Giving to Fairmount Avenue
United Methodist Church

Together, when we give, we make ministry happen.

Your gifts enable FAUMC to carry out its mission to be a joyful, welcoming community igniting hearts and minds for God's work.

We have a variety of channels and Funds available so your gifts can support the ministries that are important to you.

Ways to Give...

✔️ Give by Check:

Make your check payable to Fairmount Avenue United Methodist Church, and offer your gift in worship, mail it to our office or drop it off in person:

1523 Fairmount Avenue, Saint Paul, MN, 55105

More...

🎗️ Automate and spread your Pledge over weekly or monthly giving by using your bank's bill-pay feature. Establish FAUMC as a payee, and schedule a one-time or recurring payment. The bank will draft and mail a check directly to FAUMC, and you can manage those payments using the bank's website or app. Checks are processed by our volunteer Finance team at no cost to the Church.

🖥️ Give Online:

Click this link or the Donate button above, or scan the QR code to jump to our PayPal Giving Page.

🎗️ If you like, you can establish a sustaining, recurring gift to FAUMC. More...

🎗️ As a nonprofit, Fairmount enjoys lower fees than other commercial payees, but kindly consider accepting the "cover-fees" option on the PayPal platform so that your full gift can reach the church.

Scan to Give via PayPal

🪺 IRA Qualified Charitable Donation (QCD):

QCD checks should be payable to Fairmount Avenue United Methodist Church, and must be mailed directly from your IRA broker to our office:

1523 Fairmount Avenue, Saint Paul, MN, 55105

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A QCD is generally initiated with your IRA broker in the same manner as a normal distribution. Please be certain the distribution check will adequately identify you, so that we may properly attribute the gift. Note that because a QCD is inherently tax-free, any QCD giving will appear as Non-Deductible on your Fairmount Giving Statement. 🎗️ Consider scheduling automatically recurring distributions to support your Pledge.

ℹ️ QCD is a financial and tax strategy available to IRA account-holders age 70½ or older, and is a means of making tax-free donations directly from an IRA to a qualified non-profit organization such as Fairmount. As a tax-free distribution, a QCD also counts toward an RMD, effectively reducing taxable income versus taking a normal distribution and making a donation from your non-IRA account. A QCD provides beneficial tax treatment "for taxpayers who do not itemize their tax deductions or whose charitable contributions exceed 60% of their AGI."

📖 Selected Reading:

What Is a Qualified Charitable Distribution (QCD)? (Mercer Advisors)

Qualified Charitable Distributions from Individual Retirement Accounts (Congressional Research Service)

IRS Tax Tip 2022-171 Seniors can reduce their tax burden by donating to charity through their IRA (IRS.gov)

IRS News: Qualified charitable distributions are great options for making tax-free gifts to charity (IRS.gov)

🧩 Donor-Advised Fund (DAF):

To recommend a charitable grant from your DAF to Fairmount, search on your DAF platform for Fairmount Avenue United Methodist Church or by its EIN (41 – 0807571). The DAF platform should already know FAUMC's address, but please confirm it will be sent to our office:

1523 Fairmount Avenue, Saint Paul, MN, 55105

More...

Unless you want to give anonymously, be certain the distribution check will adequately identify you so that we may properly attribute the gift. Note that because a tax benefit will already have been received when funds were provided to the DAF, any DAF grants received will appear as Non-Deductible on your FAUMC Giving Statement. 🎗️ Consider scheduling automatically recurring distributions to support your Pledge.

ℹ️ A donor-advised fund (DAF) is a charitable investment account you establish with the sole purpose of supporting charitable organizations. When you contribute cash, securities or other assets to a DAF, you are eligible for an immediate tax deduction. Those funds are then invested at your direction for tax-free growth, and you can recommend one-time or recurring grants to any qualified charitable organization, such as Fairmount.

For many people, a DAF is an effective part of their tax-management strategy, as capital gains taxes can be avoided by donating appreciated securities, and through "bunching" expected future charitable donations into a single itemized tax year. You can designate successor advisors that allow your heirs to continue your philanthropy.

