Ways to give: Still time in tax year 2007

For those who want to help Virginia Tech invent the future, now is the time to make year-end charitable giving decisions in order to take full advantage of 2007 tax benefits.

We’ve created a special the 2007 Year-End Giving Web page dedicated to year-end giving guidelines. Whether you’re planning a cash donation by check or credit card, or a gift of appreciated securities or real estate, contacting the Office of Gift Planning--at (800) 533-1144 or (540) 231-2813 or e-mail giftplanning@vt.edu--can help assure your contribution is counted for 2007 tax purposes.

Making sure your year-end gift counts for 2007 depends upon whether you intend to send it by mail, transfer securities to Virginia Tech Foundation, Inc., or phone in a credit card donation. Please feel free to contact us with questions you or your financial advisor may have. We’ll be happy to guide you through the process.

Support for the university can take many forms, and the type of gift that is right for you may vary based on your goals and circumstances. The simplest and most frequent gift to Virginia Tech is cash, but there are many other options.

Gifts of appreciated securities can provide significant tax benefits. You can donate a personal residence or farm and keep living in it throughout your lifetime. You can make a gift of life insurance in various ways. Charitable remainder trusts, gift annuities, and pooled income fund gifts pay you a lifetime income, generate current tax benefits, and provide future support for the university.

For some donors age 70 1/2 or older, there is still time to take advantage of a special gift opportunity that will expire Dec. 31, 2007.

The temporary charitable individual retirement account (IRA) rollover provision, created by the federal Pension Protection Act of 2006, allows certain older donors to directly transfer, or rollover, limited lifetime gifts from their IRAs to eligible non-profit organizations such as the Virginia Tech Foundation, Inc., without the usual additional tax liability.

To see if you qualify for this special provision, and for answers to frequently asked questions about the charitable IRA rollover please visit the our Charitable IRA-Rollover Web page we have created for your reference.

Your qualifying 2007 contribution can support the area of the university you designate and count toward the $1 billion goal of The Campaign for Virginia Tech: Invent the Future. You can support a particular college or program, create a student scholarship, help build a research facility, provide faculty support, and so much more.

And, by planning ahead, you can complete your gift in time to count for the 2007 tax year.

There are numerous ways to arrange your donation.

Outright gifts of cash, securities or other qualifying assets can go to work at Virginia Tech right after receipt.

• By giving cash, a pledge payable over as many as five years, or appreciated securities, such as stocks, bonds or mutual funds, you may realize significant tax benefits.
• Donating real estate can simplify estate planning, provide income tax deductions, and free the donor from maintenance costs, property taxes, insurance and other ongoing expenses.
• Company matching programs may increase the impact of your support.
• Artwork, equipment, collectibles, supplies, books and other types
• Life insurance policies offer gift options. You can cash in a policy that is no longer needed for its original purpose and the proceeds can benefit the university immediately. You can transfer ownership of a current policy directly to the Virginia Tech Foundation Inc. in order to receive tax benefits and deduct the premiums you continue to pay.

Deferred gifts are a way to make the university’s future part of your legacy. They can be structured to fit individual circumstances and goals.

• Simple and flexible, estate gifts such as bequests and retirement account beneficiary designations allow you to retain lifetime control of your assets and may provide an opportunity to make a larger gift than would otherwise be possible.
• A bequest through a will or trust can provide support as a specific dollar amount or a percentage of the remainder of an estate after other bequests or expenses have been paid. Bequests can even be limited to certain circumstances, such as the death of other named beneficiaries. A testamentary trust can provide lifetime income to family members with the trust remainder going to Virginia Tech.
• Retirement account balances can also benefit the university after your lifetime. Simply name the Virginia Tech Foundation, Inc. as a beneficiary. These assets may prove more valuable as tax-wise gifts to charities, which unlike heirs pay no income or estate taxes.
• Life income gifts provide you with income from your donated assets—usually for life. You enjoy dependable, professional management of those assets, along with significant tax benefits. When the plan ends, your gift supports Virginia Tech. Life income gifts can pay out a fixed or variable dollar amount, either right away or deferred.
• Charitable lead trusts provide support for Virginia Tech now, and later benefit you or your heirs. Such trusts are typically used to reduce gift or estate taxes on assets passed to children grandchildren or other heirs.

If you have additional questions or would like to discuss any gift to Virginia Tech, contact the Office of Gift Planning at (800) 533-1144 or (540) 231-2813 or at giftplanning@vt.edu.