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UA Foundation

910 Yukon Drive
PO Box 755080 Suite 206 Butrovich Bldg.
Fairbanks, AK 99775

phone: 907.450.8030
email: sdfnd@alaska.edu





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Your gift to the UA Foundation is more than just a donation. It’s a way to help students achieve their dreams. Enable Alaskans to attain a top-quality education – right here at home. Bring relevant academic programs to Alaska. And make the difference between a good university – and a great one.

Supporting UA can provide significant financial benefits to you, as well. If you itemize
 

Photo by Todd Paris

on your taxes, you may be able to claim a federal charitable tax deduction. And, if your company pays state taxes of any kind, you may be eligible for a tax credit of up to $150,000 annually.

There are numerous ways to give to UA, and you can direct your gift anywhere you choose – to a specific program, scholarship or UA campus. Or you can give an unrestricted gift, which allows UA to utilize your contribution in the area of greatest need.

Index of Ways to Give:
Cash
Stock
Life Insurance
Personal Property
Real Property
Bequests
Charitable Remainder Trust
Charitable Gift Annuities
Pledges
Grants



Cash

You can make a cash gift, which includes checks and credit card payments, to the UA Foundation. These types of gifts may be made online, in person or through the mail. The Foundation will provide a standard receipt to all donors who make cash gifts.

To make a donation by credit card immediately, click here

To mail a donation, please use the following address:

University of Alaska Foundation
910 Yukon Drive
PO Box 755080 Suite 206 Butrovich Bldg.
Fairbanks, AK 99775

To wire funds, please contact Jennifer Hoppough, Stewardship Manager, at the University of Alaska Foundation by dialing (907) 450-8037 or emailing jennifer.hoppough@alaska.edu for more information.

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Stock

The UA Foundation accepts gifts of publicly-traded stock and, in some situations, closely held stock. This giving option may provide significant tax advantages, so be sure to talk with your accountant or financial adviser. To discuss making a gift of stock, please contact Scott Taylor, UA Foundation Gift Planning Manager. Also, please visit:

UAA Office of Development
UAF Development and Advancement Office
UAS Development.

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Life Insurance

By naming the UA Foundation as beneficiary to your life insurance policy, you can provide funds in the future. Or you can donate the entire policy to the Foundation and, in return, take a charitable deduction for the cash value of the policy. You may also be able to deduct any premium payments made to maintain the policy after the transfer. To discuss making this option, please contact Scott Taylor, UA Foundation Gift Planning Manager. Also, please visit:

UAA Office of Development
UAF Development and Advancement Office
UAS Development.

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Personal Property

The University of Alaska Foundation can accept personal property (i.e., jewelry, equipment, art, etc.) if it benefits the University and/or can be converted to cash.To discuss making a gift of personal property, please contact Mary Rutherford, Foundation Acting President at mary.rutherford@alaska.edu or the Development and Advancement Offices: UAA Office of Development UAF Development and Advancement Office, and UAS Development.

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Real Property

A gift of real property to the University of Alaska can provide the donor with significant tax benefits and can be of great use to the university either for its educational purposes or to be sold to provide income to support other programs. The University of Alaska Foundation accepts, manages and develops real property on behalf of the University. The gift to the Foundation may be restricted to assist specific programs at any institution or campus in the University of Alaska System. By making a gift of real property to the University a donor may be eligible for several tax benefits:

A charitable deduction on the donor’s federal income tax for the present fair market value of the property donated up to 30% of donor’s adjusted gross income. Deduction may be spread over a five year period.

Freedom from paying capital gains tax on the sale of your property.

Freedom from property taxes donor would otherwise pay on the property.

For more information about giving real property, please contact: Mary Rutherford, Foundation Acting President at mary.rutherford@alaska.edu or the Development and Advancement Offices: UAA Office of Development UAF Development and Advancement Office, and UAS Development.

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Bequests

What is a Bequest?
A bequest is a section of a will which directs the executor of the estate to make a gift from the donor’s assets to the person or institution of their choice after he/she dies. Bequests may be used to provide gifts of money, real estate, stocks, or even works of art or jewelry. Bequests may also be used to establish charitable trusts which can provide funds for heirs and at the same time set aside funds for the University.

