Donor Stories

 

In 1968, during a sabbatical from their teaching jobs in California, Arlene and Matthew Barton* lived in Mexico City and attended an English-speaking church. At that time a number of Wycliffe missionaries also attended the church, and Arlene and Matthew soon grew close with many of them—especially Ronald and Judy Klump, who were dorm parents at a school for missionary children.

It wasn’t long before Matthew and Arlene caught the vision for Bible translation. “We developed a heart for Wycliffe—to see all that they were doing in Mexico at the time,” Arlene explains.

For many years after that, the Bartons financially supported the Klumps’ ministry. Then in the mid-1990s Matthew was diagnosed with cancer and passed away.

Arlene started to think through her plans for the future—how would she distribute their property and other assets?

She talked with a gift planner about a charitable remainder trust, which distributes a fixed percentage of the value of a person’s assets to them for the remainder of their lifetime and then distributes the balance to a selected charity.

But that didn’t fit what Arlene was looking for. She didn’t need an income from the trust, and she wanted to leave something to her three children. A better plan for her was a charitable lead trust (CLT).

With a CLT, Arlene gave an interest in the income from her apartment houses to four charities over fourteen years (a number she chose). After the fourteen years, the ownership interest will transfer to her children tax free.

“In the long run, the amount I’m giving every year is probably going to add up to whatever inheritance tax my kids would pay, but the good part is that it’s going to God’s work instead of to the government,” Arlene says.

Arlene decided to give the money from the CLT to four charities that had been close to their hearts over the years—Wycliffe being one of them.