Five Assets Worth Giving

Retirement Plan Assets "Give to charity the assets that will cost your family the most to inherit," says Christopher Hoyt, J.D., Professor of Law at the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law. Money accumulated in pensions, profit-sharing pans, 401(k) s, and IRAs often constitutes a substantial portion of your assets and can be highly taxed at your death. When left to a charity, retirement plan assets can escape both estate and income taxation and entitle your estate to a charitable estate tax deduction.

Securities Typical gifts include common and preferred stock, mutual funds and savings bonds. These assets are often highly appreciated and easy to transfer. In order to avoid tax on the capital gain, be sure to donate the stocks themselves, not the proceeds from their sale. Securities must be held for more than one year before donation.

Cash (including Certificates of Deposit). Simple and straightforward, a gift of cash allows the college to meet our most pressing needs.

Life Insurance Consider donating policies whose coverage you no longer need, thereby reducing the size of your estate and receiving a charitable deduction for the year in which the gift was made.

Personal Property Items such as artwork, jewelry, coins and real estate are particularly good gifts if they are related to the purpose of the charitable organization. If you have a particular use in mind, we recommend that you discuss it with our representative to make certain we can carry out your intent.