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Christine Ayoub, 92, benefits from her generosity to AFSC

Christine AyoubLifelong Quaker Christine Ayoub, 92, has helped found a Quaker community, written a book profiling 37 Quakers, and given generously to Quaker causes-including the American Friends Service Committee.

Christine and her late husband, Ray, chose to augment their retirement income with a charitable gift annuity with AFSC. Gift annuities provide a fixed income for life for one person or for both people in a couple. "About a year before Ray died in 2013, we decided we wanted our resources to go to good causes in our lifetimes," Christine said.

The Ayoubs taught for many years at Penn State in State College, Pennsylvania, where they helped found Foxdale Village, a Quaker retirement community. "After retiring we discovered that we still had a considerable well of energy and enthusiasm, so we took on a major project," Christine said.

Christine hails from a long line of Quakers; her father helped found the Canadian Friends Service Committee in 1931. Educated at Bryn Mawr, Radcliffe, and Yale, Christine was the first female mathematics professor at Cornell University. Led by her innate curiosity and drive, she decided to return to Canada for a second master's degree at McGill University.

After her marriage to Ray, the couple eventually moved to Penn State, in part because the school was willing to hire a married couple in the same department (mathematics). She is a member of the State College Meeting and in 2014 published a book titled "Memories of the Quaker Past" that profiles 37 senior citizen members of that Meeting who participated in an oral history project.

"We feel that these life histories may serve as a very valuable research tool, especially considering the tumultuous epoch spanned by these lives," she wrote in the book's introduction.

Christine expressed gratitude for the work of AFSC and for her Quaker upbringing.

"I have been blessed with good fortune: a happy childhood followed by a good education, a fulfilling personal and professional life, and an active retirement," said Christine, who added this life advice: "My approach to dealing with the transitions in life-big and small-is you just take one step at a time."

A charitable bequest is one or two sentences in your will or living trust that leave to the American Friends Service Committee a specific item, an amount of money, a gift contingent upon certain events or a percentage of your estate.

an individual or organization designated to receive benefits or funds under a will or other contract, such as an insurance policy, trust or retirement plan

 Bequest Language

I devise and bequeath to the American Friends Service Committee, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (tax ID #23-1352010) (Insert amount of gift or insert the word "all" or the percentage of the estate) to be used for its general purposes.

able to be changed or cancelled

A revocable living trust is set up during your lifetime and can be revoked at any time before death. They allow assets held in the trust to pass directly to beneficiaries without probate court proceedings and can also reduce federal estate taxes.

cannot be changed or cancelled

tax on gifts generally paid by the person making the gift rather than the recipient

the original value of an asset, such as stock, before its appreciation or depreciation

the growth in value of an asset like stock or real estate since the original purchase

the price a willing buyer and willing seller can agree on

The person receiving the gift annuity payments.

the part of an estate left after debts, taxes and specific bequests have been paid

a written and properly witnessed legal change to a will

the person named in a will to manage the estate, collect the property, pay any debt, and distribute property according to the will

A donor advised fund is an account that you set up but which is managed by a nonprofit organization. You contribute to the account, which grows tax-free. You can recommend how much (and how often) you want to distribute money from that fund to AFSC or other charities. You cannot direct the gifts.

An endowed gift can create a new endowment or add to an existing endowment. The principal of the endowment is invested and a portion of the principal’s earnings are used each year to support our mission.

Tax on the growth in value of an asset—such as real estate or stock—since its original purchase.

Securities, real estate, or any other property having a fair market value greater than its original purchase price.

Real estate can be a personal residence, vacation home, timeshare property, farm, commercial property, or undeveloped land.

A charitable remainder trust provides you or other named individuals income each year for life or a period not exceeding 20 years from assets you give to the trust you create.

You give assets to a trust that pays our organization set payments for a number of years, which you choose. The longer the length of time, the better the potential tax savings to you. When the term is up, the remaining trust assets go to you, your family or other beneficiaries you select. This is an excellent way to transfer property to family members at a minimal cost.

You fund this type of trust with cash or appreciated assets—and may qualify for a federal income tax charitable deduction when you itemize. You can also make additional gifts; each one also qualifies for a tax deduction. The trust pays you, each year, a variable amount based on a fixed percentage of the fair market value of the trust assets. When the trust terminates, the remaining principal goes to AFSC as a lump sum.

You fund this trust with cash or appreciated assets—and may qualify for a federal income tax charitable deduction when you itemize. Each year the trust pays you or another named individual the same dollar amount you choose at the start. When the trust terminates, the remaining principal goes to AFSC as a lump sum.

A beneficiary designation clearly identifies how specific assets will be distributed after your death.

A charitable gift annuity involves a simple contract between you and AFSC where you agree to make a gift to AFSC and we, in return, agree to pay you (and someone else, if you choose) a fixed amount each year for the rest of your life.
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