Ways to Give
Your gifts allow powerful ministry to happen: from spreading the Good News through Unleash the Gospel to serving the poor and marginalized through Catholic Charities. Thank you for your support.
Additional Information and Resources
Frequently Asked Questions
If there is a specific parish, school, or ministry you wish to give to that isn’t listed, please reach out to us at 313-596-7400 or development@aod.org. We would be more than happy to discuss and help direct your gift to where it is intended.
The Department of Development and Department of Finance work together to oversee the distribution of gifts, ensuring all reach the ministries, programs, and services for which they are intended. Since your gift is designated, be assured that it will NOT be used to settle claims against the Archdiocese or to support projects outside of the Archdiocese.
If you would like to make a pledge to give over a specific period of time, we would be happy to help talk you through it. Please contact us at 313-596-7400 or development@aod.org. Pledges are an expression of the intent to give in the future, and they are not recognized as a legally binding obligation.
If you would like to make a pledge to give over a specific period of time, we would be happy to help talk you through it. Please contact us at 313-596-7400 or development@aod.org. Pledges are an expression of the intent to give in the future, and they are not recognized as a legally binding obligation.
Please take the following steps to make a gift of stock or mutual fund transfer to your parish, Archdiocese of Detroit, or Sacred Heart Major Seminary:
Provide your broker with the following Archdiocese of Detroit account information:
- Investment firm: Morgan Stanley Smith Barney
- Name of account: Archdiocese of Detroit
- Account number: 272108385
- Transfer ID (DTC #): 0015
Contact Donor Services/Mission Advancement at 313-596-7400 or development@aod.org to notify us of the stock transfer and provide the following information:
- Name of the company/stock and ticker symbol, number of shares and date of transfer.
- Name of organization or fund you wish to receive the proceeds from the stock sale/donation.
- The purpose(s) for which you wish the proceeds to be used. That purpose must have been established by the beneficiary.
- Please contact the beneficiary for this information, keeping in mind that “where most needed” allows for the greatest discretion by the beneficiary.
- Your name and address, so we can properly acknowledge your donation and to provide you with a donation statement for tax purposes.
Please note: Due to privacy laws, brokers are not authorized to share your name with us, so we will be unable to identify the organization/fund that is to receive the proceeds unless you contact us and provide the above information.
Thank you for your generosity.
The simplest planned gift to the Church is a bequest in your last will or testament or in your living trust to your parish, the Archdiocese of Detroit Endowment Foundation, Sacred Heart Major Seminary or another archdiocesan institution. This demonstrates the obvious necessity to have a valid will or trust in order to accomplish your goal of leaving a legacy to the Church as your final act of stewardship.
Even if you choose not to make an outright bequest to the Church, it may be a good idea to consider the Church as the beneficiary of a contingent bequest in the event all of your other named beneficiaries no longer exist at the time of your death. This is sometimes referred to as a "clean up" provision. It ensures that your property is distributed according to your plan rather than the state law on estate distributions.
A tax planning point for bequests: To the extent possible, your bequests to the Church should be from assets referred to in the Internal Revenue Code as "income in respect of a decedent." Some examples of these assets are U.S. government savings bonds and retirement plans such as 401(k) plans and IRAs. These assets are ideal for bequests to the Church because they are subject to income tax if received by a tax-paying beneficiary, such as a family member. However, since the Church, like other charities, is tax-exempt, income tax can be avoided on bequests of these assets to the Church. Other assets, such as bank accounts, life insurance and corporate stocks and bonds, which do not suffer this income tax taint, are better assets to distribute to family beneficiaries.
Suggested Language for Bequests:
- A bequest of a specific amount:
I give $$$ to.... - A bequest of specific property:
I give 100 shares of XYZ Corporation to.... - A bequest of a portion of the residue of your estate:
I give 10 percent of the remaining property in my estate to.... - A bequest of the complete residue of your estate:
I give all of the remaining property in my estate to....
The following are some beneficiary designations for various Archdiocese of Detroit institutions.
- To your parish:
To Most Reverend Allen H. Vigneron, Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Detroit, and his successors in office, for the benefit of (name of parish and city). - To the Archdiocese of Detroit Endowment Foundation:
To the Archdiocese of Detroit Endowment Foundation, Detroit, Michigan. - To Sacred Heart Major Seminary:
To Sacred Heart Major Seminary, Detroit, Michigan.
If you have an interest in making a bequest or estate gift to a school, your parish, or a ministry within the Archdiocese of Detroit, we'd love to help talk you through it — we may be contacted at 313-596-7400 or development@aod.org.
You can give any amount up to $100,000 per year from your IRA directly to a qualified charity without having to pay income tax. This is commonly called the IRA charitable rollover, but you may also see it referred to as a qualified charitable distribution, or QCD.
Beginning in the year you turn 72, you can use your gift to satisfy all or part of your required minimum distribution (RMD).
- Only direct distributions to charity up to $100,000 qualify as tax-free. Distributions in exchange for a charitable gift annuity or to a charitable remainder trust do not qualify.
- It is especially important that the IRA distribution be made payable to the charity, not to you as the IRA owner and beneficiary. Otherwise, the distribution would not qualify for the favorable tax treatment. Advise your IRA administrator to make the distribution check payable to the beneficiary, not to you.
- Only distributions from traditional or certain Roth IRAs are tax-free; the law does not apply to other qualified retirement plans, such as 401(k) plans. However, you should consider consulting with your financial or tax advisor about the possibility of transferring funds from one of these other qualified plans to establish an IRA, with the distribution to charity coming from the newly established IRA.
- Please reach out to us if you have an interest in making a gift from your charitable IRA to a school, your parish, or a ministry within the Archdiocese of Detroit. We'd love to discuss further — we may be contacted at 313-596-7400 or development@aod.org.
You may contribute to a specific parish, school, or ministry with your donor-advised fund (DAF). If you'd like to discuss an area to make your gift, please contact us at 313-596-7400 or development@aod.org.
A gift may also be mailed to the below address. Please include your gift designation.
Archdiocese of Detroit Endowment Fund
12 State Street
Detroit, MI 48226-1823
Federal Tax I.D. is 38-1359274.
Sacred Heart Major Seminary
2701 Chicago Blvd
Detroit, MI 48206
Federal Tas I.D. is 38-1358214.
If you would like to make a special gift in memory or in honor of a loved one, we'd love to help talk you through it — please contact us at 313-596-7400 or development@aod.org. Please also let us know if you would like us to notify someone that this gift has been made.
