Outright Gifts
An outright gift is just what its name implies; a gift transferred
immediately from a donor to Bradley University. The gift can
be cash, securities, tangible personal property, or real estate.
Bradley's donors may restrict their contributions to any
number of priority needs on campus or your gifts can be given
to the University's general fund.
Company Matching Gifts
**Double or Triple the impact of your gift!**
More than 1,000 companies sponsor Matching
Gift Programs for employees, retirees, and their families.
Most companies match on a dollar per dollar basis. Some companies
match on a 2:1 or 3:1 basis. Since each company manages its
own program and has its own forms, please contact your personnel
or benefits office for more information. To direct your question
to Bradley University please call 1-800-327-7886 or
e-mail Cheryl Lohnes at cheryl@bumail.bradley.edu
Credit Card Gifts
You can use your Mastercard, Visa, or Discover
credit cards to make your annual contribution to Bradley University.
Please remember to give us your complete card number and expiration
date. Call our office at 1-800-327-7886 and we can
complete your gift.
Cash Gifts
Cash gifts are the most common form of gift received by the
University and provide an immediate resource to support Bradley's
academic initiatives. Please make your check or money
order payable to Bradley University.
Electronic Funds Transfer
No checks to write! No pledge reminders in the mail! And
you can change or cancel the arrangement whenever you wish.
EFT makes a monthly gift easy. You simply authorize your bank
to send Bradley the amount you specify, every month. To get
started just call 1-800-327-7886 or e-mail Cheryl Lohnes at cheryl@bumail.bradley.edu
Appreciated Securities
Giving appreciated stocks, shares of a mutual fund, or bonds
is a superb way to show support for Bradley University. In
most cases, you can deduct the full fair market value of long-term
appreciated securities and at the same time avoid the tax
on the capital gain.
How to make a gift of stocks
Of the several ways to give stock to Bradley University,
the best method may be determined by whether you actually
hold the stock certificate. If you have any questions regarding
the transfer methods described below please call Bradley's
Development Office at 1-800-327-7886.
Method #1: Electronic Transfer
Stock should be transferred to DTC #0141, with further credit
to Bradley University, account #1733-3583. This should be
immediately followed (or preceded) by a telephone call to
Beverly Walker of NatCity Investments at 1-309-655-5455 or
1-800-322-2212 to inform her that the transfer is a gift to
Bradley University. She will make certain the gift is received
and properly credited.
Method #2: Stock Certificate
If you hold the stock certificate, mail it to Bradley University
using the following procedure:
- Mail the unendorsed certificate to the Development
Office, Bradley University, 1501 W. Bradley Avenue, Peoria,
IL, 61625, by certified mail.
- In a separate envelope, mail a signed stock power
form, with your signature guaranteed by a commercial bank
or brokerage firm, by ordinary first-class mail to the same
address as the stock certificate.
- If the certificate is for more shares than you intend
to give, include written instructions for the University
to keep a specified number of shares and we will have a
certificate for the remaining shares reissued to you.
Method #3: Brokerage Account
Bradley University has accounts with several major brokers
and, in these cases the procedure is as follows:
- The broker deposits the stock in an account in Bradley's
name. (Check to verify if Bradley has an account by calling
1-800-327-7886)
- The broker calls the office of the Vice President for
Business Affairs (1-309-677-3150 or 1-800-327-7886) for
instructions on disposition of the stock. Bradley's tax
ID #37-0661494.
Note: You as donor must not direct the
broker to sell or hold the stock after the transfer has occurred.
Stock sold by a donor for Bradley University is treated as
a cash gift, and the donor is liable for any capital gains
tax incurred.
In cases where the University does not have an existing brokerage
account, you may instruct your broker to follow the instructions
outlined in Method #1 above (Electronic Transfers).
How to make a gift of Mutual Fund Shares
There is no single method to transfer shares in a mutual
fund to Bradley University. Call your fund's toll-free number
and ask for instructions on transferring shares from your
account to Bradley University. Most mutual funds require Bradley
University to open an account with the fund to accept a transfer.
Usually you must send a letter of instruction, indicating
the number of shares and authorizing a transfer into Bradley's
account. Once the transfer occurs, the University will liquidate
the account and a check will be issued to us. Bradley will
consider your contribution equal to the full amount of the
value of the mutual fund shares on the day of the transfer.
Note: This procedure can take as long
as three to four weeks to complete.
