Ways to Give

Benefits 

Cash gifts make an immediate and positive impact on a program. 

Cash is the easiest gift to make. 

Cash gifts support collections, exhibits, programs, research or an area which is particularly important to you. 

Cash gifts may be combined with other options to leverage the impact of your gift. 

Did You Know? 

COTA accepts checks and wired funds through the University of Florida Foundation, Inc. or, you may contribute through UF’s secure site using a credit card. 

Cash gifts provide the maximum charitable income tax deduction available under federal tax laws. You may claim a deduction up to 50 percent of your adjusted gross  income, with any excess balance carried forward for up to five years. 

Your employer may match your gift—even if you’re retired. Check if your company offers a matching gift program, or contact us and we’ll help you get started. Learn more about Matching Gifts here.

Benefits 

Sustained giving through payroll deduction provides a reliable base of support for the programs and research that are most meaningful to you. 

Payroll deduction is a convenient way to make an enduring impact. 

Did You Know? 

UF or Shands employees can support the College of the Arts through biweekly payroll deduction gifts. For more infomation about Payroll Deduction, email us at development@arts.ufl.edu

You may increase, decrease or stop your contributions at any time. 

Benefits 

Giving appreciated securities — stocks and bonds — can be more tax efficient than giving cash. 

If you make a gift of securities directly to the College of the Arts, you will receive an income tax deduction — and gift credit with the College of the Arts and UF — for the full value, without paying capital gains tax. 

Did You Know? 

If you own securities in a brokerage account these shares can be easily transferred electronically to the College of the Arts. 

In most cases, the College of the Arts will promptly sell gifted securities that are publicly traded and apply the cash toward the purpose you designate. 

Closely held stock and other securities that are not publicly traded work best when there is a mechanism for the College of the Arts to sell the gifted interest to other stakeholders or the corporation itself. For these gifts, the donor must usually obtain an appraisal to claim a tax deduction. 

Benefits 

Retirement accounts such as IRAs and 401(k) and 403(b) plans can be subject to double taxation — ordinary income and estate tax — meaning that anywhere from 35-75% of retirement assets can be lost to taxes before they reach individual beneficiaries 

Retirement plan assets left to the College of the Arts will transfer tax-free. 

In planning your estate, consider leaving the College of the Arts your retirement plan assets, and leave more favorably taxed assets to your family. 

Did You Know? 

Most retirement accounts allow the owner to select beneficiaries to receive the plan assets remaining at death. To designate the College of the Arts as a beneficiary, contact the account administrator. 

Lifetime withdrawals, even for charitable gifts, are typically treated as taxable income. Proposed changes to federal tax law may allow for future tax-free distributions made directly to the College of the Arts. 

Benefits 

A bequest is a gift to the College of the Arts at your passing, generally through a provision in your will or living trust. 

It may be revoked at any time during your lifetime if your situation changes. 

Did You Know? 

You can complete a Change of Beneficiary form to name the College of the Arts a beneficiary of your retirement plan, bank account, brokerage account or life insurance policy. 

A bequest might not be received by the College of the Arts for many years — so there’s a delay in funding the gifted purpose. As a result, restrictions placed on the use of your gift should be as minimal as possible, providing the College of the Arts with maximum flexibility, as priorities and programs change over time 

Benefits 

A Charitable Lead Trust can greatly reduce or eliminate gift or estate tax on trust assets passing to family members. 

A Charitable Lead Trust makes annual payments to the College of the Arts for a period of time set by the donor, then distributes the remaining assets to the donor’s family or other named beneficiaries. 

This structure provides a tax-advantaged method of supporting the College of the Arts for a set number of years, with a potentially significant future tax-free distribution to family and other heirs. 

Did You Know? 

A Charitable Lead Trust is complex in nature and must be carefully reviewed by the donor’s advisers to ensure it is compatible with their entire estate plan. 

Benefits 

A CRT pays individual beneficiaries an annual amount for their lives or a fixed term of up to 20 years. 

Donors who create a CRT can claim an income tax deduction that represents the present value of the eventual gift to the College of the Arts. 

When the CRT ends, the remaining assets are distributed to the College of the Arts. 

Did You Know? 

Life income beneficiaries can be the donor, family members or others. 

The trust principal is normally invested for a total return and grows tax free. It can be invested in a variety of diversified portfolios, including UF’s endowment. 

An Annuity Trust makes a fixed annual payment and a Unitrust makes a variable annual payment. 

Unitrusts are revalued annually and if the principal in the trust appreciates, payments will be correspondingly larger. But there’s a risk. If the principal depreciates, payments will be smaller 

Benefits 

In exchange for your gift, UF (on behalf of the College of the Arts) promises to make lifetime annuity payments to one or two annuitants. 

The contractual obligation is backed by the UF Foundation, Inc., making this a very secure source of future income. 

After the death of the last annuitant, the balance of the remaining gift will be used by the College of the Arts for the purpose you’ve designated. 

Did You Know? 

Donors receive an income tax deduction based on the fair market value of the assets contributed less the present value of the future annuity payments. 

Payments to annuitants are generally partly taxable as ordinary income and capital gain (depending on the gift asset), and a portion is usually treated as tax-free return of principal. 

Outright Gift Benefits 

Receive a charitable income tax deduction for the full fair market value of the property. 

Avoid capital gains tax on appreciation. 

Transfer to the College of the Arts the burden and expense of managing and selling your property. 

Retained Life Estate Benefits 

Transfer the title to your personal residence now, while retaining the right to live in or use it for the rest of your life or another’s life. Upon the death(s) of the life Tenant(s), title to the property vests in UF (on behalf of the College of the Arts) and any subsequent sale proceeds will be applied to the purpose you designate. 

You receive an immediate income tax deduction based on the fair market value less the present value of the retained life estate. 

Did You Know? 

UF’s Office of Gift Planning has the resources and expertise to facilitate most real estate gifts. 

An appraisal is usually required to substantiate the tax deduction for most real estate gifts, and must be obtained by the donor. 

In some cases, UF (on behalf of the College of the Arts) may be willing to purchase a property for less than its fair market value, and the donor is able to claim a tax deduction for the difference. 

Property subject to a mortgage may not be suitable as a gift to the College of the Arts due to tax and other considerations. 

Benefits 

Life insurance allows donors to leverage their resources while providing an extraordinary gift to the College of the Arts. 

You may donate your existing policy by making the College of the Arts the owner/beneficiary and receive an income tax deduction for the value of the policy. 

Did You Know? 

If you prefer, you may maintain ownership of your policy but name the College of the Arts as a beneficiary. This way you maintain the flexibility to change beneficiaries if your situation changes. 

Fully paid policies are preferable to the College of the Arts. The university may cash out gifts of policies not fully paid unless the donor makes gifts to the College of the Arts to cover future premium payments. 

If you have a term policy (often provided as an employment benefit) consider naming the College of the Arts as a beneficiary.