Does the donor need an Attorney?
The donor’s attorney should draft or review his/her will. For a bequest to the University we suggest using the below wording. The donor should have their attorney review such wording before signing the will. The donor should also complete a will as part of their overall estate plan. If they already have a will, they may add a "codicil" to provide for a bequest to the University of Alaska.

Bequest Wording
The following language may be inserted in the will (or in a codicil to the will) to accomplish a simple bequest to the University of Alaska. For more complex bequests, such as those to establish charitable trusts etc.

"I hereby give to the Board of Trustees of the University of Alaska Foundation, a non-profit 501 (C) (3) corporation located at 910 Yukon Drive Fairbanks, Alaska, the sum of $_______ (or describe the property to be given)."

Specific Restrictions
Additional wording may be included which gives more specific instructions as to how the bequest is to be used by the University. For example, a donor may specify that the bequest be used to benefit a particular campus of the University system and/or a particular department or program. The donor may also specify a particular use such as for a scholarship, faculty support, or purchase of equipment, etc. Finally, they may specify that the gift be used to establish an endowment which will be used to provide perpetual support. Endowments have a minimum gift level of $25,000 and may carry any name the donor chooses.

Tax Benefits of Bequests
Property and assets are subject to an estate tax when a person dies. The tax ranges from 37% to 55% of the value of the estate after certain deductions are subtracted. One of the few deductions which are allowed are those for gifts made through a will to a charitable organization like the University. Thus, depending on the value of the estate and a person’s own financial situation, bequests can result in major tax savings for the estate. Potential donors should consult with their tax accountant as to how a bequest will affect their estate taxes.

Ideally a bequest should be completed only after consultation with both the University and an attorney so that the donor can be sure that the bequest will accomplish the purpose envisioned. For further information on Bequests, please contact Scott Taylor at scott.taylor@alaska.edu or the Development and Advancement Offices: UAA Office of Development UAF Development and Advancement Office, and UAS Development.

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Charitable Remainder Trust

A charitable remainder trust allows you to transfer funds or properties to the Foundation. The Foundation will invest the value of the donation, then the donor becomes a beneficiary of regular payments for a specified time period or for life.
For more information on Charitable Remainder Trust, please contact Scott Taylor at scott.taylor@alaska.edu or the Development and Advancement Offices: UAA Office of Development, UAF Development and Advancement Office, and UAS Development.

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Charitable Gift Annuities

A Charitable Gift Annuity (CGA) enables you to make a gift to the Foundation and receive fixed annual payments for life. The payment amount is based upon the size of the gift and the age of the payment recipient; the older the recipient, the larger the payments. A donor and his or her spouse may both be income recipients. An income tax deduction is allowed for a portion of the gift and some amount of the income payments may be tax free. If the gift made to establish the annuity is comprised of highly appreciated assets (stocks), a portion of the capital gain is not taxed and the remainder is reportable over time. The CGA is similar to a commercial annuity but does not result in as high a stream of payments to the donor.
For more information on Charitable Remainder Trust, please contact Scott Taylor at scott.taylor@alaska.edu or the Development and Advancement Offices: UAA Office of Development, UAF Development and Advancement Office, and UAS Development.

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Gift Designations

Unrestricted: Your unrestricted gift provides the University maximum flexibility in allocating resources to the Universities strategic priorities.

Restricted: Donors may specify purposes for how their donations are spent for scholarships, specific major, program, etc. Since the Foundation currently manages over 1000 individual funds, there’s a good chance the purpose you wish to support already has an established fund. The minimum amount to create a new fund that has a donor-designated purpose is $5000.

Endowments
Endowments at the University of Alaska are managed and invested by the UA Foundation. As approved by the Foundation Board of Trustees, a small portion of each gift received by the Foundation will be used to defray the costs of administering and raising funds for the benefit of the University of Alaska.
1.True Endowment: A true endowment is a gift that has been restricted by the donor and the initial gift is held in perpetuity. It is established with a minimum gift amount (currently $25K). An endowment fund works like a permanent savings account. The amount the donor gives (the "principal") is never spent. Only the earnings are spent for the purposes specified by the donor. The principal is invested as part of the Foundation Consolidated Fund (CF). Each individual endowment fund is always accounted for separately within the CF, which is currently about $213 million. As the principal grows through investment, a portion of these earnings are transferred into a separate "spending" account for the fund and used as specified by the donor to benefit the University.

