We are on the cusp of a new year -- a time to take stock of the past year and make our resolutions for the year ahead. Let us go forward into 2016 with great hope that all things can be possible, with God's help and guidance.

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We hope this e-letter is a useful tool in connecting and staying connected with our St. Philip's community!

If you are trying to improve your 2015 tax situation by making charitable contributions before year's end, this might be the perfect time to contribute to the Ministry Endowment Fund. As you probably know, an anonymous donor has offered to match $50,000 in gifts until May of 2016 to support Ministry Endowment. To date, $11,840 has been donated, which means more than $38,000 is still available to match donations.

On many levels, we have all been blessed by St. Philip's many ministries: our deeply spiritual liturgy amplified by inspiring hymns and anthems; sharing the "good news" through evangelism and outreach ministries; our diverse education ministries; and many more too numerous to mention. The Ministry Endowment team encourages you to make your gift today, when it will be matched and its impact doubled.

You may contact Sally Larsen at 577-6156 or Lois Britton, Parish Administrator at 299-6421, ext. 39.

Please wait until you've received your year-end statement of giving to file your income tax return. Some donors may not be able to deduct certain contributions if they file a tax return before receiving their church contribution receipt. For contributions to be deducted in 2015, they must be received at the church by December 31, 2015. This means that a check deposited in the church offering in January of 2016 cannot be deducted in 2015, even if it is backdated to 2015. One exception -- checks that are written, mailed and postmarked in 2015 are deductible in 2015 even though not received until 2016. Thank you.

On December 18, President Obama signed into law a bill making the Charitable IRA Rollover provision permanent. You may be able to take advantage of this to reduce your 2015 taxes if you act this week.

Those 70 1/2 or older may transfer funds from your IRA (and your spouse's) directly to St. Philip's (up to $100,000). Making a gift directly from your IRA will avoid the income tax that would have been due had you taken the required minimum distribution.

The provision is retroactive to January 1, 2015. If you plan to take advantage for this tax year, we recommend contacting your IRA administrator right away to make St. Philip's the recipient of the distribution. The transaction must be completed by December 31, 2015. Then contact us so we can identify your gift (some retirement plan administrators do not denote the account holder on distribution checks). Also, please indicate how you'd like your gift to be used.

Thank you for including St. Philip's in your charitable giving.

Take advantage of the State Tax Credit by contributing to a public and/or private school before December 31 (to donate to a private school you have till April 15, 2016). The Outreach Commission recom­mends Imago Dei Episcopal School and one or more of the public low-income schools listed in our flier (available in the office and Newcomer Information Station). This is a WIN-WIN situation as you get the full amount of your contribution back when you pay your Arizona state income tax. For more information see the yellow flier or call Peg Anderson, 575-8929.

If you are planning to give stock to the church, please use our new brokerage account to make the transfer and be sure to let Bonnie Flint, Finance Officer, know to expect the gift from you. Donor information is not always readily available to the church. (Charles Schwab; DTC Clearing #0164; Account #46006403;
St. Philip's In The Hills)