Giving to Worcester State

Restricted and unrestricted gifts made by cash, check, or credit card are the most common and straightforward way for donors and Worcester State. Generally tax-deductible in the year it is made, your cash gift can be put to work immediately. You can mail your check to:

Worcester State Foundation
PO Box 20248
Worcester, MA 01602

If you have any questions, please call 508-929-8141 or advancement@worcester.edu.

INSTRUCTIONS FOR MAKING A GIFT OF STOCK

There are two methods of making a gift of stock:

1. An electronic transfer to our brokerage account at Fidelity Investments.

DTC#: 0226

Clearing Agent: Fidelity Investments

Account #: 676-060646

Account Name: Worcester State Foundation, Inc.

Tax ID #: 22-3248067

Your broker should wire the stock to our account (as opposed to selling it first and sending us the proceeds) and then send an email to ltaylor1@worcester.edu to indicate that the transfer of shares has been initiated. The email should include the following information:

(Donor’s name) has just made a gift of (# of shares) of (Name of Stock) effective (date of transfer) to the Worcester State Foundation account at Fidelity Investments.

If there are any questions, please call or email Tom McNamara or Louise Taylor at Worcester State University 508-929-8033 or email tmcnamara@worcester.edu or ltaylor1@worcester.edu, and they will coordinate with Fidelity.

2. Send the certificate by mail to The Worcester State Foundation. Today, the more common method is electronic transfer. To complete this transfer, your stockbroker will also need the information listed above including the name, amount, and donor information relative to the gift. You will receive credit for the donation and an IRS tax deduction of the mean value of the stock (average between the high and low) of the day it was transferred.

If you have a stock certificate, please contact us, and we will make arrangements to have you send us the certificate. Please do not mail stock certificates without our prior knowledge.

Thank you for your support of Worcester State University!

Gifts of property made without restriction as to resale are generally accepted by Worcester State. Under tax laws, gifts of real and tangible property (including jewelry, art, antiques, gold, historical documents, and equipment) deemed acceptable by the University and the Worcester State Foundation receive fair market value.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.

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

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 that retains income for a period of time (usually lifetime), after which the Worcester State Foundation 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 about your planned giving options, please visit our planned giving website or contact Louise Taylor, Director of Gift Planning & Scholarships ltaylor1@worcester.edu or 508-929-8033.

This trust arrangement has become a popular generation-skipping trust, and uses the tax status of the Worcester State Foundation to accomplish an important objective. A donor may place assets into a trust for 10 years or more with the income immediately benefiting the University. 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.

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 Worcester State 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 Worcester State. The donor receives an immediate income tax charitable deduction, while helping to secure Worcester State’s future. Two popular vehicles for income producing charitable gifts are Charitable Gift Annuities and Charitable Remainder Trusts.

This can be a vacation home or a principal residence. You may continue to live in the property after giving it to the University and still claim an income tax deduction equal to the present value of the interest given away.

In addition to being the most common form of planned giving, a bequest to Worcester State helps to insure the future of the University 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 University.

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 as a primary or secondary (after your spouse) beneficiary on your retirement plans.

Life insurance is a distinctive vehicle to use in making a planned gift. Naming Worcester State Foundation as a beneficiary assures the donor that an intended amount (or percentage) of money will go to the University. 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.

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.

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. Worcester State 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.