3 ways to make the most of your finances through philanthropy in 2016 and beyond
It was a wonderful time celebrating with alumni and friends at Duke Reunion Weekend, held earlier this month on April 15-17, 2016. Duke University’s Office of Gift Planning hosted two events during this milestone weekend. If you returned to Duke for Reunion Weekend, we hope you enjoyed your time on campus.
Here is as recap of our Duke Reunions Gift Planning-hosted events:
Half-Century Club Reception
The Office of Gift Planning was proud to once again sponsor the Duke University Half-Century Club reception on April 15, honoring alumni who graduated more than 50 years ago. It was a fun gathering and nice opportunity to catch up with old friends and make new ones.
Check out the beautiful photos from the evening on the Duke Alumni Association’s Facebook page. It looks like everyone had an enjoyable time! We hope you’ll let us crash the next reunion party!
Gift Planning Seminar
On April 16, we held our annual gift planning seminar on Three Ways to Make the Most of your Finances through Philanthropy in 2016 and Beyond. It was great to see many of our alumni that morning. Charitable experts, Jeremy Arkin, director of gift planning, and Anne Morrison Bradley, associate director of gift planning, led an informative presentation highlighting ways to support Duke while accomplishing other personal and financial goals.
Here are the key takeaways to make the most of your finances through philanthropy this year and beyond:
1. Donate appreciated assets to provide unique tax advantages.
Gifts of appreciated stocks, bonds, mutual funds, or real estate (held for more than one year) to Duke may result in significant tax savings in comparison to selling them outright. It can also reduce the effective cost of your charitable gifts even more.
2. Name Duke as the beneficiary of a retirement account, which can be an easy and effective way to support charity.
When reviewing your estate plan, consider having charitable gifts come from retirement plans (other than Roth plans). Save gifts from other assets with a more favorable tax treatment for loved ones. This can maximize the power of your giving.
3. A life income gift—a type of planned gift that pays you an income—can be a helpful part of your retirement plan.
A life income gift can help you support a charitable purpose you care about while also diversifying your retirement income.
Members of our team are always happy to answer your questions or help you explore options to support Duke while satisfying your other long-term plans. Please feel free to contact us if we can be of assistance in any way. We are already looking forward to Duke Reunions 2017!
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