Ways To Donate to United Zion Retirement Community

Why Support United Zion Retirement Community and the Good Samaritan Fund
Fundraising Programs
Donate Online
Other Ways to Give
Planned-Giving Opportunities

For over 100 years, United Zion Retirement Community (UZRC) has provided quality care to thousands of residents who needed health care when they were no longer able to care for themselves. As the cost of health care has risen dramatically, some residents have depleted their assets. There are no government safety nets to provide financial help to personal care residents. As we have done for more than 100 years, we continue to provide needed care and services when residents have depleted their assets. Our commitment to those in need of the care we provide continues today through our Benevolent Care Program and the Good Samaritan Fund.

Perhaps no other story in the New Testament is more widely-known than that of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10: 30-37). A man, at his most critical need, was overlooked by everyone. Then, a Good Samaritan reached out in compassion, offered healing care, and paid for the continuing care of a man that others had left to die.

UZRC has selected the name of the "Good Samaritan Fund" to help those in our UZRC family who have fallen on the most difficult of times: those who must not be passed by, those who need our help the most as they have depleted their assets and cannot afford the care they need.

Every year and every month. Every week and every day. There's never a time that residents among our UZRC family are not "lying by the side of the road" because of financial hardship. Each year, several hundred thousand dollars in un-reimbursed care is provided to care for these residents. Round-the-clock care expenses are a significant expense. More financial challenges arise to maintain competitive wages and benefits to attract and retain qualified care givers.

The need is always with us. There will always be a need; it's simply a part of life. The challenge is finding Good Samaritans to help us meet this need and help sustain the 100+ years of our mission to provide care and service to those in need.

The Good Samaritan in the New Testament had the necessary resources to bless the man in need. Some of today's Good Samaritans may also have the immediate resources to simply write a check.

However, financial issues can often be far more complicated and other Good Samaritans find their assets are tied up in stocks and bonds, real estate, collectibles, etc. Fortunately, the government encourages charitable giving and has established specialized strategies that can provide generous tax deductions, exceptional income, and allow one to leave a legacy that can benefit UZRC and support a worthwhile cause - the Good Samaritan Fund.

Because it's the Christian commitment and responsibility of UZRC to provide health care and love to every one of our residents, we cannot turn someone away because they are no longer able to pay for their care. We must act in the same spirit as the Good Samaritan and help our friends in need. We cannot 'pass by' and refuse to care.

It's also an obligation of believers to care for those most needy among us. Of course, we all have many projects and programs we support. But, perhaps you, like those of us here at UZRC who have dedicated our working lives to care for people, will also want to dedicate a portion of your financial assets to help us help others. Maybe you can make a generous, and much appreciated gift, to our Good Samaritan Fund.

People unfamiliar with long term care and services often believe that with Medicare, Medicaid, Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and private insurance, every American citizen has the resources they need to pay for long term care. The reality is very different. Medicare pays for less than 10% of the cost of services provided in most nursing homes. Medicaid pays what the government determines they are willing to pay in a program subject to 'caps,' 'freezes' and the reality of government budgets that grow at a rate that cannot be sustained by tax revenue. In personal care or what some call "assisted living," for those without funds, the SSI payment is less than $30 a day for round-the-clock care, a room, three good meals and daily snacks, laundry and other services. There is no Medicaid or Medicare funding for personal care services in Pennsylvania.

We hope you will consider a contribution to our Good Samaritan Fund. We welcome the support of those willing to help sustain our mission, the one we have followed for more than 100 years.

There are several ways to give to United Zion Retirement Community:
• Donate Online
• Postal Mail
• Over the Telephone
• Planned-Giving

We are a 501(c)3 organization and issue receipts with every donation for tax purposes.

Please check back for future fundraising programs

You can give online at any time through our secure server by using your credit card. We accept Visa, MasterCard and Discover at this time. Click here to make a donation to United Zion Retirement Community through the Mennonite Church USA online donations website. Please note that you will be leaving UZRC.org's website.

We are a 501(c)3 organization and issue receipts with every donation for tax purposes.

