Estate planning can help ensure your assets benefit both your loved ones and your philanthropic priorities. Designating Duke University as a beneficiary of a retirement account, life insurance policy, or donor-advised fund (DAF) can reduce taxes for your heirs while leaving a lasting legacy at Duke.  Retirement Accounts: Minimizing Taxes, Maximizing Impact  Retirement assets are […]

It’s a new year – a time for reflection, resolutions and rejuvenation. We find ourselves setting goals and making plans for the next twelve months: “Exercise more.”  “Save more money.”  “Take up pickleball.” As uncomfortable, morbid or depressing as it may sound (perhaps even the antithesis of a happy new year), you may want to […]

Hello, Duke community!  I am so happy to have the chance to introduce …or re-introduce … myself to you.   Nearly seventeen years ago, I joined the Duke Gift Planning team as a Gift Planning Officer.  In fact, in the photo above, you will see my son, Jack, who was almost 6 months old on my […]

One hundred years ago, James B. Duke signed the Indenture of Trust that led to the creation of Duke University. In the last 100 years, Duke and our community have changed countless lives for the better.  On behalf of Duke’s Office of Gift Planning, we want to express our gratitude for your support as we […]

When George Grody T’81 returned to Duke in 2008 as a teacher in Markets and Management Studies, he planned to stay for just two years. But passion for his students kept him teaching, sharing lessons gained from his nearly thirty-year career as a global marketing and sales executive at Proctor & Gamble, until his retirement […]

As the year draws to a close, we wanted to share some tax-savvy opportunities to maximize your charitable gifts. Of course, please check with your financial advisor regarding any gift options!  Year-end giving strategies:    And it’s never too early to think about next tax year! The IRS recently announced several tax updates for 2025.  Qualified […]

Duke is very much a part of Krista Patterson ’03, J.D.’06, LL.M.’06, and Jonathan Wigser’s, M.B.A.’94 personal and volunteer life. They got engaged and married at Duke, and between the two of them hold four Duke degrees and have served on five councils and boards. In honor of their deep connection to Duke, the couple […]

Act now to support your financial well-being and Duke’s future with a charitable gift annuity. For many individuals and couples, funding a charitable gift annuity can be a simple, tax-savvy way to support the future of Duke University while enjoying the security of a fixed income for life, independent of market performance. How does it […]

On April 24, 2016, everything changed for the May family.  Brooke May Taylor ’98 was driving in downtown Seattle when a city ambulance ran a red light, struck her car, and spun it into a traffic signal box and a tree.   Brooke suffered a traumatic brain injury that interrupted her career as an award-winning intellectual […]

A qualified charitable distribution, or “QCD,” can be an easy and tax-efficient way to make an immediate impact at Duke. Taxpayers who are 70 ½ or older can support Duke people, places, and programs using a tax-free transfer from a traditional IRA.  Benefits of a QCD gift: Ready to learn more? Download Duke’s QCD guide […]