Philanthropic Implications of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021

Among many other things, the new law extends three philanthropic provisions of the CARES Act into 2021:

• The legislation extends through the end of 2021 the CARES Act provision that increases the limitation on cash contributions to public charities in 2021 to 100% of adjusted gross income.
• The law extends and modifies the charitable deduction available to non-itemizers for cash gifts they make to public charities. For 2021 only, the law doubles to $600 the maximum amount joint filers may deduct. As in 2020, single filers or married filers who file separately are limited to $300. The law also restructures the deduction: while it may be claimed only by non-itemizers, it does not reduce adjusted gross income.
• The new legislation also extends for 2021 the 25% of taxable income limit that applies to contributions of cash and food inventory made by corporations to public charities.

The above information should not be considered legal, accounting or other professional advice. Please consult with your own adviser.

To learn more about planned giving opportunities, please contact Linda Massaro, associate vice president for development, at linda.massaro@qu.edu | 203-582-8024

Estate gifts can allow you to have a profound impact on Quinnipiac University without affecting your current assets or lifestyle. By directing your support to the endowment, your generosity will have a lasting impact. Whether it be a scholarship fund designed to help deserving students afford a Quinnipiac education, or an endowed chair designed to recognize and retain the very best of our faculty, a bequest to endowment provides support to generations of students and scholars in perpetuity.

Gifts Through Wills & Trusts

The following is intended to help you and your attorney in drafting a bequest that satisfies your interests.

• A Specific or General Bequest provides a specific asset or amount of money.
• A Percentage Bequest provides a percentage of your estate.
• A Residuary Bequest provides a portion of the residual amount that is left in your estate after all specific bequests have been satisfied.
• A Contingent Bequest provides an amount or percentage of your estate that will only be granted if a certain event occurs first.
  

SAMPLE LANGUAGE:

For a bequest providing unrestricted* support:

“I hereby give and bequeath to QUINNIPIAC UNIVERSITY, headquartered in Hamden, Connecticut, _____ dollars ($___) [or ____ percent (___%) or all of the rest, residue, and remainder of my estate] for its general purposes.”

*To ensure that your wishes can be fulfilled by the college, we encourage anyone who would like to create a bequest allocated to a particular area of the college to speak with the Office of Gift Planning so that we can discuss the parameters of your desired gift, and how it matches the university’s needs.

Other Estate Gifts

A beneficiary designation is one of the simplest ways to make a gift to Quinnipiac—as easy as filling out a form. You can specify the individuals and charities you want to support, and you can also specify the percentage of the assets you want each beneficiary to receive.

Retirement Assets  

An alternative to a bequest gift is to designate Quinnipiac University as the beneficiary of your retirement assets. This gift is simple because you can control the transfer of these assets at your death without changing your will or living trust. All you need to do is request and complete a new beneficiary designation form from your plan administrator.

A gift of retirement assets is among the most tax-wise ways to make an estate gift. This is because your retirement assets, if left to individuals, will be subject to income tax when they receive distributions. With a gift to a non-profit such as the university, no taxes are removed thus allowing 100% of the funds to be used to further its mission. If you want to remember us in your estate plan, it is often better to leave other types of assets – cash, securities, real estate – to your heirs and give the more heavily taxed retirement asset to Quinnipiac.

Life Insurance  

Life Insurance policies can also be used to benefit Quinnipiac by completing and returning to your insurance company a form designating that the university receives all or a portion of the death benefit associated with your life insurance policy. Alternatively, you can make a current gift by transferring ownership of the policy to Quinnipiac, which results in an immediate income tax charitable deduction and potential income tax savings in the year of the transfer.

Retained Life Estate

More accurately known as a “gift of the remainder interest in a personal residence or farm,” the retained life estate allows a donor to make a gift of a personal residence while retaining the right to enjoy the property for the remainder of his or her life and/or the lives of others. The donor qualifies for an income-tax charitable deduction at the time the gift is made, effectively removing the value of the property from the donor’s estate without changing his or her lifestyle.

Other Assets

Commercial Annuities may have a remaining value at the end of the annuitant’s lifetime. You can name Quinnipiac to receive all or part of this amount by designating it as a beneficiary (sole or partial) on the appropriate form from the insurance company.

You can instruct your bank to pay Quinnipiac all or a portion of what remains in a checking or savings account. Your bank can provide you with the appropriate beneficiary designation form.

You can instruct an investment company to transfer to Quinnipiac some or all funds held in your investment account at the time of your passing. Your broker or agent can let you know the process for doing this.

Charitable Gift Annuities

Perhaps the easiest of all life-income producing gifts, the charitable gift annuity is a contract between you and Quinnipiac in which, in exchange for a gift of $10,000 or more, Quinnipiac guarantees to pay up to two beneficiaries of your choosing a fixed annual income for life.

Charitable Remainder Trusts

A charitable remainder trust offers a tremendous amount of planning power for those alumni and friends of Quinnipiac who want to do well by doing good. In its simplest form, assets are placed in the hands of a trustee who manages the trust in keeping with the guidelines you establish.

If you are advising a client who is considering a planned gift or bequest to Quinnipiac University, we welcome the opportunity to work with both of you. Please use the below resources and tools and feel free to contact us for further information or assistance on a confidential basis.

Here is some basic information about our organization:

Legal Name: Quinnipiac University
Quinnipiac Federal Tax ID Number: 06-0646701

Quinnipiac strives to make giving to the university as easy as possible. Accordingly, we hope the following will prove helpful:

• Click here for suggested bequest wording.
• For gifts of securities, go here.
• Click here to learn more about The Tower Society.
  
• Use our online calculator.
  
• Contact us to discuss a potential or hypothetical gift or to request a gift illustration.

If your client arranges an estate gift for the benefit of Quinnipiac University, we hope you will notify us so that we can express our gratitude as well as ensure that your client’s wishes can be implemented. Of course, we understand that your client may prefer to remain anonymous. However, if you are willing to serve as an intermediary, your client can share information about his or her plans without divulging his or her identity.

We want to be of assistance to you in any way we can, whether you require general information about charitable giving, need our assistance in the administration of a bequest or other type of planned gift or wish to explore options. Thank you for the important work you do to bring vital support to Quinnipiac University.