Ways of Giving

The secret of our success and the key to our future growth comes, in part, from the internationally recognized faculty and the best and brightest medical students in the nation. Perhaps even more important are people like you—the generous donors and friends who make discovery and advancement possible. Philanthropic support of the University of Maryland School of Medicine offers a wonderful way to say thanks to a physician for a job well done or to advance research into sometimes devastating diseases. It is an opportunity to create an enduring legacy at an institution on the cutting edge of scientific discovery; support some of the most prominent and respected physicians, scientists and investigators in academic medicine; and train the next generation of physicians and medical scientists.

Private gifts to support the University of Maryland School of Medicine can be made in a variety of ways. Gifts may be made outright, pledged over a five-year period, or through planned giving. Over the years, many donors have discovered that planned gifts complement their personal financial and estate planning, while enabling them to make gifts larger than they thought possible.

Gifts of Cash
The most common form of giving is as easy as writing a check payable to The University of Maryland Fund for Medicine. Gifts of cash offer the most generous federal income tax deductions available for charitable gifts (up to 50 percent of adjusted gross income in the year of the gift with the excess deductions carried forward for up to five years).

If owned for more than one year, appreciated securities are deductible at full fair market value with no capital gains tax imposed. Whether it is that Coca-Cola stock that your family has owned for years or the stock owned in a rapidly appreciating market niche, appreciated securities enable you to make substantial gifts at a low after-tax cost. Gifts of appreciated securities are deductible up to 30 percent of adjusted gross income in the year of the gift with any excess carried forward for up to five years.

Gifts of Appreciated Real Estate
The tax benefits of appreciated real estate (for example, undeveloped land, commercial property, farms, vacation homes or personal residences) are virtually the same as with appreciated securities. In addition to avoiding capital gains taxes on the growth in value, you also receive an income tax deduction for the full fair market value of the property contributed. Gifts may be transferred by deed during a donor’s lifetime, through a donor’s will or through a reserved life estate arrangement, which enables you to make a tax-deductible current gift of your home or property while still living in the property for the remainder of your life (for details, see Gifts That Produce Income, below).

Gifts that Produce Income
In addition to enabling donors to make much larger gifts than many think possible, planned gifts can generate lifelong income, convert low-yielding appreciated stock or real estate into a higher income stream, reduce or eliminate capital gains taxes, produce significant federal income tax deductions and minimize or eliminate federal estate taxes. Examples include the following:

Charitable gift annuities are simple contracts. In exchange for a gift of cash or appreciated securities, the University of Maryland Baltimore Foundation, Inc. pays a fixed amount to your designated beneficiary for life. A portion of the income from the gift may be tax-free, capital gains taxes can be minimized, and you are entitled to a substantial income tax deduction in the year the gift is made.

Deferred gift annuities are similar to charitable gift annuities, but give you an opportunity to defer receiving income for 5, 10, 15 years or longer. A longer deferral period results in a higher annuity rate and larger tax deduction.

Reserved life estate gifts enable you to leave a personal residence, vacation home or farm to support the School of Medicine, while retaining the right to live in or use the property for the remainder of your life. Through this type of arrangement, you may be able to make a gift of the property, obtain an immediate tax deduction and continue to use the property as long as you wish. If you are contemplating making a gift of real estate through your will, giving the property now would allow you to receive the tax advantages and right to inhabit the property through a reserved life estate.

Charitable remainder trusts are commonly used to assist donors in their personal, financial, tax and charitable gift planning while fulfilling personal and family financial needs. A charitable remainder trust is an arrangement in which you irrevocably transfer assets, securities or property to an individually managed trust and name the School of Medicine as the charitable beneficiary. Your trustee (such as the University of Maryland Baltimore Foundation, Inc.) pays income to you or other designated beneficiaries for a predetermined period of time, after which the remainder passes to the School of Medicine. Income provided to beneficiaries can be variable (a charitable remainder unitrust) or fixed (a charitable remainder annuity trust). Charitable remainder trusts are tax-exempt and provide an immediate income tax deduction.

Charitable lead trusts are similar to charitable remainder trusts except they operate in reverse—the charitable beneficiary receives annual income at the front end for a specified number of years before the trust corpus returns to the donor or family members. Significant gift and estate tax savings are realized if income-producing property passes to family members at the end of the trust’s term. Charitable lead trusts are a useful financial and estate planning tool, allowing you to provide support to the School of Medicine and pass assets along to your heirs.

Bequests
A will is the foundation of a well-formulated estate plan and is one of the most important ways a donor can support the School of Medicine. Through a bequest, donors can create a lasting legacy to support the growth and advancement of biomedical research and medical education. An outright bequest may be a gift of personal assets, a specific dollar amount or a percentage of your estate. A bequest may also establish a trust or gift annuity to provide income to your spouse or another beneficiary, with the assets later passing to support the School of Medicine. Bequests should be made payable to The University of Maryland Baltimore Foundation, Inc. for the benefit of the School of Medicine.


If you would like to learn more about opportunities to support the University of Maryland School of Medicine, please contact the School of Medicine Office of Development at 410-706-8503 or 1-877-FUND-SOM. The development staff is experienced in meeting individual needs and interests and is available to assist you in making charitable gift decisions. If necessary, the School of Medicine Office of Development can also put you in contact with the University’s planned giving experts to assist you and your financial advisors in making planned gift decisions.

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