Frequently Asked Questions about the Charitable Gift Annuity Program

Q. How will charitable gift annuity funds be invested?

A. CGA funds will be invested separately from other diocesan funds and managed by the Rathbun Group of Smith-Barney in line with Catholic social and ethical teaching.

Q. What happens to the interest from the invested CGA funds?

A. Investment proceeds are added to the corpus of the annuity and reinvested.

Q. Upon death of a donor, who receives remaining annuity assets?

A. The beneficiary designated at the time the annuity is set up will receive the funds. Potential beneficiaries include parishes, Catholic schools, particular endowments within the Catholic Foundation, and ministries of the diocese.

Q. Will all gifts be accepted automatically?

A. All gifts are reviewed prior to acceptance as being consistent with guidelines.

Q. Are there charges to donors or designated recipients to administer an annuity?

A. There is no charge for this service.

Q. What about investment management fees levied by investment and money managers?

A. There is currently a one-fourth of one percent fee applied against the total assets of all annuities in the program portfolio. This fee is calculated and assessed quarterly, but this is not a separate charge to annuitants. Fees will go down as the portfolio grows.

Q. Will a pastor, parish administrator, school, or ministry official be consulted prior to accepting a designated gift from a donor?

A. Yes, the Planned Giving Officer will contact the designated beneficiary to discuss the appropriateness of the gift and its purpose prior to acceptance.

Q. Will the designated beneficiary be advised when a gift annuity has been finalized and can the designated beneficiary contact the donor to thank them?

A. Yes, the designated beneficiary will be notified when an annuity has been finalized. With the permission of the donor, the Planned Giving Officer will advise the designated beneficiary of the name and address of the donor.

Q. Who will be responsible for the administration and distribution of the checks to the annuitants?

A. The Diocesan Pastoral Office for Administration will administer the annuity program. The pastoral office will prepare checks to be forwarded to the Catholic Foundation of Northcentral Indiana, Inc., for distribution to annuitants, and will provide information for year-end tax reporting.

For more information, please contact the Planned Giving Office at 800-617-7466 or Pamelia Storms-Barrett, Director

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©2008 Diocese of Lafayette-in-Indiana