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Leave Your Legacy

There are many ways you can support Northern while supporting yourself and your family.

What are Planned Gifts?

Planning Your Gift

There are many ways to make a gift to MSU-Northern. We’ve organized the information below based on the dollar value to help inform you of your options. We know that every gift and donor is different. Please contact us to talk about your plans and how we can serve your charitable goals.

Gifts up to $10,000

Gifts such as cash, real estate, bequests, IRA rollovers, and more!

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Gifts of $10,000+

Gifts of $10,000 or more qualify to become an Endowment.

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Gifts of $15,000+

Gifts of $15,000 or more qualify to become various types of Annuities.

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Gifts of $25,000+

Gifts of $25,000 or more qualify to become various types of Trusts.

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Gifts up to $10,000

Generally, gifts up to $10,000 come to us in the form of cash, private or public stock and securities, savings bonds, real estate, gifts in kind or personal property, bequests and beneficiaries, life insurance, IRA Rollovers (read more below), and retirement plans.

If you are like most people, you probably will not use all of your retirement assets during your lifetime. You can make a gift of your unused retirement assets to help further our mission. You must be at least age 70 1/2 to qualify.

HOW IT WORKS

  • Contact your IRA plan administrator to make a gift from your IRA to us.
  • Your IRA funds will be directly transferred to our organization to help continue our important work.
  • An IRA charitable rollover gift does not qualify for a charitable deduction.
  • Please contact us if you wish for your gift to be used for a specific purpose.
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BENEFITS

  1. Avoid taxes on transfers of up to $100,000 from your IRA to our organization
  2. Satisfy your required minimum distribution (RMD) for the year
  3. Reduce your taxable income, even if you do not itemize deductions
  4. Make a gift that is not subject to the deduction limits on charitable gifts
  5. Help further the work and mission of our organization

 

MIGHT INTEREST YOU IF:

  1. You want to make a charitable gift and your IRA constitutes the largest share of your available assets
  2. You do not itemize your deductions
  3. You live in a state where retirement plan distributions are taxable on your state income-tax return, but your state does not allow itemized charitable deductions

 

CONTACT US
If you have any questions about an IRA charitable rollover gift, please contact us. We would be happy to assist you and answer any questions you might have.

Many donors can provide more substantial gifts through a bequest than through annual contributions. As a result, bequests are the base of financial support for many of Northern’s needs such as building maintenance, scholarships, and program support. 

HOW IT WORKS

A bequest is one of the easiest gifts to make. With the help of an attorney, you can include language in your will or trust specifying the Foundation as part of your estate plan, or you can make a bequest using a beneficiary designation form.

BENEFITS

  1. Reduce the burden of taxes on your family
  2. Continue to use the donated property during your life
  3. You may change your bequest or trust designation at any time
  4. Exempt from federal estate taxes

MIGHT INTEREST YOU IF:

  • You have a taxable estate, the estate tax charitable deduction may offset or eliminate estate taxes, resulting in a larger inheritance for your heirs.

LET US THANK YOU

If you have included Northern in your estate plans, please let us know. We would like to thank you for your generosity, make sure the purpose of your gift is understood by the University.

CONTACT US
If you have any questions about a creating a bequest, please contact us. We would be happy to assist you and answer any questions you might have.

Roger Pugh Class of '71

Pugh Gives Back

In 2001 I set up my first living trust. Approximately 50% was going to family and the other to the four Universities where I was employed. I treated each college differently, and to Northern (because I am both an Alumnus and spent five years employed there) I committed 20% of my estate. At each of the colleges I set up an agreement where I wanted those dollars to go, in most cases I asked for scholarships to be set up for Student Ambassador’s scholarships. In others I asked the funding to be given as undesignated so the Alumni or Foundation office can use the dollars for daily operations and special projects. Most of the estate dollars will be set up in Endowments so the interest of those dollars will fund programs into the future. As an educator, I am sure when I die it will not be a multi-million gift, but for an old hick kid from Montana, I will feel that I gave something back to those Universities that gave me so much.
Roger Pugh (Class of '71)
MSU-Northern Board of Trustees

Gifts Greater than $10,000

Gifts that are greater than $10,000 qualify to become an Endowment.

Minimum amount to create an endowment: $10,000.

Minimum amount to establish an endowment: $500 (first contribution).

Endowment must hit $10,000 within 5 years.

A 5% service fee will be taken once $10,000 is achieved.

Above criteria takes affect in 2020 and does not apply to existing endowments.

We’ve organized the following information to show the minimum gift amounts necessary to create endowments, annuities, and trusts. For example, if you would like to make a gift valuing $16,500, it could be managed as an annuity or endowment, but it couldn’t be managed as a trust. Similarly, any gift of $25,000 or more can be ‘walked back’ and managed as any of the options mentioned previously. 

