A carefully planned gift also can benefit you and your family. Your tax savings can be substantially increased, and some planned gifts can provide income for your lifetime or the lifetime of another individual.

A cash gift or check can be used immediately in the areas to which it is designated or a perpetual endowment can be established with gifts or pledges of $25,000 or more. This type of fund generates an annual income for a purpose designated by the donor—a program, faculty, and student support.

Publicly traded stocks or bonds make excellent gifts and can be transferred easily to Wayne State University. If the securities have appreciated, you not only receive the benefit of the full fair market value as a charitable income tax deduction, but you also avoid the capital gains tax if you have owned the securities for more than one year. For assistance with a stock transfer, please contact Patty Paquin (313) 577-0026, ppaquin@med.wayne.edu.

A bequest in a will or trust stipulates that the entire amount or a percentage of your estate be given to the university after your lifetime. Your bequest may be designated to a specific program, a faculty endowment or scholarships , or it may be unrestricted and used where needed most. Gifts from our estate to Wayne State University are exempt from estate tax.

Life-income gifts provide income to a donor and/or another individual, such as a spouse. The donor realizes income tax savings for the year the gift is given to the university. A charitable gift annuity, for example, provides a guaranteed income for a spouse or other loved one, and a deferred income gift annuity provides you with additional retirement income. At the end of the beneficiary’s lifetime(s), the remainder is transferred to Wayne State University.

Retirement fund assets would be heavily taxed if given to an individual. After your lifetime, the remainder of our retirement und can be assigned to Wayne State University as an unrestricted gift or designated for a program, faculty endowment, or student scholarships.

Life Insurance, in the form of an old policy no longer needed by the original beneficiary or a newly created policy to benefit Wayne State, can be a helpful investment in the university. Small premiums now can generate a major gift in the future, and premiums for these policies may be tax deductible. Many employers provide group life insurance as a benefit, and Wayne State can be named for a portion of proceeds. This giving veicle is an important one for ounger donors who wish to make a leadership gift.

Charitable lead trusts provide income to WSU over a set number of years and tehn transfer assets to children or other individual(s) named by the donor. This plan enables heirs to receive assets while minimizing taxes.

Other assets that may make helpful gifts while saving taxes include real estate (subject to university approval) closely held stock, business practices (law, medicine, etc.), partnerships, contracts, leases, royalties, and patents