Ways of Giving
A financial donation to the Michigan Center for Translational Pathology can be made in a variety of methods – direct gifts, bequests, annuities, stocks, trusts and more. Your gift can be in your name, your family’s name, or in honor or memory of someone special to you. There are many donation options that offer tax deductions, and our development staff is available to assist you in exploring your best option of giving. However you choose to give, your contribution is a commitment to furthering MCTP's research and patient care goals.
Honor or Memorialize Someone Important to You
Honoring the memory of someone dear can be achieved with a gift in their name to the Michigan Center for Translational Pathology. By making a donation in honor or memory of someone important in your life, you pay tribute to that person while helping others. Whether you donate online or through the mail, you will have the opportunity to let us know the name of the person you wish to honor or memorialize. We will notify the individual or the person's family of your gift.
Gift of Cash
The easiest and most frequently made gift to the Michigan Center for Translational Pathology is a cash gift, which can be in the form of a personal check, credit card authorization, money order or bank draft, made payable to the University of Michigan. A cash gift can be used immediately to further the goals of medicine at Michigan and provides an immediate charitable deduction against your federal, and in some cases, state income taxes.
A substantial cash gift can also be made with pledge payments over a period as long as five years.
Gift of Appreciated Securities, Real Estate or Personal Property
Gifts of appreciated securities, real estate and certain items of personal property, such as valuable works of art or items related to the history of medicine, are welcomed. Stocks, bonds or mutual fund shares that have increased in value over time can be an excellent means of benefiting an institution about which you care deeply. By making such a gift, you gain an income tax deduction based on the current value of the appreciated securities and you avoid capital gains taxes.
Bequest
A charitable bequest is a simple and popular way you - and countless people of all financial means - can support organizations you care about. A bequest is a transfer by will of property such as cash, securities or tangible property to an individual or charitable organization.
For many donors, a bequest offers the opportunity to make a more substantial gift than would be possible during their lifetimes. Other donors view a bequest as an opportunity to round out a lifetime of giving with a lasting legacy to the Michigan Center for Translational Pathology. Because of the tax advantages associated with a bequest to a charitable institution, assets from your estate that would otherwise go directly to government treasuries can instead be given to the Michigan Center for Translational Pathology Charitable Gift Annuity.
Charitable Gift Annuity
A charitable gift annuity is ideally suited for the person who would like to make a gift to benefit a charitable institution about which he or she cares deeply while also receiving fixed income for life. These annuities may be used by individuals of all ages, and also can be a welcome supplement to retirement income. Payment rates are based on the age of the annuitants. A minimum of $10,000 is required to establish a charitable gift annuity to benefit the Michigan Center for Translational Pathology.
A charitable gift annuity helps you meet your philanthropic goals while providing guaranteed income by offering:
- An immediate income tax deduction and the possibility of avoiding capital gains tax
- A lifetime stream of fixed income for you and, if you choose, a loved one
- Annuity rates that may be higher than some other investment returns
- The assurance that your annuity will eventually become a significant gift to Michigan Center for Translational Pathology to be used according to your wishes
Charitable Remainder Trust
A charitable remainder trust allows you to transfer assets into an individually structured trust that provides you and/or your beneficiaries with payments for life or a term of years. Appreciated assets that you donate to a charitable remainder trust can be sold without capital gains tax, so the entire sale’s proceeds can be reinvested for the trust’s benefit.
Charitable remainder trusts provide you with:
- Regular, often increased, cash flow
- Favorable capital gains tax treatment on the appreciated assets you used to fund the trust
- A current charitable income tax deduction
- Estate tax savings
Charitable Lead Trust
A lead trust is an arrangement that provides annual gift income from the lead trust assets to a charitable institution, such as the Michigan Center for Translational Pathology, over a period of years. At the end of the period of years, the remaining lead trust assets are given to non-charitable beneficiaries, usually children or grandchildren. Lead trusts are particularly appropriate for assets that are likely to appreciate substantially over the life of the trust (typically 10-20 years).
A lead trust is particularly beneficial if the assets have great appreciation potential. Many people have used these trusts to pass very valuable properties to children and to grandchildren at little or no tax cost.
Leaving Retirement Assets
Your Individual Retirement Account (IRA) or other retirement plans—401(k)s, 403(b)s, profit-sharing and money purchase plans—make wonderful gifts if you name the Michigan Center for Translational Pathology as a beneficiary of assets after your lifetime. Retirement accounts are often subject to income taxes and estate taxes at a combined marginal rate that can be 75 percent or higher. With careful planning, many of these taxes can be reduced or even avoided while making a significant charitable gift.
Gifts-in-Kind
Gifts-in-kind are gifts of tangible or intangible personal property (other than gifts of cash or investment securities) that are deductible under federal tax law. Examples of in-kind donations are gifts of professional services, material goods, equipment and supplies, automobiles, inventory, patents and royalties.
Professorships and Related Endowments
A gift to the Michigan Center for Translational Pathology to establish an endowment for a named professorship provides income to MCTP in perpetuity. Such a gift is a wonderful way to ensure the Medical School’s continued excellence and stature for many years into the future. It is a meaningful way to have your name, or that of another family member, friend, or perhaps former teacher or mentor, associated in perpetuity with the University of Michigan Medical School.
