Lifestyle

How Can Your Donations Help the Episcopal Church Foundation?

Published

4 years ago

July 5, 2022

Donating to causes that are important to you not only benefits the charities but can also be extremely rewarding for you. Millions of people donate to charity on a regular basis to support causes they believe in and to benefit their own lives.

The Episcopal Church Foundation (ECF) is a non-profit organization dedicated to the growth, revitalization, and transformation of Episcopal faith communities. The organization is succeeding in its mission to inspire and nurture church leaders, assist in the acquisition and management of financial assets, and provide high-quality and innovative resources and ideas for use throughout the Church.

Donation Programs

ECF’s programs play an important role in constructing the Church of the future. This work does not come cheap. Individuals, foundations, and others who care about this important work make generous contributions to ECF. We hope you will consider making a contribution to help ECF continue to respond to God’s call in meaningful and lasting ways.

Here’s how you can help if you’re interested in donating to ECF:

Ways to Make a Planned Gift

Bequests and Wills

The most straightforward way to make a planned gift is to include the Episcopal Church Foundation in your will. A bequest is a meaningful way to support their work while not interfering with your cash flow during your lifetime. Your attorney can include it when preparing or revising your will, or you can add it at any time.

Some examples of bequests include:

A specific bequest specifies the amount of money, securities, or other assets that you want to leave to ECF. It can also represent a specific percentage of the total value of your estate.

After all other bequests have been satisfied, a residuary bequest leaves the remainder of your estate (or a percentage of the total) to your beneficiaries.

You can designate ECF as the beneficiary of a contingency bequest, which accounts for the possibility of a change in your beneficiary’s circumstances.

Unrestricted and Restricted Gifts

If you want to make a restricted gift, make sure to include language that allows ECF to re-direct the use of your gift if the specified initiative, program, or purpose no longer requires funds in the future.

Charitable Gift Annuities

A charitable gift annuity is a straightforward arrangement between you and the Episcopal Church Foundation. ECF pays one or two annuitants to whom you designate a fixed annuity for life in exchange for your irrevocable gift of cash or securities, and you will be eligible for an income tax deduction in the year you make the gift.

The minimum age to begin receiving annuity payments at ECF is 55. You can, however, establish a charitable gift annuity at a younger age and postpone the start of annuity payments until the age of 55. ECF requires a minimum of $5,000 to establish a charitable gift annuity.

You will receive an instantaneous income tax deduction for a portion of your gift, and your annuity will be backed by the entirety of ECF’s assets.

Retirement Plans

Through your retirement plan, you can make a contribution to the Episcopal Church Foundation. Certain retirement plans, such as IRAs, Keoghs, 401ks, and 403bs, allow you to postpone paying taxes until you withdraw income during retirement. However, these accounts are frequently subject to significant taxes after your death.

Charitable Trusts

A charitable trust can help you achieve your short- and long-term financial, estate, and philanthropic objectives. A donor makes an irreversible transfer of cash, real estate, stock, or other assets to a trust that generates income for the donor or another beneficiary for a set period of up to twenty years or until the donor or another beneficiary dies. The remaining principal possessions will be distributed to ECF at the end of the trust period.

Pooled Income Fund

A contribution of $2,500 or more to a pooled income fund is “pooled” with other contributions in a professionally managed investment portfolio. You or your designated receiver will be guaranteed an income for the rest of your life, with the amount determined by the fund’s investment returns. You will receive an instant federal income tax deduction as well as possibly a reduction in estate taxes. When you die, or the final beneficiary dies, the remaining property will pass to ECF.

Bank Accounts, Securities, and Certificates of Deposit

A planned gift to ECF can be made at no cost by designating it as the beneficiary of a bank account or security. You can direct any financial institution with which you have an account or are the holder of a security to place your asset in a trust (also known as a Totten Trust or a Transfer upon Death Account) that will be transferred directly to the Episcopal Church Foundation upon your death.

Life Insurance Policies

ECF welcomes philanthropic support in the form of gifts of life insurance policies once the policies have been paid in full and ECF has been named as the owner and irrevocable beneficiary of the policy.

End Note

ECF works hard every day to ensure that all lay and clergy leaders have access to the resources they need to thrive. But they can’t do it alone. There are ways you can help them achieve their mission: you can donate money to support their programs, or you can also spread the word about our work by sharing our website and social media posts with your friends and family. Whatever you do, know that your support is essential to ECF’s success. Thank you for helping ECF strengthen the Episcopal Church community!

Lifestyle

When the Body Speaks: How Maryna Bilousova Helps Clients Heal Beyond the Physical

Published

2 days ago

March 6, 2026

Michelle Langton

Our bodies hold onto what our minds try to forget until they speak up through tension, fatigue, or illness. It’s easy to overlook signs like tight shoulders, restlessness, or headaches. But often, these signals are connected to something deeper. Maryna Bilousova has built her work around helping people listen to what their bodies are really saying.

Like many of her clients, Maryna spent years in a high-stress environment, constantly pushing through. She knew how to perform, meet goals, and keep everything running. But peace was missing. Her body carried the weight of unspoken stress. That realization changed not only her life, it shaped how she supports others today as a transformation coach and subconscious pattern specialist.

Instead of focusing only on what’s visible, Maryna helps people look inward. She works with individuals who feel stuck in cycles they can’t explain, like burnout that does not go away or stress that feels out of proportion. Often, the root is not just a busy schedule. It’s emotional tension that’s been buried and ignored.

Looking Deeper Than Symptoms

Many people come to Maryna after trying traditional methods. They have done meditation apps, therapy sessions, or self-help routines. Still, something feels off. That’s where her work begins, not with fixing, but with listening.

She helps clients connect the dots between their physical symptoms and unresolved emotions. It’s not always about big trauma. Sometimes, it’s small moments that were never processed, guilt, grief, frustration, or shame. Over time, those emotions settle in the body.

Maryna recalls one client, a long-term cancer survivor, who returned years later with ovarian cysts. The physical fear was real, but so was the emotional weight she had been carrying from a past relationship full of betrayal and silence. Through their sessions, they uncovered and released that emotional residue. Weeks later, the cysts were gone. It was a reminder of how deeply the body can reflect our inner state.

Patterns That Keep Us Stuck

Maryna’s approach is not about chasing positivity or trying to fix everything at once. She focuses on patterns, how people speak to themselves, how they respond to stress, how they make decisions. Often, what feels like self-sabotage is actually an old belief playing out.

For example, someone who always avoids conflict might be carrying a belief that their needs don’t matter. Another who keeps overworking may feel that slowing down means they are falling behind. These beliefs often form early and show up in adulthood in ways that quietly run our lives.

Rather than offering surface-level solutions, Maryna holds space for clients to explore what’s really behind their choices. Her calm presence allows people to soften, reflect, and begin making changes that come from clarity, not pressure.

A Path Back to Yourself

The people Maryna works with are not looking for a quick fix. They want to feel lighter, clearer, and more like themselves again. Her clients often say that what changes is not just their mindset, it’s how they feel in their own skin. They start resting without guilt, setting boundaries without apology, and making choices that actually feel good.

Maryna believes that healing is not about doing more. It’s about slowing down enough to notice what your body and mind have been trying to say all along. When people start listening, they stop feeling like they have to fight themselves, and that’s when real change happens.

In a world that pushes us to ignore discomfort and keep going, Maryna offers something different: a place to pause, reflect, and reconnect. Because sometimes, healing does not start with doing, it starts with listening.