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Home > Gifts > How to Make a Gift
How to Make a GiftEverything you always wanted to know about charitable giving to the CHC Thanks for considering a gift to the UO. For some of you, this will be your first gift; for others, this may assist you in making some decisions about your ongoing support of the UO. Giving to higher education is an important and worthwhile investment in our future. And your gifts DO make a difference at Oregon. You can make contributions using several kinds of assets. To learn more, just scroll down the page -- or see our page menu for options. Check (Back to Top) This is the easiest and quickest way to contribute. Simply make your check payable to the UO Foundation, and mail it to: PO Box 3346 Eugene, OR 97403-0346 You may give to the Clark Honors College (CHC) Director's Fund (for the highest priorities), the CHC Scholarship Fund or CHC Endowment Fund. (Click here for some ideas about funding needs in the CHC.) Either send a note with your check, or put the information on the "memo" line of your check. Example: 
or Visa/MasterCard (Back to Top) Yes, we take plastic! However, for security reasons, we have elected NOT to provide an on-line gift form. So, call the University of Oregon Annual Giving Program at (800) 289-2354 and make your credit card transaction with a live person. Don't forget: your gift is tax deductible. You may deduct your cash gift for up to 50% of your adjusted gross income. If you can't use the entire deduction in the year you make the gift, you can carry it over for up to five (5) successive years. Again, you can designate how you want your gift to be used -- click here for a list of options. Stock, securities, bonds, mutual funds (Back to Top) Easy to do, and the tax savings potential could be very high, depending on how much the assets have grown since you acquired them. By making your gift using appreciated stock, you get two benefits: 1) you get an income tax deduction for the full fair-market value of the securities at the time you give them; 2) you do not pay capital gain tax on the increased value of the stock. Here's an example: You own 1,000 shares of Giftco stock which you purchased in 1985 for $10 a share. Its current market value is $25 a share. If you sell the stock, you will face capital gains tax on the amount by which the stock grew since you bought it -- $14 a share. At 20% (the current long-term gain tax percentage), you will face a tax bill of $2,800 on the sale. However, you choose to give the UO this part of your stock portfolio. Your gift is worth $25,000. You can deduct the full fair-market value of this gift up to 30% of your adjusted gross income (AGI). The UO gets $25,000 to use for a priority program or project, you get a handsome tax deduction, and the cost incurred by you on your gift to the UO is a small fraction of its actual value. Best of all, you have made a significant impact on sustaining and improving the quality of education and research at the UO. For additional discussion and examples about gifts of stock, read "Gift Rap" (Cascade, Fall 1999). For gifts of stock worth $100,000 and more, you might want to consider a gift with life income (click here for information on trusts). If you are interested in making a gift of stock, or have questions about how to make one, please contact Therese Picado, Real Estate (Back to Top) This has become a popular vehicle for making a gift (either outright or with life income). Its formula works pretty much the same way it does for giving securities. You get an income tax deduction based upon fair market value, as determined by a qualified appraisal, and you do not pay capital gains tax if the property has increased in value since you acquired it. The tax rules differ relative to the kind of real estate. If you sell your primary residence, you may not face capital gains taxes. However, for vacation homes, unimproved property, or rental property, the capital gains tax on appreciation will apply to the sale. However, if you make a gift of appreciated property, you will avoid the capital gains tax. Example: In 1980, you paid $25,000 for a beach house in Florence. Its current market value is $125,000. If you sold it, you would owe $20,000 in capital gains tax ($100,000 long-term gain @ 20%). Instead, you give it to the UO. Your gift is worth $125,000 in tax deduction up to 30% of your AGI. If you cannot use all of this deduction in the year you make the gift, you can carry the remainder for up to an additional five (5) years. For gifts of this magnitude and more, you might want to consider a gift with life income (click here for information on trusts). Now, you don't have to give the entire piece of property -- whether it's your home, a rental, a vacation home, or a vacant lot. You can give a part of the property, and get the same gift and tax benefits on the part or percentage of the property you give. This is called an "undivided fractional interest" in the property. You and the UO, as partners, will sell the property, and you will face capital gains tax only on the part you still own. This plan provides you with some cash as well as a substantial tax deduction. For additional discussion about gifts of property, read "Gift Rap" (Cascade, Fall 1998). For more information, please contact Therese Picado, Other kinds of property (Back to Top) Planes, trains, and automobiles? Almost. You can make a gift using a variety