MSCD | Friends & Visitors | Supporting Metro State

Gifts can be made to Metro State in many different ways, such as through outright gifts or deferred gifts. While a brief listing is presented here for your consideration, please call our office for further information. A staff member (see Who to Contact) is available to speak with you to answer your questions and help you tailor a gift to fit both your needs and the needs of the College. If you would like to make a gift, please print out our gift form (this PDF file requires Adobe Acrobat to view) and mail it in today.

Outright gifts include gifts of cash, appreciated assets such as securities, stocks, bonds, stock options and real estate; and matching gifts. Payroll deductions are also possible for Metro State faculty and staff. Outright gifts are very important because they have such an immediate impact on the College's schools and programs.

Donations through cash or check are the simplest and most popular way to make a contribution to Metro State. As the donor, you can direct your gift to support a specific department, a scholarship fund, or the greatest needs of the College. This type of contribution generates a charitable income tax deduction equal to the full value of the gift up to 50% of the donor's adjusted gross income in any one year. A gift form (this PDF file requires Adobe Acrobat to view) is available here for your convenience..

You can double or even triple your gift to Metro State if your company provides matching funds. Many companies provide matching gifts for their current employees, and some will match the gifts of employee spouses and retired employees as well. To participate, obtain a matching gift form from the human resource office of your (or your spouse's) employer. Complete the required information and mail it to us. Click here to view a partial list of matching gift companies.

You can also make a donation to Metro State in the form of securities, stocks, bonds, or even real estate. These types of gifts provide tax savings because of avoidance of capital gains tax. Gifts of appreciated assets generate a charitable income tax deduction equal to the fair market value of the asset and are deductible up to 30% of the donor's adjusted gross income in any one year. Any excess deduction can be carried over for up to five years. Gifts of securities are credited at market value on the date Metro State gains control of the asset(s).

Payroll deduction is a giving option that is currently available only to employees at Metro State. An authorization form (this PDF file requires Adobe Acrobat to view) is available here, or contact an Institutional Advancement staff member for further information (see Who to Contact).

Estate planning is the process of working with a professional -- an attorney, accountant, trust officer, life insurance agent, or other adviser -- to arrange the orderly disposition of your estate. This is done to carry out your wishes and to provide security for your family and benefit those of your choosing. Tax consequences, although secondary, are an important part of estate planning and are often directly related to the accomplishment of your primary goals.

A well-drafted estate plan cannot only benefit you and/or your family, it can also make it possible for a substantial gift to be made to a charitable organization such as Metro State at a relatively small cost to you or your estate.

Listed here are very basic descriptions of deferred or "planned" gift options, with general information on wills, trusts, gift annuities, unitrusts and endowments. Our staff is available to answer your questions or help you explore these options further (see Who to Contact).

A will is the most common form of deferred gift. Because bequests do not take effect until death, a donor retains control and use of the property during life. Bequests may be a cash gift, a gift of property or securities, a gift of life insurance, a percentage of an estate, the residue of an estate, or the remainder of a trust after the lifetime of another family member.

Charitable remainder trusts provide the donor with the ability to make a charitable contribution of long-term capital gain while retaining the trust's income stream either for a term of years or for life. Long-term capital gain property enters the trust at its current fair market value. There is no tax on the capital gain. A portion of the asset transferred to the trust is an income tax charitable deduction.

The charitable lead trust is the reverse of the charitable remainder trust in that it provides a gift of an income interest from assets to Metro State for a term of years. After the term is expired, the property either reverts back to the donor or passes to a beneficiary.

Gift Annuities

The charitable & deferred gift annuity program includes gifts that offer substantial benefits to the individual donor and Metro State. In exchange for the transfer of cash or securities, Metro State will pay a guaranteed and agreed upon annuity to you and/or another beneficiary. That annuity rate depends on the age of the beneficiaries. Your annuity payment can begin immediately or can be deferred to an agreed upon date in the future.

Charitable and deferred gift annuities offer many benefits, including a fixed payout that offers the security of a guaranteed income for life, immediate charitable tax deduction and an increase of your disposable income, the avoidance of capital gains taxes, the opportunity to provide income for yourself or other named beneficiaries, and an opportunity to make a substantial gift to Metro State.

The principal difference between the Unitrust and other trusts is that the income payment you receive varies yearly as the fair market value of the trust assets fluctuate. The Unitrust must pay a fixed percentage payment of at least 5% of the value of the trust's assets. The Unitrust can be funded with cash or securities. The charitable deduction allowed is based on the fair market value of the assets initially transferred, the payout rate chosen, the number of beneficiaries and the age of the beneficiaries.

Unitrust donors receive such benefits as the opportunity to increase income by converting low-income assets to high-income assets, an immediate charitable tax deduction estate and probate savings, the avoidance of capital gains taxes, and the opportunity to make a larger gift to the College than otherwise may be possible. In addition, the variable income feature based on an annual value of the trust's assets may provide a hedge against inflation as assets grow in value at an attractive rate of return.

An endowment fund can be established through many of the giving mechanisms above, including a cash gift. To provide long-term support for scholarships or programs, endowments are a popular option and can be established at several gift levels. With an endowment fund, the principal is invested, and only a portion of the investment earnings is spent annually. The rest of the earnings are reinvested back into the fund, so that the endowment grows over time. In this way, the endowment becomes a perpetual source of funding for whatever the donor wishes to achieve.