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Blueprints Blog

Gift planning insights to build a plan for your future

The Gift Planning Blueprints blog offers planning insights, charitable giving news and stories of inspiration to help you plan for your future.

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Gift planning can be a smart way to leave a lasting impression at a charity, like Duke, while achieving your personal and financial goals.  There are many options for every life stage. If you are in your 40s and 50s, you probably have an established career.  It’s likely you are thinking about how to save […]

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What makes a great university?  Certainly the fundamentals include creative and bright students, engaging faculty, a beautiful campus, a culture of open inquiry, and a commitment to public service.  It also requires dedicated alumni, parents, and friends who believe in the institution and want to be a part of its future.  Many individuals and families […]

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It’s a common misconception that planned giving is only for the extremely wealthy or older population.  That’s simply not true.  In fact, you’re never too young to begin planning for your charitable future.  If you are in your 20s or 30s, it is likely that you are beginning your career.  You may have just been […]

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It’s no secret that the modern world is becoming more complex.  With that complexity arise new expressions and vocabulary.  I can’t even remember, for example, when we began using the term “emoticon.” 🙂 While jargon can be helpful to people who dwell full-time within specialized areas of life, it can also become very commonplace and […]

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Retirement planning remains an important part of every person’s life.  Gift planning may provide creative strategies to help you align your personal and financial plans with your charitable intentions. Anne Bradley, associate director of gift planning at Duke University, describes how to bridge your individual retirement goals with a legacy gift to Duke.  Two of […]

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Duke was a very different university when Mary Robinson ’49 arrived from Ashtabula, Ohio. It was September 1945, just weeks after World War II ended. Women students were housed on East Campus, men on West. Women were not allowed to have cars—or men in their classes for the first two years. The Giles Residence Hall […]

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On December 18, 2015, President Obama signed into law the charitable IRA rollover for 2015 and future years.   The provision allows IRA owners age 70 ½ or older to make a direct, tax-free transfer of up to $100,000 a year from their individual retirement account to a public charity like Duke University. Donors can […]

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Becoming the first person in his family to go to college was a distinction Jack Boyd ’85 didn’t take lightly.  He still remembers the excitement of his first day at Duke, from meeting his roommate to attending his first dorm meeting.  That was the moment a realization hit him: attached to his new independence and […]

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You can feel confident about your financial and philanthropic future with a charitable gift annuity to Duke. Did you know a gift to Duke of $10,000 or more can provide fixed payments for you and your loved ones?  Charitable gift annuities provide immediate tax savings and a future income for you while benefitting the Duke […]

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Women are shaping the future of philanthropy.  Yet, many do not realize the financial and economic power they hold. Anne Sherman, associate director of gift planning at Duke University, explains why gift planning can be a powerful way to provide for yourself and make a real difference at an organization, like Duke. Watch Anne’s video […]

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