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Dana and the Practice of Long-Term Giving Bequests, Trusts, Endowments and Gifts
When a virtuous person to a virtuous person gives with a trusting heart a gift righteously obtained, placing faith that the fruit of action is great, that gift, I say, will come to full fruition.

- Shakyamuni Buddha -


Since the time of the Buddha, a relationship of mutual aid and trust has endured between the lay and monastic members of the Buddhist Sangha. This depth of commitment to help each other is what enables Buddhism to survive and grow. It is the place in which dana, generosity of spirit, giving and receiving from heart to heart is rooted.

As monks, we try to practice the Dharma as purely as possible and we offer to share the Dharma through teaching, encouragement, and example. We live in and maintain our monastery where the Dharma is practiced. Traditionally, in order to help the monks continue to deepen their training and offer the Dharma, the laity offer alms and receive instruction on how to put the Dharma into practice to benefit themselves and the w
orld.

Shasta Abbey is a Dharma refuge for the lay Sangha and for monastics. It is a training monastery as well as a place of teaching and practice for the laity. We offer retreats, spiritual counseling, resident training, as well as memorials, funerals, weddings, naming ceremonies, and house and office blessings. Most importantly, Shasta Abbey is a place for people to just be still and quiet. Planned giving is a form of dana that will help ensure that we are here in the future. Planned giving usually provides deferred income and future support. But it is something to be thinking about now.
You can help Shasta Abbey with a planned gift. At the same time you may benefit financially through lower taxes and increased income.

Please be aware that the information presented here is general. Tax and inheritance laws vary by state and country. When you wish to make definite plans, please be sureto contact the Bursar at Shasta Abbey, as well as your legal, financial, and tax advisors.

A planned gift, involving deferred giving and long-term financial planning that supports the well-being of your household, is a type of support we do not spend much time thinking about. Yet it could be the most sizeable donation a person makes in a lifetime.
Even one such gift can have a huge impact on the Abbey. It was through the generous bequest of Doug Everett, for example, that we were able to build the Samantabhadra Hall,
our maintenance building.

Bequests, or gifts by will, permit a donor to retain full use and control of an estate during his or her lifetime, while affording the knowledge that assets will be put to good use after one's death. They involve no immediate loss of capital or income, and tax benefits minimize the ultimate cost to one's heirs. Large bequests help in many important ways, but smaller bequests also add valuable support. There are several types of bequests:
Specific Bequests are those where a donor offers a gift of a certain amount of cash, a fixed percentage of one's estate, or a specific asset.

Residuary Bequests are those balances of an estate committed to Shasta Abbey once a donor has provided for all other beneficiaries.

Contingent Bequests name Shasta Abbey as an alternate beneficiary in the event that the primary beneficiaries do not survive the donor.

Trusts permit a donor to make a gift during his or her lifetime, while still receiving income from capital, securities, or other property involved. In most cases, income is available to the donor for his or her lifetime. At the same time they receive a charitable contribution deduction on their income tax; and capital gain, if any, is exempt from tax. May people establish trusts not because they have great wealth, but because they have relatively little and must conserve all of the funds available.

Testamentary Trusts give lifetime benefits to a designated beneficiary and on his or her death, those benefits then come to Shasta Abbey.

What is the achievement of dana? Herein a layman dwells at home with heart free from the stain of avarice, devoted to dana, open-handed, delighting in generosity, fit to be asked for alms, rejoicing in sharing alms. This is called the achievement of charity. - Shakyamuni Buddha -


We appreciate your including Shasta Abbey in your financial planning in a way that is based on wise discernment, both for yourself and for the Abbey. It may be good for you to:

-Name Shasta Abbey as a beneficiary in your will or trust;

-Designate Shasta Abbey as a full or partial beneficiary of your retirement plan;

-Create a special endowment grant from a foundation, charitable trust, or donor-advised fund to Shasta Abbey;

-Donate appreciated properties, securities, or real estate;

-Make a one-time, outright cash gift designated for an endowment;

-Donate a paid-up life insurance policy to Shasta Abbey;

-Purchase a new life insurance policy in the name of Shasta Abbey;

-Name Shasta Abbey as the beneficiary of an existing life insurance policy;

-Donate vehicles, heavy machinery, or works of art with good present day value.

Gifts of personal property, land and other real estate, securities, life insurance, retirement plans, or outright gifts of cash may allow a donor to qualify for charitable deductions.

Personal Property includes religious items, works of art, household equipment and supplies, and vehicles (cars, trucks, vans) with good present day value.

Real Estate includes land, homes, buildings other than homes, and partnership rights. A donor is not required to pay a capital gains tax on the appreciation of the property.

Securities includes negotiable securities, stocks, and bonds. If the securities would bring a long-term capital gain if sold, their outright gift to Shasta Abbey would mean significant tax savings as a donor is not required to pay a capital gains tax on the appreciation. Direct transfers can be made.

Life Insurance includes fully paid up policies, policies on which premiums are still to be paid, or new policies naming Shasta Abbey as the beneficiary.

Retirement Plans include designating Shasta Abbey as either a full or partial beneficiary of your retirement plan/IRA.

Cash gifts include one-time, outright cash gift designated for an endowment, or the creation of a special endowment grant from a foundation, charitable trust, or donor- advised fund.



We are grateful for your on-going support and compassion
in whatever form it takes.

Please talk to the Bursar at Shasta Abbey to explore the possibilities of what would be good for you to do in terms of long-term giving.

Home Monastery Meditation Dharma Retreats Giving... ...about Bequests, Trusts Photos Contact

A Serene Reflection (Soto Zen) Meditation monastery, Order of Buddhist Contemplatives temple, Shasta Abbey offers monastic and lay retreats, Zen Buddhist meditation, spiritual training, and mindfulness practice; central principles are Refuge in the Buddha, Dharma, Sangha, Buddhist Precepts and Bodhisattva vow, as taught in Shobogenzo by Dogen.