📖 Selected Reading:

Maximize Your Giving Impact and Tax Benefits with Donor-Advised Funds (Mercer Advisors)

How Donor Advised Funds Work (YouTube) (National Philanthropic Trust)

Understanding Donor-Advised Funds: Definition, Pros & Cons, and Examples (Investopedia.com)

10 Benefits of Giving through a DAF (The Columbus Foundation)

📈 Gift Publicly Traded Securities:

FAUMC partners with the Minnesota Methodist Foundation and its affiliate Wespath to receive gifted public securities on the church's behalf, and to immediately liquidate and remit the proceeds to FAUMC.

To donate publicly-traded securities, please follow the instructions in the Foundation's Transfer Form. More...

Once you've submitted the form to the Foundation, please also email our Financial Secretary to advise that your stock gift is on the way. This helps us accurately identify the donor and to work with the broker to ensure the process works seamlessly.

As your donation is technically to the Foundation (EIN 41-0948539), they will send you a tax acknowledgement for the gift. Fairmount will also record the gift in its donor records, but to avoid duplicate substantiation of the gift, your FAUMC Giving Statement will reflect it as Non-Deductible.

ℹ️ If you sell appreciated stock out of a taxable brokerage account, you will usually owe a capital gains tax to the IRS, reducing the amount available for gifting. If, instead, you donate that same stock directly to a charitable organization such as Fairmount the gift is tax-free to the donor, the charity receives the full value of the stock and the donor can itemize the full market value (for holdings longer than 12 months) of the stock in their deductions.

📖 Selected Reading:

How Donating Appreciated Stock to Charity Can Save You Thousands in Taxes (Elevation Financial)

Can I Donate Stock to Charity? (Investopedia)

Giving smarter: Donating appreciated securities (Vanguard)

🌱 Planned Giving:

A planned gift to FAUMC allows you to make a lasting contribution reflecting the values and passions important to you. Your enduring support can shape the future of its ministries, missions and outreach for generations to come. More...

ℹ️ Planned giving can convey cash, securities and other assets to FAUMC while avoiding probate. Common deferred giving options include simple Trust or Will bequests and DIY account beneficiary designations, as well as specialized financial products and other structured giving. Donors have the ability to designate a certain dollar amount or percentage of their or beneficial account, and, importantly, retain control to change parameters as circumstances change. Beneficiary designations can be made on retirement accounts, life insurance policies and even Health Savings Accounts. Your bank or brokerage will likely require you to file a POD or TOD instead.

We advise including your family and other independent advisors in any decision to change your estate plan.

If you decide to include FAUMC in your long-term plans, be sure you learn about our various Funds, We particularly recommend the Congregational Endowment Fund, Music Fund, Building Fund or Followers Fund; or if you want your gift used where it is most needed your gift can be made without restrictions.

📖 Selected Reading:

Create a Lasting Impact Through Planned Giving (CRI Advisors)

What to Support...

🌱 General Fund:

Also thought of as the Budget, the General Fund funds the Nurture, Outreach and Witness ministries and other program costs, and pays Fairmount's operating costs including salaries, utilities, insurance, supplies, building maintenance and Conference apportionments. The General Fund is supported primarily through Stewardship Pledges and other unpledged giving.

⛪ Building Fund:

While the General Fund provides a budget for materials, supplies and services to maintain the buildings and property, the Building Fund is used to pay for needed capital expenditures and other large unexpected expenses incurred for the church and parsonage. The Building Fund is supported primarily through annual Pledges and planned giving. More...

In recent years the Building Fund has paid for a number of important projects, including relocating and reconfiguring the church offices, stabilizing the chimney, updating the Parsonage, relocating and remodeling the History Room and refreshing the Nursery.

🎼 Music Fund:

While the General Fund provides a budget for materials, licenses and hired musicians, the Music Fund supports the maintenance, repair and replacement of the equipment including the organ, bells and pianos.

💝 Memorial Fund:

If you have a loved one who has been impacted by Fairmount, establishing a memorial gift is a meaningful way to honor and celebrate them while supporting the church and its missions. Fairmount's Memorials Committee works to utilize this giving in a meaningful, enduring way.

🔰 Followers Fund:

The Fairmount UMC "Followers" are the church's junior and senior high youth. Their fundraising activities and your donations help to support special mission work.

🌱 Endowment Fund:

Endowment Fund. More...

🎗️ Many employers support employee volunteerism or monetary donations. Talk to your employer about whether they can make a direct gift in acknowledgement of your volunteer hours or have an employee gift-matching program. Then, make a gift to Fairmount and follow your employer's process to have an even greater impact.