Faithful planning, faithful giving

Emily Leslie was a faithful United Methodist her entire life. Her faith was forged and nurtured in

her younger years at White Salmon UMC. She raised her family at Pioneer UMC in Walla Walla.

Emily earned her teaching certificate, bachelor’s, and master’s in education all from Central

Washington University and spent 33 years as teacher, retiring in 1986 from the Walla Walla

School District. She spent her last years connected to First UMC Pasco.

In 2016, Emily contacted the Foundation about setting up a Charitable Gift Annuity. This is a gift

vehicle for those who want to leave a legacy and also receive an income during their lifetime.

After working with Executive Director Tom Wilson, Emily created a $10,000 Charitable Gift

Annuity that would eventually benefit the Pacific Northwest Conference of the United Methodist

Church to continue its ministry. The Foundation invested her gift for long-term growth and paid

Emily $500 per year (5% of the original gift’s value) from that account for the rest of her lifetime.

Upon her death in January 2023, the account’s growth had outpaced the payments made to

Emily, and the conference received the remaining balance of $9,312. Her thoughtful and

careful planning using a Charitable Gift Annuity created a path where both she and the United

Methodist Church would benefit from her gift.

Emily’s life was not only full of service to her family, students, and church, but now extends

through her legacy gift to impact future generations. She truly embodied the spirit of the words

of John Wesley:

Do all the good you can, in all the ways you can, to all the souls you can, in every place you can, at all the times you can, with all the zeal you can, as long as ever you can.

Charitable Gift Annuities create a tax benefit in addition to lifetime payments for the donor, and

can be especially attractive for people who could benefit from turning illiquid assets into regular

income. In addition, the rates of return on Charitable Gift Annuities have just gone up. If you’re

wondering how you and your favorite charities might benefit from a Charitable Gift annuity, call

the Foundation at (800) 488-4179.

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