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United Methodist Children's Home of Ohio

Giving opportunities include not only financial support, but volunteering your time, and donations of clothes, furniture, computer equipment, etc.(check out the Wish List page), which will benefit our children. The opportunities to give of yourself are limitless, and our staff will gladly assist you in determining the current needs that you may be able to help us meet. Following is a short list of options:

Fifth Sunday Offering. The 5th Sunday Offering provides an opportunity for your congregation to support UMCH through your missions giving. Click HERE for more details on the 5th Sunday Offering.

iGive.com. UMCH has partnered with iGive.com to provide you with an on-line shopping experience that will not only give you good deals, but make a donation to UMCH of up to 26% of your purchases. Click HERE for more details on iGive.com.

Birthday Club. We are currently looking for sponsors to purchase birthday gifts for the children in our Residential Program as well as our Foster Care Program. If you would like to become a birthday sponsor, here's what you need to know:

You will be notified one month in advance ofupcoming birthdays (i.e., in October you're notified about November birthdays, etc.) For residential children, you will be given a wish list from which to choose from. All gifts are in the $15 - $20 range. For foster care children, we advise sponsors that the best gifts for our foster care children are gift certificates in the $15 - $20 range to local department stores (Wal-Mart, K-Mart, Target, Meijers, etc.) and for the little ones perhaps Toys R' Us.

If you are sponsoring foster care children, we then ask that you drop off or mail the gift certificate along with a birthday card to either the Worthington Campus or the Reynoldsburg Facility (check the Contact Us page for addresses and directions) approximately two weeks ahead of time in order to allow ample time to get the gift to the child.

If you are sponsoring residential children, we ask that you drop off or mail the birthday gift either the day before or the day of the child's birthday. If you have any additional questions, please don't hesitate to contact us at (614) 885-5020, Ext 500, or by e-mail to Birthday Club

Volunteer your services. One way to help our children is to donate your time working at UMCH. Volunteers are always needed and welcome to assist arts & crafts projects, landscaping, painting, etc.

Invite Us to speak to your church congregation, group or organization. Allow us to share with you the Vision and Mission of UMCH, and how your organization can assist us in providing a loving, spirit-filled environment for our children.

Cash Donations, no matter how small can be utilized to meet the needs of children and families. Every gift can be made with a specific purpose in mind, or can be utilized in any number of ways that the United Methodist Children's Home Serves children and families.

Automatic Withdrawal of donations. Many individuals prefer to pledge a dollar amount that is automatically withdrawn from their bank account on a monthly basis. This is a easy, carefree, and yet very secure way to make tax deductible donations to UMCH. All electronic transactions are federally regulated for your protection.

Securities can be especially effective gifts because of tax advantages. Securities (including stocks, bonds, and mutual funds) are considered long-term if they have been held longer than six months. These are the securities that have the best tax benefits when given to the United Methodist Children's Home.

Securities can be given to the Children's Home in exchange for a life income arrangement either as as a Charitable Gift Annuity or a Charitable Remainder Unitrust program.

The Charitable Gift Annuity is a combination of a gift to charity and an annuity. Since a portion of the annuity payment is tax free return of principle, the gift annuity may provide the donor with a very substantial income. The combination of partially tax free income and the initial charitible deduction makes this agreement quite attractive.

A Charitable Remainder Unitrust, is an irrevocable trust with percentage of return agreed on in the beginning which does not change. The donor recieves a percentage of the current value each year. In other words, the assets in the trust are revalued each year, and the donor recieves a fixed percentage of the value for that year. The payments could go up or down, depending on how well the trust investments produce. If invested prudently a unitrust can provide a hedge against inflation. The income arrangement can be for two lives in which case the income would be payable for as long as either shall live.

The unitrust is an ideal method for the tax free reinvestment of appreciated assets. First, the donor transfers the property to the trustee. Since the trust is tax exempt, the trustee can sell the assets, reinvest the sale proceeds and bypass the capital gains tax. Usually, the trustee is able to reinvest in a much higher yeild investment and greatly increse the yield on the trust assets. Finally, in the year that the trust is funded, the donor recieves a current income tax deduction based upon U.S. Treasury tables.

When an individual wants to make a large gift, but also needs to keep a reserve fund in case of an unforeseen financial setback or emergency, the Revocable Living Trust may be the answer.

You can make the gift you want to make, receive the income from the trust for yourself or someone else you designate, and at your death whatever remains in the trust becomes a gift to the United Methodist Children's Home. In the meantime, if you need part or all of your gift back, you simply ask for it. It's yours, no questions asked.

The amount that eventually goes to the Children's Home is completely deductible from estate taxes, and, because its a trust, some estate settlement costs may also be saved. However, since the gift is revocable there are no income tax deductions.

To discuss giving opportunities, or volunteering at UMCH, please contact:

Steve Putka
Director of Development & Spiritual Life
United Methodist Children's Home
1033 High Street,
Worthington, Ohio 43085
614-885-5020
E-Mail: Giving Opportunities 

All information is kept strictly confidential.