GIVING TO ACS
REDIRECT YOUR GEORGIA TAX DOLLARS TO ACS (GOAL)
QUALIFIED CHARITABLE DEDUCTION
- The IRS requires that anyone over 70 ½ years of age begin taking Minimum Required Distributions (MRDs) based on the value of their investments as of December 31st of the previous tax year.
- When this amount is transferred from your IRA, at a minimum 10% must be sent by your investment firm to the IRS for taxes you will owe on this transaction for the current tax year.
- The total amount you must pay in taxes for a regular IRA withdrawal will depend on your current income tax bracket, and could be as much as 37% ! For example, if you are in the 22% tax bracket and must withdraw $3000 from your IRA according to the IRS’s schedule, you will actually only receive $2340 and the IRS gets $660!
- Now here is the good part. If you take a QCD withdrawal, the total amount you transfer to ACS will be tax free; our school will get 100% of what you give. And, from the above example, if you give $1000 to ACS out of the $3000 you must withdraw, your personal tax liability for IRA withdrawals will only be $3000 minus $1000, or a total of $2000 which saves you $220 in federal taxes.
- The mechanics of contributing to ACS are simple. Just complete the QCD form which is usually found on your investment firm’s website (sometimes you can just make a phone call), mail it to the firm’s business address, and that’s it; your firm will send a check in the amount you designate to ACS where it will be used to better our school and your grandchildren’s education.
DR. BUHL CUMMINGS MEMORIAL FUND
Dr. Buhl Cummings, Co-Founder with his wife, Dr. Lois Cummings, of Athens Christian School, went home to be with the Lord on September 15, 2021, at the age of 93. Dr. Cummings was preceded in death by his wife, Lois Cummings of Darlington, Pennsylvania, his parents, Mr. and Mrs. A.B. Cummings of Scottdale, Pennsylvania, and older sister, Mary Elizabeth Whittemore. Dr. Cummings is survived by his children Tim, Susan, and Steve, all who serve at Athens Christian School, 11 grandchildren, and 7 great-grandchildren; and two younger brothers, Malcolm Cummings of Mocksville, NC, and Bradley Cummings, of Montgomery, AL
Buhl Cummings was born on December, 26, 1927, in Pittsburgh, PA. After serving in the US Navy in WW2, Buhl married Lois Tyson (04/18/1931) of Darlington, PA. The couple met at Bob Jones University where they both felt God's calling upon their lives. After marrying in 1955, they began an adventurous lifetime of Christian service together that spanned 60 years. The Cummings' were called to post-war Seoul, South Korea, to serve as short term missionaries at the Korean Bible College under the TEAM mission board.
In 1958, God led the Cummings' to Athens, Georgia, where they opened the Athens Bible Book Store to serve local churches. About this same time, the Cummings' were approached by a group of local businessmen with the burden of ministering to a downtown housing project, and a home on Waddell Street was purchased and served as the Athens Bible Mission where Buhl pastored and Lois began the children's ministries. Shortly thereafter, the Cummings' began a Saturday evening youth ministry for NE GA teens called the Christian Youth Crusade, started with the help of Christian couples who shared the calling. In 1960, Buhl and Lois began hosting a live 30-minute Sunday morning radio broadcast, entitled, "Chapel Time." The Cummings' started their family, Tim (57) Susan (58) and Steve ('63). The Lord used all of this to prepare the couple for the greatest adventure yet to come - the founding of Athens Christian School.
In 1962, when the U.S. Supreme Court removed prayer and Bible reading from public schools, local Christians began seeking an educational alternative for their children. With their backgrounds in education, the Cummings' again felt God's call and responded in faith by starting NE Georgia's first private, Christian school. Confirmation for this leap of faith came when an aged widow, Mrs. H.G. Logan, sacrificially gave the couple a $100.00 check, explaining that she too, had been praying for years for such a school. On Easter Sunday 1970, Buhl placed an ad in the Athens Banner Herald announcing this new venture with the motto, "A Quality Education in a Christian Atmosphere." Athens Christian School opened its doors that fall, with 13 faculty and 125 students in grades 1-8, all housed in the Hunnicutt House, a large antebellum home on Milledge Avenue. The next year the school doubled its enrollment adding two more grades. This fledgling endeavor took flight and adopted as its mascot quite appropriately, the Golden Eagle. In 1972, God moved on a local dairy farmer and former Clarke County school board member, to sell 36 acres of pasture on Hwy 29, which became the campus of Athens Christian School. Truly a miracle of God!
In year two, ACS started its athletic program with Dr. Buhl coaching many of the girls' teams. He was blessed with great athletes and success, and in 2003, was inducted into the Athens Athletic Hall of Fame for his exceptional record as a coach with over 1,000 wins in girls' volleyball, basketball, softball, and track. In October, 1973, the academic center housing classrooms, offices, library, cafeteria, and gymnatorium was completed. Other additions include Bicentennial Hall (76), for Chapel services; Sports and Music Complex (89); Preschool/Kindergarten facility (95);and a high school classroom building ('04). In 2014, Founders Hall was dedicated which overlooks football and baseball stadiums, as well as the track, cross country, softball, soccer, and tennis facilities. Athens Christian School resides on 84 acres as a testimony to God's wondrous blessings and the vision, work, determination, and unparalleled faith of Founders, Drs. Buhl and Lois Cummings; living proof of the school verse chosen from Psalm 126:3 "The Lord hath done great things for us; whereof we are glad."
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DR. LOIS CUMMINGS MEMORIAL FUND
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BETTY STONE WEATHERLY MEMORIAL SCHOLARSHIP FUND
- to honor ACS for its educational ministry through the years and for providing Miss Betty the opportunity and Christian environment to teach you and your children;
- to provide a financial benefit for qualifying students and families like yours; and
- to give glory to a very gracious God who gifted Mrs. Weatherly with the genuine love of teaching, her natural loving kindness toward her students, her wonderful mathematical mind, and her deep love for Jesus.