2.Quasi-Endowment: The University of Alaska Foundation, in consultation with University departments and personnel, may make internal decisions to allocate or designate funds that were originally created as non-endowed funds to quasi-endowments, in order to achieve the institution’s initiatives and to serve the needs of its students.
A quasi-endowment functions in the same manner as a true endowment except that a quasi-endowment is created by the Foundation rather than the external donor.
Who invests the principal?
The Board of Trustees of the Foundation, through its Investment Committee, sets an investment policy for the CF and chooses investment managers to invest the fund. The managers' investment performance is evaluated twice a year by a performance investment firm.

How is the principal invested? The CF is invested in a mix of stocks, bonds, and other investments with the goal of preserving the principal, providing earnings to support the University, and guarding the fund against inflation. Over the past 17 years the CF has earned at an average annual rate of 10% (total return).

How much is available from the Endowment for the University to spend each year?
Distributions from the endowment for use by the University start on July 1 following the year the endowment is created. The amount distributed is determined by a formula which specifies that a portion of the market value of the principal (currently 4.5%) averaged over five years is made available for use over the succeeding year, provided that sufficient earnings have built up in the fund to make such a distribution (the donated principal may never be spent - only its accumulated earnings).
New endowments are phased into this five-year formula year by year. This allows for some funds to be available for use in the early years of the endowment. However, since these new endowments may have been invested for less than a year, or for only one or two years, the pool of accumulated earnings may not be large enough (especially in periods of slow market activity) to allow for a distribution of the full amount called for by the formula. In extreme cases there could be no distribution available at all.
Donors may specify that new endowments make no distributions for a period of years in order to build up the principal and its earnings and thus eliminate this concern.

Gift Purposes

General Support
General Support can be restricted to any campus or department of the University of Alaska system and the funds may often be used to augment state appropriations, to provide travel money, funds for equipment, etc.
Memorials
A gift may be given in memory of a person or an occasion. Gifts can be directed to general support, scholarships or specific project support of the donor’s choice at any campus of the University of Alaska.
Student Support
Scholarships:
Provide financial assistance for tuition and other educational expenses to students attending any campus of the University of Alaska. For a full list of scholarship funds at the University of Alaska Foundation, the full list is available here.

Fellowship: Provides financial support for graduate students to do research. For more information regarding the support for Fellowship, please visit www.alaska.edu/foundation/scholarships.
Faculty Support
Awards: Provide award to University of Alaska faculty for work in his/her field of expertise or to students for work performed or accomplishments reached.

Chair: Provides support for a faculty member’s salary and related expenses, including research, course development and professional conferences. Chairs may be awarded for the entire length of a professor’s tenure. However, most professorships and Chairs have term limits, usually five years, as determined by the chancellor.

Professorships: Provide support for outstanding faculty members for travel, training, equipment, and other support. Can also provide income for a visiting professor to come to a campus of the University of Alaska or for a University of Alaska professor to teach at another university. These professorships will allow the university to benefit from talent that would otherwise be unavailable or to share the expertise of our faculty with another university.

Lectureships Series/Artists in Residence: Provides honoraria and expenses for visiting faculty lectures or performances or for extended residencies of up to one year.


For more information on contributing to existing funds or establishing new funds, please contact Foundation President Mary Rutherford at mary.rutherford@alaska.edu or the Development and Advancement Offices: UAA Office of Development, UAF Development and Advancement Office, and UAS Development.


Capital Uses: Capital support is primarily used for construction or renovation of campus buildings or to purchase a major piece of equipment (telescopes, mass spectrometers, microscopes, etc.)

Capital Uses: Contributions can be made to support projects such as the completion of a survey, the commissioning of a book or piece of campus art, etc.

Tax Benefit of Gifts

Federal Tax Benefits
All gifts to the University of Alaska Foundation are eligible for a tax deduction on a donor’s federal income tax. The level of such a deduction depends on the form of the gift and the donor’s financial situation. A donor should be encouraged to consult their tax attorney regarding tax benefits of his/her donation. At no time should an employee of the University or Foundation offer tax advice or supply tax forms to a donor.

State Tax Benefits
Gifts from corporations who pay certain taxes to the State of Alaska may also qualify for a tax benefit under the