of kinds of property. As with both stocks and real estate, you get a tax deduction and you do not have to pay capital gains taxes if the asset has appreciated in value since you acquired it. With this category of "other kinds of property," your income tax deduction will depend on the "related use" clause. This means that if your gift is used for the educational mission of the university -- rare books for the library or fossils for the geology department -- then you can deduct the full fair-market value of the property. However, if you give your stamp collection to the Philosophy department to sell and establish a lecture series, you can only deduct your cost basis in the collection. This can be a bit complicated, so if you're thinking of using some kind of asset other than stocks or real estate, please contact Therese Picado, Again, for gifts of $100,000 or more, you might want to consider a gift with life income (click here for information on trusts). IRAs (Back to Top) What a marvelous invention! Sit back and watch them grow. Unlike other types of investments, IRAs carry a couple of longer term challenges. First, once you reach age 70-1/2, you MUST take distributions from your IRAs. Second, IRAs grow tax deferred, so all your distributions are subject to your regular tax rate. Finally, unlike other assets, you can't give your IRAs away during your lifetime without first taking distribution and paying tax on it. However, using your IRA to make charitable gifts during your lifetime and/or through your estate each have advantages. After taking an IRA distribution, you can use the cash to make a charitable gift. You may deduct your cash gift for up to 50% of your adjusted gross income. If you can't use the entire deduction in the year you make the gift, you can carry it over for up to five (5) successive years. This may have a highly mitigating effect on the tax burden you face from taking the IRA distribution. You will want to discuss this with your tax or financial advisor(s) before you choose this route. Note: recently, a donor to the College of Arts and Sciences used IRA assets to make a gift of $1 million. With careful planning, and with very astute financial advice, his gift offset his tax burden almost completely! You may also wish to consider using your IRA assets to make a gift through your estate. Click here for information on estate gifts. For additional discussion about using IRAs for charitable contributions, please contact Therese Picado, Gifts that pay you income for life (Back to Top) OK. So you've got a TON of stock that you're saving for retirement. As you need the money, you will sell off the low basis stock and live well, for many years. However, the stock has appreciated greatly. As you sell it, you will face significant capital gains tax payments. Whatever shall you do? You could transfer the stock to the University of Oregon Foundation (UOF) and establish a charitable remainder trust. The UOF will convert your stock to a fund that will pay you income for the rest of your life. By giving the stock to the UOF, you will avoid paying the gains taxes. You will have to pay regular income tax on the distributions you get from the trust. However, you will be able to arrange for considerable control over the flow of that income. Also, you will get a tax deduction in the year you establish the charitable trust. Perhaps you have a large pool of dividend producing securities with a high market value, but the dividends are low. You may actually be able to increase your income through a charitable remainder trust. And you can choose fixed amount trust payments, or variable payments that will be tied to the performance of the trust investments. You have the choice of a predictable payment, or the possibility of continued growth of your trust. Perhaps you own rental property and you're tired of being a landlord. Or maybe you have a vacation home that does not pay for itself. These kinds of assets can also be converted to charitable remainder trusts, and could pay you considerably over the years of your retirement. There are many ways to make your assets serve you and your favorite charities. For more information on life income gifts, please contact either Therese Picado, Gifts through your estate (wills) (Back to Top) It's surprising to some people that, despite our best efforts, wealth does sometimes accumulate beyond our intention or time to spend it. If you wish to leave some (or all) of your remaining assets to the UO for use after your death, you will need a properly written and executed Will. This is called "an estate gift," and your Will will document your intentions. Your Will should state: existing under the laws of the State of Oregon, the following described property (or amount):" If you decide to include the UO in your Will, please let us know so we can thank you. It will also be useful for us to review the document as it pertains to the UO, so please send us a copy of that portion along with the completed and executed signature page. Don't forget, you can designate your estate gift for a particular interest. However, as the UO's needs change over time, it will be a good idea to discuss your intentions with someone from our Development Office to be sure that your interests and the UO's are met for the longer term. (Click here for gift priorities.) Please contact either Therese Picado, Funding Options (Back to Top)
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