Giving to Worcester State College:
A Guided Tour  

There are many ways to give to WSC

The Opportunity for a Lifetime campaign invites you to shape Worcester State College. Ensuring access, affordability, and excellence, your participation contributes to student success, to faculty quality, and to the College’s vital place in the community. Your giving may take many forms. The amount and designation of your gift adds value to WSC.

Outright Gifts

Restricted and unrestricted gifts made by cash, check, or credit card are the most common and simplest for donors and WSC. Generally tax-deductible, your cash gift can be put to work immediately. You may make your cash gift through any of the following ways:

• Online
• downloading our gift form and mailing it to Worcester State Foundation, Inc., ATTN: Opportunity for a Lifetime campaign, 486 Chandler Street, Worcester, MA 01602, or
• calling 1-888-WSC-ALUM

Appreciated Securities

Charitable contributions of stocks, bonds, and other appreciated securities may provide you a maximum tax benefit. Typically deductible at the market value on the date gifted, your contribution of securities allows you to avoid capital gains tax on any appreciation. For more information, please contact  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it  at (508) 929-8033.

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Gifts from Donor Advised Funds and Family Foundations

Increasing numbers of donors are finding that donor advised funds and foundations provide flexibility for their overall philanthropic activities. For more information, please contact  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it  at (508) 929-8033.

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Real Estate or Tangible Personal Property

Gifts of property made without restriction as to resale are generally accepted by WSC.  Under tax laws, gifts of real and tangible property (including jewelry, art, antiques, gold, historical documents, and equipment) deemed acceptable by the College and the Worcester State Foundation, Inc. receive fair market value. The donor is responsible for securing a qualified appraisal for all gifts of real estate and tangible personal property. State, federal, and IRS regulations apply. For more information, please contact  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it  at (508) 929-8033.

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Matching Gifts

Many public and private companies match their employees’ contributions to higher education. You might double or even triple the value of your gift to WSC. To release these funds, you must initiate a process with your or your spouse’s employer.

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Planned, Deferred, and Combination Gifts

Planned, deferred, and combination gifts offer donors excellent options to make major gifts while retaining some income from assets. Most of the previously mentioned ways of giving can also fund a charitable trust which retains income for a period of time, after which the Worcester State Foundation, Inc. may receive the assets. In some cases, a gift may be a combination of an outright gift and a trust to return income to the donor for a period of time. For more information, please contact  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it  at (508) 929-8033.


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Charitable Lead Trust

This trust arrangement has become a popular generation-skipping trust, and uses the tax status of the Worcester State Foundation, Inc. to accomplish an important objective. A donor may place assets into a trust for 10 years or more with the income immediately benefiting the College. At the end of the set period of time, the assets are passed on to the donor’s designated heir (or heirs), avoiding further estate taxes. Depending upon the asset used to create the trust, the trust may well have increased in value, which is taxed again at its transfer. For more information, please contact  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it  at (508) 929-8033.

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Income Producing Charitable Gifts

Often funded with cash or stock, a life income or deferred gift can supplement a current gift, enabling a donor to make a more significant contribution to WSC than might be possible through a simple, outright gift. In general, these gifts will provide a donor and/or spouse with income for life; then the gift principal reverts to WSC. The donor receives an immediate income tax charitable deduction, while helping to secure WSC’s future. Two popular vehicles for income producing charitable gifts are Charitable Gift Annuities and Charitable Remainder Trusts. For more information, please contact  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it  at (508) 929-8033.

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Remainder Interest in Personal Residence

This can be a vacation home or a principal residence. You may continue to live in the property after giving it to the College and still claim an income tax deduction equal to the present value of the interest given away. For more information, please contact  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it  at (508) 929-8033.

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Bequest

In addition to being the most common form of planned giving, a bequest to WSC helps to insure the future of the College without affecting your current personal finances. Donors have many options in determining how to leave a bequest to provide for maximum estate tax charitable deductions and benefit to the College. For more information, please contact  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it  at (508) 929-8033.

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Retirement Plan Gifts

Your retirement assets, accumulated over many years and invested in tax-deferred accounts, could ultimately be a large portion of your estate. You may wish to explore the benefit of designating the Worcester State Foundation, Inc. as a primary or secondary (after your spouse) beneficiary on your retirement plans. For more information, please contact  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it  at (508) 929-8033.

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Life Insurance

Life insurance is a distinctive vehicle to use in making a planned gift. Naming Worcester State Foundation, Inc. as a beneficiary assures the donor that an intended amount (or percentage) of money will go to the College. As long as the premium is paid up, the face amount will be paid. Note the difference between term insurance and whole life (universal life is another matter). Insurance can be beneficial to donors with large estates (and trusts) who wish to protect their assets for family and charity. For more information, please contact  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it  at (508) 929-8033.


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Gifts in Honor or Memory

Any contribution may be made in honor or memory of a family member, teacher, or friend. Such a tribute is a generous way to recognize another individual’s achievements or role in your life.

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Making a Pledge: Timing Your Gift

Pledge payment schedules may be tailored and adjusted to conform to income expectations. You may give higher portions of the total pledge at the beginning of the period or at the end. WSC benefits by having the intentions in writing—to plan ahead, to develop accounting support, and to encourage other donors—even if the pledge must be delayed in total fulfillment.

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Your Impact Increased: The Massachusetts Endowment Incentive Program

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts Endowment Incentive Program adds impact to your commitment. Under this program, the state matches all gifts for academic purposes to Worcester State College's endowment. For every $2 you contribute, the State will add $1. Pledges may be paid over multiple years; the Incentive Program matches contributions received through June 30, 2010.

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Your gift to the Worcester State Foundation is tax-deductible.

The Worcester State Foundation, Inc. is an IRS-approved 501(c)(3) tax-exempt, nonprofit organization. The Foundation’s purpose is to plan initiatives and perform activities that support the College’s continuing growth. All gifts should be made to the Worcester State Foundation, Inc..

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