How to give through a charitable bequest
You can make bequests to charities by including specific language in your will or living trust, leaving a portion of your estate to a favorite charity like St. Jude Children's Research Hospital®.
St. Jude patient Matthew
What is a bequest in a will?
In the estate planning process, you can designate a beneficiary to receive some portion of your assets in your will. This is a type of planned gift called a bequest.
Charitable bequests are specifically made to a charitable organization, like St. Jude Children's Research Hospital®. This type of bequest can be a transfer of cash, securities or other property made through your estate plans.
St. Jude patient Ava
Common types of charitable bequests given to St. Jude
Specific: A gift of a specific amount or item/asset from the estate to St. Jude. See sample bequest language for this type of gift, or download our bequest information sheet.
Residual: A gift to St. Jude made from the residue of the estate after all other wishes are fulfilled or a percentage of the estate.
Contingent: A gift to St. Jude only in the event that the designated beneficiaries (usually children or family members) are unable to accept the estate gift.
Perpetual: A series of gifts to St. Jude over a period of time.
Donors can leave a legacy gift for the children at St. Jude in several ways.
- Bequest - You can make a bequest by including language in your will or living trust, leaving a portion of your estate to St. Jude.
- Beneficiary Designation(s) - You can name St. Jude as a beneficiary of your bank accounts, investment accounts, life insurance policy, Donor Advised Fund (DAF), and retirement assets including IRAs, Roth IRAs, 401(k)s and 403(b)s and other pension plans. Beneficiary designation forms, available from the institutions where you have your accounts, work to pass those assets directly to the beneficiaries you name.
- Charitable Gift Annuity - Through a CGA, you can make an irrevocable gift to support St. Jude while providing a source of fixed income for life to you or another annuitant.
Local representatives are available to speak with you about meaningful ways you can support the children and work of St. Jude.
Learn more about making St. Jude part of your legacy plans.
St. Jude patient Micah
Charitable bequests:
FAQs
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A charitable bequest is a simple, yet powerful way to help us give hope to innocent children who come to us looking for a second chance at life. A charitable bequest is a gift of cash, property, or assets, like your bank accounts or your home, to a charitable cause you care about — like St. Jude — after your lifetime.
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A bequest — charitable or not — can be made for either:
- A specific dollar amount
- A percentage of your estate
- All or a portion of what is left after you have made bequests to your loved ones — often called a residuary bequest
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There are numerous benefits to charitable bequests.
A meaningful part of your legacy
A charitable bequest costs you nothing now yet gives you the satisfaction of knowing you have provided for a charity or nonprofit organization’s future. And they can be simple to establish relative to their potentially significant impact.
Flexible and simple setup
To get started, you can simply add a few lines of text to your probated will or living trust. You may also modify your bequest if your circumstances change.
Charitable bequest tax deductions
Charitable bequests could help reduce federal estate taxes because there’s no limit to the value of charitable bequest assets that can be deducted from the total estate’s value. Also, the specific assets that are counted for the charitable deduction don’t have to be cash. You can include other assets like stocks, IRAs and real estate.
ALSAC/St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital does not provide tax, legal or accounting advice. This material is prepared and made available to you for informational purposes only and is not intended to provide or be relied upon for tax, legal or accounting advice. You should always consult a tax professional to determine your particular tax benefits that may result from any particular type of gift to charity.
Tax ID Number:
62-0646012
We are a tax-exempt, charitable institution listed in the Federal Internal Revenue Service Publication #78, "Cumulative List of Organizations," revised IRS Code 501(c)(3).
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"Residue" is a term to describe the portion of your estate that remains after all debts, expenses and specific bequests to others have first been fulfilled.
You could use language like this to add a residuary bequest benefiting St. Jude:
All the rest, residue and remainder of my estate I give to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Inc., located in Memphis, Tennessee, Tax ID 62-0646012, for its general purposes.
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If you’d like to give a specific bequest to St. Jude, you can write something like this:
I give to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Inc., located in Memphis, Tennessee, Tax ID 62-0646012, the sum of $_____________, for its general purposes.
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If you’d like to give a real estate bequest to St. Jude, you could use language like this:
I leave to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Inc., of Memphis, Tennessee, the real property described as follows:
[property description]
I direct my Executor/Personal Representative to sell the above-described real property and distribute the proceeds to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Inc., located in Memphis, Tennessee, Tax ID 62-0646012, for its general purposes.
Why support St. Jude with a charitable bequest?
Families never receive a bill from St. Jude for treatment, travel, housing or food — so they can focus on helping their child live.
When St. Jude opened in 1962, childhood cancer was considered largely incurable. Since then, St. Jude has helped push the overall survival rate from 20% to more than 80%, and we won't stop until no child dies from cancer.
Every child deserves a chance to live their best life and celebrate every moment. When you support St. Jude, you can help make cures possible for kids with cancer. Together, we can save more lives.
Our Gift Planning department has a representative in your area who can provide further information or help you prepare the right questions to ask your financial advisor to determine what type of planned gift may be right for you.
If you have made St. Jude part of your legacy through a bequest or will, please let us know so that we can honor your generosity and better plan for the future.
Email giftplanning@alsac.stjude.org, call (800) 395-1087, or fill out the form below, and a St. Jude representative will contact you.
St. Jude patient Lila, then and now
More ways to make life your legacy.
When St. Jude kids achieve their dreams, they are also fulfilling your legacy. By including St. Jude in your will or estate plan, you make an impact that will live on through the lives of those you helped, like St. Jude patient Lila.
As an acknowledgment of your generosity when you give a gift to St. Jude through your will or estate plan, you become a member of the Danny Thomas – St. Jude Society and we recognize your commitment to the mission of St. Jude in a variety of ways.
Learn How We Honor Your Generosity Explore More Planned Giving Options
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