a steady friend, and never complained. Her passions were Girl Scouting and her church, and she always wanted to help people, no matter what was going on in her own life." Through her planned gift annuity, Eleanor Hubbard found a way to help The Gift and The Promise Campaign as well as other important leadership development programs, and she felt that if she could do it, others could, as well.
When Eleanor Hubbard died, the Massachusetts Conference received a gift of over $1800 from her investments. Eleanor Hubbard had made that gift because she valued the support which lay people could lend through involvement in the ongoing work of the Massachusetts Conference, United Church of Christ. Although she was not a woman of great financial means, she felt that she had something to contribute, and did. Mary Alice Stahleker, a lay leader, said of her "She was a grand and open lady. During The Gift and The Promise Campaign, she said, in her public remarks, that there was a place for people of all abilities to contribute; and she used herself as an example. She said she wasn't able to contribute anywhere close to the level that others had donated, but she would do what she could." Stahleker recalled, "I think it was helpful to those more in her situation as they thought about their own ability to participate."
A Gift Annuity's rate of return is based solely on the donor's age at the time of the gift. Annuities may be funded with cash or appreciated securities, and provide fixed income payments for life to the donor and/or another person, successively. A significant portion of the income may be tax-free. A donor may defer income payments to a later date, such as retirement age, which may produce a substantial increase in the rate of return; and the minimum gift size is a modest $1,000.
For more information on how to make a planned gift to t he Pastoral Excellence Endowment Campaign, please contact Andy Gustafson, Associate Conference for Stewardship and Financial Development. Andy can be contacted by Email: gustafsona@macucc.org or (508) 875-5233 ext. 231.
Planned Gift Annuity information can also be found at: http://www.ucc.org/giving
Planned Gift Annuity Calculator: http://tinyurl.com/macgiftannuity
|