To give using traditional postal mail, please write a check made out to United Zion Retirement Community and
mail it to: 722 Furnace Hills Pike, Lititz, PA 17543

To give by phone using your credit card, please call (717) 626-2071. Visa, Mastercard and Discover are accepted at this time.

We are a 501(c)3 organization and issue receipts with every donation for tax purposes.

There has been a sudden rise in non-cash gifts being given to charities because of the tremendous savings to both the donor and the organization they care about. Gifts of appreciated property, lead trusts, annuity trusts and donor-advised funds are just a few of the more sophisticated giving methods being used today.

United Zion Retirement Community has partnered with Ambassador Advisors, LLC, located in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, a financial and stewardship planning firm that specializes in helping individuals and non-profit organizations Do More with their financial resources. Below are a few of the planned-giving opportunities United Zion Retirement Community can now offer through their planned-giving associate.

For more information on the tax advantages of non-cash gifts to United Zion Retirement Community, please contact:

Ron Barrett, Executive Director
United Zion Retirement Community
717-626-2071
rbarrett@uzrc.org
     or
Ted Derrick, Vice President
Ambassador Advisors, LLC
1-800-395-7660

Direct Gifts - Charitable donations that go from you to a charitable organization. Because such contributions are generally tax deductible, the more you donate to charity, the more tax benefit you receive - as long as your itemized deductions exceed the standard deduction and your donations donít exceed adjusted gross income (AGI) limits.

Partial Interest Gifts - Partial gifts provide an income tax deduction for the interest passing to charity (valued as of the date of the gift). Such a gift creates a charitable gift tax deduction, excludes the property from your estate for estate tax purposes, and might offer other deductions for substantially improving the property.

Charitable Remainder Trusts (a type of a Partial Interest Gift) - A charitable remainder trust (CRT) is a great way to give to a charity and reduce your taxable estate. To create one, you donate assets to an irrevocable trust, name one or more charities as the remainder beneficiaries, and name yourself or someone else as the income beneficiary. The CRT trustee invests the trust assets. The trust makes annual distributions to the income beneficiary. When you contribute to a CRT; you will receive an immediate (same year) tax deduction.

Charitable Lead Trust (a type of a Partial Interest Gift) - Essentially, a charitable lead trust (CLT) is the reverse of a CRT. Itís an irrevocable trust that gives one or more charities, as opposed to you or another beneficiary, the income interest. The CLTís remainder interest passes (either outright or in trust) to you, your children or other non-charity beneficiaries. You can establish a CLT during your lifetime or at death through your will or trust and receive a gift or estate tax deduction for the interest passing to charity.

Charitable Gift Annuities - A charitable gift annuity is a legal agreement between you and a charity in which you give money, securities, or real estate to the charity, and in return, the organization agrees to pay you a fixed income for life. Several factors determine the actual amount of the annuity you receive, including: your age at the time of the gift; the rate of return the charity expects to earn; the gift amount; and whether the payments will begin immediately or be deferred until a later time.

Donor Advised Funds - A donor advised fund (DAF) is a charitable account you set up in your name - for example: the John Doe Charitable Gift Fund. The account is physically held by an organization - such as a community foundation, university, or charitable arm of an investment firm - that administers the funds and makes the grants. You make recommendations to the organization that holds the DAF as to which charities it should distribute the funds. You can name a particular charity, several charities, or even to a broad category of nonprofit organizations - such as those that support the arts, promote literacy, or alleviate homelessness. A DAF can make grants in your name or anonymously.

Private Foundations - In its simplest form, a private foundation is a charitable, grant-making organization that is privately funded and controlled. A foundation makes periodic gifts for the donor, or whomever the donor has appointed as representative. The private foundation is more costly to start and more involved than the Donor Advised Fund. It must file an annual tax return (IRS Form 990-PF) as well as pay a 2% excise tax on net investment income. For those donating significant money, Private Foundations do, however, make an excellent way to teach stewardship to future generations.

722 Furnace Hills Pike
Lititz, PA 17543
phone: (717) 626-2071
fax: (717) 626-0911