Closely Held Stock
Individuals who own closely held stock may take advantage
of special gift opportunities. These gift plans are designed
and evaluated individually with each benefactor, his/her advisors,
and the University. Special legal issues and the marketability
of the stock are important factors in the evaluation.
Closely held stock has often appreciated in value while not
paying a dividend. The owner, who usually controls the corporation,
might want to release retained earnings from the business
for personal use. To do so, however, causes the owner of a
"C" corporation to be treated as having received
a dividend, resulting in a second tax on money already taxed
at the corporate level.
Ideally, an owner would like to avoid this second tax and
unlock some of the corporation's assets. Through a gift to
Bradley University of shares of your corporation, it may be
possible to accomplish these goals while providing a meaningful
gift to Bradley University.
The benefits of a gift of closely held stock are not unlike
those of appreciated, publicly traded securities. Again, you
save taxes twice: first with a personal income tax deduction
for the fair market value of the stock, and next when you
avoid capital gain tax on the appreciation. The same benefits
apply if you make a gift of soon-to-be-liquidated stock. If
you make a gift of the stock prior to the adoption of a liquidation
plan, you can avoid tax on the capital gain when the shares
given to Bradley University are redeemed.
Additional benefits of a closely held stock gift can be realized
if the University subsequently sells the shares to the corporation
or another purchaser. If you have controlling interest in
your corporation, you can maintain that control if the corporation
repurchases the stock. This redemption of the stock reduces
accumulated earnings and the accompanying tax liability, and
the stock is removed from your taxable estate. Alternatively,
control can be shifted to the person who purchased the stock
from the University. As long as there is no prearranged requirement
that the University sell the shares back to your corporation
or to a specified individual, you will not be treated as having
received a dividend.
Specific questions regarding gifts of closely held stock
should be directed to Bradley's Development Office at 1-800-327-7886.
Real Estate
Almost any type of real property — a personal residence,
a farm, a vacation home, a commercial building, or an undeveloped
parcel of land — can be the subject of a gift.
If the property is long-term capital gain property and given
outright, you will generally avoid any tax on the gain, reduce
your taxable estate by the value of the gift, and receive
a charitable contribution deduction for 100 percent of the
fair market value of the property.
Please call Bradley's Development Office with questions regarding
gifts of real estate at 1-800-327-7886.
Life Insurance
You may reach a point where life insurance no longer has
the financial significance for your family that it once did.
In that case, you may wish to make a gift of the policy to
Bradley University.
There are two ways to do this.You may make Bradley
University the owner of the policy. This allows you
an immediate income tax deduction. If the policy is fully
paid up, your deduction is equal to the replacement value
of the policy, unless that value exceeds the tax or cost basis.
In this latter case, the deduction is limited to the tax basis.
If premiums remain to be paid, the deduction is approximately
equal to the cash surrender value. If you continue to pay
the premiums on such policies, you will be entitled to a charitable
contribution deduction for the premium payments. Or you may
wish to contribute the amount of the premiums to Bradley;
the University, in turn, could pay the premiums. As long as
Bradley is not under any obligation to pay the premiums, you
will be entitled to a charitable contribution deduction for
the premium amounts.
You may also name Bradley University as the beneficiary
of your policy. Because the designation is not irrevocable,
it cannot be counted for any immediate tax savings. However,
at your death, your executor may take a federal estate tax
charitable deduction for the entire amount.
Any questions regarding gifts of life insurance should be
directed to the University's Development Office at 1-800-327-7886
Tangible Personal Property
This includes such items as works of art, antiques, books,
gems and the like. You may, of course, give an item whether
or not it has increased in value since you obtained it. Perhaps
the greatest tax benefits come, however, when the donated
object is what the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) considers
long-term capital gain property.
Your income tax deduction will depend upon the nature of
the gift and its correlation to Bradley's stated tax-exempt
mission. If the University's use of the gift is related
to the University's tax-exempt purposes, it qualifies for
an immediate income tax deduction equal to its appraised
value on the date of the gift. If the University's
use of the gift is not related to the University's tax-exempt
purposes, your charitable deduction is restricted to the asset's
cost basis.
Each gift item must be evaluated on an individual basis to
determine whether or not it is related to our tax-exempt mission.
For information concerning any gift you might be considering,
please contact Bradley's Development Office at 1-800-327-7886. |
