Gifts Through Your Will

Bequests

Bequests to Wycliffe are a key source of support for Bible translation. Each individual legacy contributes to the increasing funds needed to complete the translation task. Past bequests from supporters have helped millions of people come to a knowledge of Jesus Christ. Future bequests will help ensure that lives continue to be transformed through the translated Scriptures. Your bequest means that you will make an eternal difference in the lives of people by providing them with access to the Word of God in their own language.

A bequest is easy to arrange (see sample text below). It is not payable until death, so it does not affect your assets or cash flow during your lifetime. It is revocable—you can change the provisions in your will at any time. And, a bequest to Wycliffe qualifies for a donation receipt, which results in a credit on your final income tax return.

Ways to Include Wycliffe in Your Will

• You may designate a specific dollar-amount gift for us (a pecuniary bequest), or a particular asset (a specific bequest).
• You may make a bequest of all or a portion of your residuary estate (the balance remaining in the estate after debts and taxes have been satisfied and specific bequests have been paid). Many donors find that remembering us through a residual bequest gives them more flexibility in their long-term planning.
• You may make Wycliffe a contingent beneficiary of your estate by stipulating that Wycliffe will receive your bequest if one or more named beneficiaries do not survive you.
• You may make Wycliffe the remainder beneficiary of a trust which you have established in your will, or during your life, to provide income to friends or family members. Wycliffe would receive the principal of the trust at the death of the last surviving beneficiary. Such an arrangement might take the form of either a charitable remainder trust or a spousal trust that pays all income to your spouse for his or her life.

Suggested Text for a Bequest

• A general bequest: "I give (a specific asset) or ($__ dollars) or (__ per cent of the rest, residue, and remainder of my estate) to Wycliffe Bible Translators of Canada, Inc., a registered Canadian charitable organization located in Calgary, Alberta, for its general purposes."
• A bequest for a specific purpose: "I give (a specific asset) or ($__ dollars) or (__ per cent of the rest, residue, and remainder of my estate) to Wycliffe Bible Translators of Canada, Inc, a registered Canadian charitable organization located in Calgary, Alberta, to be used for the following purpose: (e.g., translation of Bibles or to conduct literacy programs)."
• A bequest to establish an endowment: "I give (a specific asset) or ($__ dollars) or (__ per cent of the rest, residue, and remainder of my estate) to Wycliffe Bible Translators of Canada, Inc., a registered Canadian charitable organization located in Calgary, Alberta, to be held as a permanently endowed fund entered in Wycliffe's books and records as the JANE M. DOE ENDOWED FUND. The income from the endowment shall be used for (state Wycliffe purpose(s))".

Could Our Needs Change?

For all the constancy of its mission, Wycliffe's activities and programs can change over time, and current needs may not be the same as those in the future. We thus ask you to contact our Stewardship/Development office if you are contemplating a bequest for a specific purpose or project. In addition, it is prudent to grant Wycliffe flexibility to respond to unforeseen circumstances by including this language in your specific bequest: "If at any time in the judgment of the board of directors of Wycliffe Bible Translators of Canada, Inc. it becomes impossible or impracticable to carry out exactly the designated purpose of this bequest, the board shall have the authority to determine an alternative purpose as near as possible to the designated purpose."

What If You've Already Written Your Will?

You can amend a will or trust to make a gift to us. Your lawyer or notary can prepare a simple document called a codicil that adds a new bequest to us while reaffirming the other terms of your will. Similarly, he or she can often prepare an amendment to your trust document to add us as a beneficiary
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Informing Wycliffe of Your Bequest Intentions

We recognize that bequest intentions are a personal matter that you may wish to keep confidential. However, if you are willing to share them, Wycliffe would be very pleased to acknowledge your intentions. In addition to the opportunity it would give us to thank you for your generosity during your lifetime, it would give us the chance to discuss with you how you would like to be kept informed about how Wycliffe is contributing to the Bible translation task.

If you are considering a bequest or revocable trust benefiting us, email us or call us at 1-800-463-1143 so that we can assist you through every step of the process.

Print the above information (PDF format)

Resources for executors: Understanding Your Role (PDF format)

Gifts of Retirement Plans

Did you know that it is possible to leave RRSP or RRIF assets to us at no tax cost to your estate? MORE

Gifts of Life Insurance

Did you know that you can name us as beneficiary of a life insurance policy, and create a significant endowment using income rather than capital?

You may be surprised to learn that a surplus, paid-up life insurance policy can be used to fund a gift to Wycliffe. If, for instance, you acquired several life insurance policies when your family was younger, with the children now grown the coverage may be more than you need. If you contact your insurance company and name Wycliffe as the owner and beneficiary of a policy, you will secure a donation receipt equal to the cash surrender value of the policy on the date of the gift. If the policy is not yet paid up, you will be entitled to an additional donation receipt for the amount of each premium payment you subsequently make either directly to the insurance company or by means of a cash gift to Wycliffe.
Alternatively, you may still have a young family, and may conclude that ongoing obligations will make it difficult for you to accumulate capital.

You may want to make a significant gift to Wycliffe, but wonder how you will gather the resources to do so. If you take out a new life insurance policy as a gift, you can deliver a large benefit to us from income rather than capital. You will be entitled to donation receipts for the amounts of premium payments you make either directly to the insurance company or by means of cash gifts to Wycliffe.

A third possibility would be to simply name Wycliffe as a beneficiary of some or all of the death benefit associated with a policy that you own and that covers your life. When you do this, you can retain full control of the policy, in case your situation changes in later years. Still, if upon your death you still own the policy and if Wycliffe continues to be named as a beneficiary, a donation receipt for the amount paid to Wycliffe by the insurance company will become available for use in connection with your final income your tax return.

Email us or call us at 1-800-463-1143 so that we can assist you through every step of the process.