The most popular type of charitable gift due to its convenience is an outright gift of cash. This type of gift is considered made on the date it is mailed or hand-delivered to the FSU Foundation. If you itemize deductions, cash gifts to ACTS2 are considered tax-deductible, up to 50 percent of your adjusted gross income. Any unused amount may be carried over for up to five years. Cash-gift pledges are usually to be paid over a period of up to five years.
Make checks payable to the “FSU Foundation” and mail them to:
Jim McNeill, C/O ACTS 2
FSU College of Medicine
1115 West Call Street, Tallahassee, FL 32306-4300.
Be sure to designate on the “Memo” line which fund you want to support.
Gifts of stock, bonds and/or real estate have potential double tax benefits for you as the donor. The full value of your assets usually is deductible with no capital gains tax paid on the appreciation.
Gifts of artwork, rare books, stamp or coin collections and other tangible personal property generally entitle you to a charitable deduction. The amount of the deduction depends on whether the property is used by the university in a way that is related to its mission and whether you created the property yourself, as in the case of literary, artistic or musical compositions.
By establishing a charitable gift annuity, you can make a gift of cash or securities to ACTS2 in exchange for a guaranteed fixed income for life. In addition to an assured income for the remainder of your life, you receive significant tax advantages and an excellent rate of return.
With a deferred gift annuity, income payments do not begin immediately but rather at some specified future date. Deferring the payments allows you to receive a higher rate of return and increased tax deductions.
A charitable remainder unitrust permits you to irrevocably transfer property to a trust in return for an income based on the annual fair-market value of the trust's assets. You receive estate tax benefits as well as an immediate income tax charitable deduction. Upon the death of the last surviving beneficiary, or at a specified time, the trust assets are transferred to ACTS2.
An annuity trust is similar to the unitrust described above except it pays a fixed amount each year rather than a percentage of the trust assets. Also, you cannot make additional contributions to an annuity trust after it is created.
Through a charitable lead trust, you can transfer property to a trust that will pay income each year to ACTS2 for a specified period of time. The principal of the trust then reverts to you or your beneficiary. This arrangement permits you to take the maximum charitable tax deduction without making an outright gift of income-producing assets.
Making a bequest through your will or a living trust is another option for charitable giving to ACTS2. Charitable bequests provide estate tax benefits and enable you to make significant contributions that may not be possible during your lifetime.
If you are a corporate or foundation representative and would like more information about matching your priorities and interests with opportunities and resources at the College of Medicine please contact us.
Occasionally a donor wishes to make a gift anonymously or wishes not to receive public recognition for a gift. If you want to avoid public notice of your gift, we will honor that wish by not printing your name in any published donor listings or news releases. Please advise us of your preferences or concerns; we will make every effort to honor your wishes.
The new Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, or CARES, is designed to help you, businesses and nonprofits facing economic hardship during the coronavirus pandemic. Several key provisions of the CARES Act may affect you and your philanthropic goals:
The new law temporarily suspends the requirements for required minimum distributions (RMD) for the 2020 tax year. This probably comes as a relief to many of you who would have had to withdraw from your retirement accounts. Many of our donors use their RMD to make a gift from their IRA. Despite the RMD suspension, remember that if you are 70½ or older, you can still make a gift from your IRA or name ACTS2 as a beneficiary.
Your gift will be put to use today, allowing you to see the difference your donation is making. You pay no income taxes on the gift. The transfer generates neither taxable income nor a tax deduction, so you benefit even if you do not itemize your deductions. Since the gift doesn’t count as income, it can reduce your annual income level. This may help lower Medicare premiums and decrease the amount of Social Security that is subject to tax.
The CARES Act allows taxpayers to take a charitable deduction of up to $300 ($600 for married couples) for those who take the standard deduction. You might think that this is a small amount and would not make a difference. But what if all of our donors gave “just” $300? Such support would have a huge impact on those we serve. For those who do itemize their deductions, the new law allows for cash contributions to qualified charities such as Florida State University to be deducted up to 100% of your adjusted gross income for the 2020 calendar year.