About Us
Your gifts directly impact Still Hopes' residents, resident families, and employees - present and future.

We at Still Hopes, a non-profit organization, strive each day to deliver our mission: to provide a superior level of service creating life as full and rich as God intends it to be. Your support enables us to do that. 

We are grateful for your choice to prioritize the senior years of life and to recognize Still Hopes' positive impact in our community. 

Donations play many roles at Still Hopes. You choose where you want your gift to serve:

  • Resident Assistance helps residents who have outlived their resources through no fault of their own to remain at Still Hopes.
  • Employee Assistance and the Chaplain's Discretionary Fund aid employees in financial crisis with zero-interest, short term loans and crisis bill support, respectively.
  • Opportunity Gifts and Unrestricted Gifts enable Still Hopes to pursue mission-driven opportunities and meet unexpected expenses, respectively, without impacting the bottom line or jeopardizing resident fees.
  • Capitol Gifts support Still Hopes' capitol projects such as our new Croquet Court, the Main Street/Hopewell/Greenway expansions, the construction of a state of the art Wellness Center, and our beautiful Chapel of the Holy Spirit.
  • Project Gifts and Sponsorships enable residents and partners to envision and grow mission-driven projects. Examples include new, hand-sewn chapel kneelers, a chamber music series featuring internationally renown pianist Andy Armstrong and his musical guests, renovating the Still Hopes guest apartments, establishing the McDowell Building entry garden, and sponsoring a Still Hopes Triathlon. 

It is worth noting that Still Hopes began with a gift. In the mid-20th century, esteemed Columbia physician Dr. Jane Bruce Guignard gifted her family home and property to become a retirement community.

In the almost 50 years since opening our doors, your gifts have supported Still Hopes' expansion and evolution into a continuum of senior living options. Follow these links to learn the growing significance of that impact, to explore life at Still Hopes, to get a taste of our internationally award-winning Senior Wellness Program, and to explore our growing home-care division, Solutions for Living At Home.

How Can You Become A Member of Our Giving Community?

Let us count the ways:

Cash Gifts

  • Give Online: A quick, simple way to give. Use your credit card to give a memorial gift, honorary gift, or for any reason at all. 

  • Memorial and Honorary Gifts: Celebrate a loved one with a gift to Still Hopes. Make your gift via the online giving portal or mail a check to the Community Development office (address below).

  • Monthly Giving: Residents and Employees can enjoy regular giving through resident account billing and payroll giving. We are working to provide a monthly giving option to Still Hopes friends, family, and partners in 2025. Contact the Community Development office for more information.

Planned Giving

  • Bequests: Naming Still Hopes as a beneficiary in your will costs you nothing, and can significantly reduce your heirs' real estate tax.

  • IRA Charitable Rollovers: If you are at least six months over 70, directly transfer up to $100,000 per year tax free from your IRA account to Still Hopes.

  • Gifts of Stock or Securities:  Gifts of appreciated shares of marketable securities allow Still Hopes to continue its mission while serving as a significant tax advantage for you.

  • Life Insurance Gifts: Make a large gift with very little cost. Make Still Hopes the beneficiary of a life insurance policy and you receive immediate and future income tax deductions for the total premiums paid or the fair market value of the policy. 

  • Charitable Gift Annuity: In exchange for your charitable gift, Still Hopes will pay you and/or your loved ones a fixed annuity for life. The size of the payment is determined at the time the gift is made. Receive an immediate tax deduction for a portion of the gift while this deduction can be used over as many as 6 consecutive years.

  • Entrance Fee Reimbursement Pledge: Residents who have paid an entrance fee can pledge to direct all or a portion of that fee to one of our philanthropic funds upon their death or departure from Still Hopes.

Property Gifts

  • Property Gifts: Whether a principal residence, vacation home, farm, commercial building, subdivision lot, or land, giving property or a fractional interest in property to Still Hopes allows you to claim a charitable tax deduction for the full fair-market value of the real estate while avoiding capital gains taxes on appreciation. All real estate gifts require prior approval by Still Hopes' Executive Management.

  • Gifts to Benefit Still Hopes Forest and Gardens: Still Hopes is blessed with acres of a beautiful, natural forest and surrounding gardens. We welcome gifts that help us bring our master property plan to life. Please contact the Community Development office for more information. 

  • Gifts in Kind: Artwork, architectural drawings, collectibles, books, supplies, and so much more can benefit Still Hopes and your potential tax write-off depending on the use of the gift.

We love volunteers! Would you like to volunteer talent and hours?

  • Please contact: Michelle Rabon, Director of Life Engagement at mrabon@stillhopes.org

 

Questions about giving? 

Contact Christie James, Director of Community Development, at 803-739-5006 or cejames@stillhopes.org.

  • Please mail check gifts, memorials and honorariums to Christie James, Director of Community Development, Still Hopes, P.O. Box 2959, West Columbia, SC 29171. 

  • Please find online giving here.

  • Please contact us for details regarding direct bank cash and stock transfers: Christie James 803-739-5006 or Joe Wenger, Chief Financial Officer, 803-739-5008.

 

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