Planned Giving

The SSCI Fund for Academic Medicine (FAMe) offers numerous vehicles to leave an enduring and personal legacy:

Bequests

The most common planned gift is a bequest, the leaving of a charitable gift by a donor through a will. A donor may give a specific dollar amount, a specific piece of property or other asset, a fixed percentage of the assets passing through the estate, or a donation of the residue of the estate after making provisions for family and other close individuals.

Gifts of Appreciated Property

Real estate holdings, stocks, bonds, and other similar assets grow in value. When the owner sells those assets, generally a tax is due on any capital gain that such a sale provides. If that asset has been held for a year or more, an individual who donates that asset rather than selling it may take a tax deduction based on the current value of the asset and also avoid paying a capital gains tax on the asset growth.

Life Insurance

Perhaps you have a fully paid up life insurance policy, the purpose of which is no longer necessary or applicable to your current circumstances. One may donate this policy by naming the SSCI Fund for Academic Medicine as the beneficiary. Such a gift provides the donor with several income tax benefits as well as furthering the mission of the SSCI Fund for Academic Medicine.

Charitable Remainder Trust

Charitable Remainder Trusts allow a donor to contribute assets, while providing the donor and/or other beneficiaries with payments for a specified length of time, even a lifetime. Once that time period ends, the assets transfer to the SSCI Fund for Academic Medicine. Two types of Charitable Remainder Trusts exist:

• A Charitable Remainder Annuity Trust pays a fixed rate of return to the beneficiary of the trust. Once established, additional contributions cannot be made.
• A Charitable Remainder Uni-Trust pays a very low rate of return; the rate of that return is recalculated annually. Again, once that period of time has passed, the assets of that trust pass to the SSCI Fund for Academic Medicine.

Charitable Lead Trust

A donor may create a trust providing income for a charitable purpose for a given time. Upon completion of that time period the trust can then be transferred to heirs or other individuals with little or even no estate or other related taxes due.

Revocable Living Trust

The use of a Revocable Living Trust enables a donor to make a gift of real estate, unities, cash, or other assets, knowing that all or part of the gift may be returned upon request.

For additional information on any of these methods of planned giving or to find out how you can make a contribution, please contact Joan Kemp, SSCI Executive Director, at jkemp5@tulane.edu or 205-566-6090.