Gifts Greater than $15,000

Gifts that are greater than $15,000 qualify to become a Charitable Gift Annuity or a Deferred Charitable Gift Annuity. Both of these options require that the donor be 65 or older to begin receiving payouts.

HOW IT WORKS
In exchange for a gift, the Foundation agrees by contract to pay a fixed amount each year to one or two beneficiaries (the annuitants) for life.

The amount of the annuity payment will depend on the ages of the annuitants and the value of the assets donated. The Foundation offers the rates that are suggested by the American Council on Gift Annuities, a national organization. Upon establishing a charitable gift annuity, you are entitled to a current income tax deduction for a portion of the value of the assets given to fund the charitable gift annuity

BENEFITS

  1. Receive fixed annual payments for life
  2. Possibly receive tax-free income
  3. Diversify some of your portfolio to produce a fixed income for you, backed by the Foundation’s assets
  4. Federal, and possible state, income tax charitable deduction
  5. Reduce or eliminate estate taxes
  6. Make a gift to Northern

MIGHT INTEREST YOU IF:

  1. Want to receive a fixed income annually for life
  2. Have assets that you are able to give away. Assets that work especially well include:
    • Cash or funds earning low interest rates
    • Appreciated securities
  3. Have a large part of your portfolio in one company and want to diversify your investments
  4. Want to reduce your current income taxes with an income tax charitable deduction

QUICK FACTS

  • Minimum Initial Amount to establish a new Fund: $15,000
  • Minimum age of Annuitant at age to start payment: 65

CONTACT US
If you have any questions about an charitable gift annuity, please contact us. We would be happy to assist you and answer any questions you might have.

HOW IT WORKS
In exchange for a gift, the Foundation agrees by contract to pay a fixed amount each year to one or two beneficiaries (the annuitants) for life. Payments begin after a minimum of 5 years of setting up the annuity.

The amount of the annuity payment will depend on the ages of the annuitants and the value of the assets donated. The Foundation offers the rates that are suggested by the American Council on Gift Annuities, a national organization. Upon establishing a charitable gift annuity, you are entitled to a current income tax deduction for a portion of the value of the assets given to fund the charitable gift annuity

BENEFITS

  1. Receive fixed annual payments for life
  2. Possibly receive tax-free income
  3. Diversify some of your portfolio to produce a fixed income for you, backed by the Foundation’s assets
  4. Federal, and possible state, income tax charitable deduction
  5. Reduce or eliminate estate taxes
  6. Make a gift to Northern

MIGHT INTEREST YOU IF:

  1. Want to receive a fixed income annually for life
  2. Have assets that you are able to give away. Assets that work especially well include:
    • Cash or funds earning low interest rates
    • Appreciated securities
  3. Have a large part of your portfolio in one company and want to diversify your investments
  4. Want to reduce your current income taxes with an income tax charitable deduction

QUICK FACTS

  • Minimum Initial Amount to establish a new Fund: $1,000
  • Minimum age of Annuitant at age to start payment: 65
  • Minimum number of years to defer start of payments: 5 years

CONTACT US
If you have any questions about an charitable gift annuity, please contact us. We would be happy to assist you and answer any questions you might have.

Gifts Greater than $25,000

Gifts that are greater than $25,000 qualify to be managed as a Charitable Remainder Annuity Trust or Unitrust, or for a Sale and Unitrust. 

Gifts that are $50,000 or more qualify to be managed as Charitable Lead Trusts.

HOW IT WORKS
You can establish a charitable remainder annuity trust by irrevocably transferring assets to a trustee, who then makes fixed annual payments to you and/or other beneficiaries. At the end of the trust term, the assets remaining in the trust are distributed to Northern for the purpose you designate. The Foundation serves as trustee of many charitable remainder annuity trusts.

BENEFITS

  1. Receive fixed annual payments
  2. Pay no immediate capital gains tax on the transfer of appreciated assets
  3. Federal, and possible state, income tax charitable deduction
  4. Reduce or eliminate estate taxes
  5. Make a gift to Northern


MIGHT INTEREST YOU IF:

  1. Want to receive fixed annual payments for life
  2. Have assets that you are able to give away. Assets that work especially well include:
    • Cash or funds earning low interest rates
    • Appreciated securities
  3. Have a large part of your portfolio in one company and want to diversify your investments
  4. Would like to have a charitable remainder annuity trust managed by the Foundation
  5. Want to reduce your current income taxes with an income tax charitable deduction


QUICK FACTS:

  • Minimum Trust Amount: $25,000
  • Minimum Age of Life Income Recipient: 65
  • Maximum Number of Lives: Two
  • Maximum Number of Income Recipients: Eight
  • Maximum Payout Rate: 7.5%


CONTACT US
If you have any questions about an charitable remainder annuity trust, please contact us. We would be happy to assist you and answer any questions you might have.

