Planned Giving

Some popular planned giving vehicles include bequests, gifts of life insurance, charitable gift annuities, or charitable remainder trusts. These gifts are a vital source of the College’s future financial strength and may also provide donors with substantial tax savings. Planned giving donors are recognized through membership in Randolph-Macon’s Heritage Society.

Bequests

Many of Randolph-Macon Colleges’ alumni and friends have become partners in its history by remembering the College in their estate plans. You may leave a bequest to Randolph-Macon under your will or name the College as the beneficiary of your life insurance policy or retirement account. Bequests continue to account for a major portion of the College’s endowment and provide significant funding for the College’s programs, scholarships, and professorships. Bequests have provided, and will continue to provide, a certain and solid foundation for many lofty and ambitious dreams.

You can make a bequest to Randolph-Macon College in several different ways:

• A Specific Bequest leaves a specified amount of money or a specific asset. This type of bequest is particularly appropriate in the case of smaller bequests. For example, “I give [insert specific dollar amount or asset] to Randolph-Macon College, Ashland, Virginia, and request that this gift be used by the College where the need is greatest.”
• A Percentage Bequest specifies the percentage of your estate that will go to the College. For example, “I give Randolph-Macon College, Ashland, Virginia, [insert percentage] of my residuary estate to be used by the College where the need is greatest.”
• A Residuary Bequest gives the College the assets that remain after providing for others. For example, “I give my residuary estate to Randolph- Macon College, Ashland, Virginia, to be used by the College where the need is greatest.”

Life Income Gifts

These gifts provide you or a loved one with income for life, and thereafter, benefit the College. Two popular types of life income gifts are a charitable gift annuity which provides guaranteed, fixed payments for life and a charitable remainder trust which typically provides fluctuating income payments based on the annual value of the trust. When the annuity or trust ends, the remaining assets support the College.

Charitable Gift Annuities

A gift annuity is the simplest type of life income gift. A charitable gift annuity provides guaranteed income in exchange for an irrevocable gift of cash or appreciated securities. A deferred gift annuity works the same way except that the payments start a year or more after the date of the gift. With a gift of $25,000 or more, you can establish a charitable gift annuity with Randolph-Macon College. A gift annuity is a simple contract whereby the College promises to pay one or two beneficiaries (for example, you and your spouse) a fixed amount per year for life. The rate of income, as recommended by the American Council on Gift Annuities, depends primarily on the age of the beneficiary or beneficiaries. The older the beneficiaries, the higher the rate. Also, the rate will be increased if the donor delays receiving payments for a year or more after the date of the gift. Many donors use this type of deferred gift annuity to supplement retirement income.

At the death of the beneficiary or beneficiaries, the principal remaining in the annuity account will be used by the College for the purpose you designate.

Some benefits of establishing a charitable gift annuity are:

• guaranteed income to the beneficiary or beneficiaries for life
• current income tax deduction
• deferral of capital gains tax on appreciated assets
• possible reduction of estate taxes

In addition to these benefits, a gift annuity can provide generous support for the future of Randolph-Macon College.

Charitable Remainder Trusts

A charitable remainder trust is a life income gift in which you make an irrevocable contribution of cash, securities, real estate, or other assets to a trust that ultimately benefits the College. You receive income from the trust for a period of time such as your life or the life of another, and the College receives the remaining trust principal at the end of the term, to be used for the purpose you designate.

There are two types of charitable remainder trusts – the charitable remainder unitrust and the charitable remainder annuity trust.

With the unitrust, the beneficiary or beneficiaries receive a fixed percentage of the annual value of the trust principal. Payments may fluctuate from year to year, since they are based on the changing annual value of the trust. The donor can make additional contributions to a charitable remainder unitrust.

With an annuity trust, the beneficiary or beneficiaries receive a fixed dollar amount annually. Payments will not fluctuate from year to year. Additional trust contributions are not allowed with a charitable remainder annuity trust.

Some benefits of establishing a charitable remainder trust are:

• income to the beneficiary or beneficiaries for life or term of years
• current income tax deduction
• deferral of capital gains tax on appreciated assets
• possible reduction of estate taxes

In addition to these benefits, a charitable remainder trust can provide generous support for the future of Randolph-Macon College.

Gifts of Real Estate

You can make an irrevocable gift of a personal residence, vacation home, or farm to Randolph-Macon College and retain the right to live in it for your lifetime. A life interest, called a retained life estate, can be retained for your life or the lives of other individuals. Because the College receives your property at the end of your life, you are entitled to an income tax deduction a the time you make the gift.

You can also make an outright gift of all or a portion of your interest in your property, or use the property to establish a charitable remainder trust and receive income for your life or a term of years.

If you make an outright gift, you receive a current income tax deduction for the appraised value of the property. The proceeds from the subsequent sale of the property are applied to the area of the College your designate.

In the case of a trust, the proceeds from the sale are reinvested in the trust and provide income to you or another beneficiary. At the end of the trust term, the College applies the remaining principal to the College as you designate.

In the alternative, you may sell property to the College for less than its fair market value. This type of gift, called a bargain sale, is often used when an individual is interested in supporting the College with a gift of real estate while at the same time recouping some cash, perhaps equal to their initial investment in the property.