HOW IT WORKS
You can establish a charitable remainder unitrust by irrevocably transferring assets to a trustee, who then invests the trust’s assets and pays you and/or other beneficiaries an annual variable income. At the end of the trust term, the assets remaining in the trust are distributed to the Foundation for the purpose you designate.

BENEFITS

  1. Variable income, based on a percentage of the fair market value of the trust assets, revalued each year
  2. Federal, and possible state, income tax charitable deduction
  3. Pay no immediate capital gains tax on the transfer of appreciated assets
  4. Reduce or eliminate estate taxes
  5. Diversify your investments
  6. Make a gift to Northern

MIGHT INTEREST YOU IF:

  1. Want to receive an income for life, based on a percentage of the fair market value of the trust investments, revalued each year
  2. Have assets that you are able to give away. Assets that work especially well include:
    -Cash or funds earning low interest rates
    -Appreciated securities
    -Appreciated real estate, including a vacation home or investment property
    -Your personal residence if you are planning a move
  3. Have a large part of your portfolio in one company and want to diversify your investments
  4. Would like to have a charitable remainder unitrust managed by the Northern Alumni Foundation
  5. Want to reduce your current income taxes with an income tax charitable deduction
  1.  

QUICK FACTS

  • Minimum Trust Amount: $25,000
  • Minimum Age of Life Income Recipient: 65
  • Maximum Number of Lives: Two
  • Maximum Number of Income Recipients: Eight
  • Maximum Payout Rate: 7%

 

CONTACT US
If you have any questions about an charitable remainder unitrust, please contact us. We would be happy to assist you and answer any questions you might have.

HOW IT WORKS
You irrevocably transfer assets to a charitable lead trust. The trustee makes an annual distribution from the trust to Northern for a set number of years. When the trust terminates, the assets in the trust are distributed to your heirs or others that you designate. The Foundation can serve as trustee of charitable lead trusts.

BENEFITS

  1. Pass assets to your heirs at low (or no) estate and gift taxes
  2. Make annual gifts to Northern
  3. No charitable income-tax deduction, but donor not taxed on annual income of the trust

MIGHT INTEREST YOU IF:

  1. Have a large estate that would be subject to gift and estate tax
  2. Want to pass assets to children or other heirs at a low gift or estate tax cost
  3. Own a valuable asset that you want to keep in the family, you expect will appreciate in value, and that currently produces income
  4. Own securities or cash that you would want invested for growth so that wealth can be passed on to your children or other heirs in the future
  5. Would like to have a charitable lead trust managed by the Northern Alumni Foundation

QUICK FACTS:

  • Minimum Trust Amount: $50,000
  • Minimum of Annual Annuity Percentage Required to be paid to the Foundation: 51%
  • Maximum Term: 20 Years

CONTACT US
If you have any questions about a charitable lead trust, please contact us. We would be happy to assist you and answer any questions you might have.

This type of gift arrangement allows you to direct gifts to Northern for a specified period of time and, in turn, receive a reduction in gift or estate taxes on property you wish to pass to heirs.

HOW IT WORKS

  • You give a portion of your asset
  • The asset is sold, you receive cash and the rest goes to fund your charitable trust
  • The trust will provide you with income for the rest of your life
  • You receive a charitable deduction this year to offset your tax on the sale
  • Remainder goes to support Northern


BENEFITS

  1. The unitrust provides you with income for the rest of your life
  2. No capital-gain tax when trust is established; property is sold by the trust
  3. When you pass away, the remaining value in the unitrust will support Northern


MIGHT INTEREST YOU IF:

  1. You’ve recently sold a piece of appreciated property and are wanting to save on capital gains taxes
  2. You want funds to purchase another residence, save for retirement or assist with your daily needs


QUICK FACTS:

  • Minimum Trust Amount: $25,000
  • Minimum Age of Life Income Recipient: 65
  • Maximum Number of Lives: Two
  • Maximum Number of Income Recipients: Eight
  • Maximum Payout Rate: 7%


CONTACT US
If you have any questions about a Sale and Unitrust, please contact us. We would be happy to assist you and answer any questions you might have.

Every Gift is Unique

Let us help you plan your gift to Northern. Call, email, or drop by our office to discuss your options.

Contact us

We are open Monday – Friday, 8am – 5pm. 
(406) 265-3711
alumni@msun.edu