No Rest for the Driven
April 18, 2021
Becoming the Hunter
April 22, 2021
PHILANTHROPY—AN AMERICAN TRADITION, AN AMERICAN LEGACY
“Philanthropy, charity, giving voluntarily and freely … call it what you like, but it is truly a jewel of an American tradition.” John F. Kennedy
Individuals, bequests, foundations, and corporations contributed nearly $450 billion to US charities in 2019—the most recent year for which data are currently available—placing it among the highest years ever for charitable giving, according to Giving USA. Individuals remained the largest source of giving at 69 percent of all contributions. Among the nine charitable subsectors, education represented the second-largest beneficiary, after religion.
MANY REASONS … WHY GIVE TO AMERICAN INTERNTIONAL COLLEGE?
“The meaning of life is to find your gift. The purpose of life is to give it away.” Pablo Picasso
In 1885, the founders of American International College understood that a college education was an effective means of achieving economic and social mobility in American society, and they wanted to form a college that would provide an excellent educational preparation to enable its graduates to attain lifelong satisfaction and success.
That mission stands and is as relevant and prevalent today as it was 136 years ago. It is our belief in the mission that inspires us to give.
AIC’s commitment to providing opportunities for students who might otherwise not be able to pursue a college education has been resolute. Proudly educating demographically diverse students over the past thirteen-plus decades, nearly half of today’s AIC students are first-generation, as was also the case for many preceding graduates. AIC’s proportion of students of color is significant, with approximately half of undergraduates identifying themselves as non-white. The College continues to be the right place at the right time for all its students.
These students often come to AIC with more challenges than students whose parents, grandparents, and guardians experienced higher education themselves. Nearly all undergraduate students receive financial aid from the College and roughly half are Pell-eligible, meaning they receive federal grants based on clear financial need. Despite these resources, some students still struggle to pay for their education and graduate in a timely manner.
Many AIC students remain employed while pursuing and completing their degrees. Privately funded scholarships help lessen the number of hours AIC students need to work to pay for college, provide them increased opportunities to take advantage of the full experience the College offers, and reduce their indebtedness upon graduation.
The upward mobility of many of the College’s graduates and their individual and collective impact and successes demonstrate that AIC transforms the lives of students of all races, ethnicities, and socioeconomic backgrounds. Charitable gifts to AIC are investments with guaranteed returns. AIC students succeed.
MANY CHOICES … GIVING TO AIC CAN TAKE MANY FORMS AND CARRY MANY BENEFITS, NOT THE LEAST OF WHICH IS KNOWING YOU WILL BE MAKING A DIFFERENCE IN THE LIVES OF THOSE YOU MAY NEVER MEET.
“When we cast our bread upon the waters we can presume that someone downstream whose face we will never know will benefit from our action, as we who are downstream from another will profit from the grantor’s gift.” Maya Angelou
While tax benefits can have little or even nothing to do with a donor’s decision to give, such benefits can be among those considerations influencing decisions on how much to give, to what beneficiaries, in what ways, and at what times. Additionally, many charitable giving opportunities include important financial benefits for donors and their families while also supporting the College.
Philanthropic commitments can be structured and fulfilled through a variety of charitable giving vehicles and planned gift arrangements, including the following opportunities:
- Gifts of APPRECIATED STOCK or other marketable securities remove taxable assets from the estate, help avoid taxes on capital gains, and can provide the donor with increased flexibility to make larger gifts.
- An IRA CHARITABLE ROLLOVER enables donors age seventy and a half or older to transfer up to $100,000 directly from their IRAs to the College without having the transfer count toward their taxable income in that year. For married couples filing jointly, each spouse can transfer up to $100,000 from their IRAs.
- Naming AIC as a partial or whole successor BENEFICIARY IN RETIREMENT PLAN ASSETS SUCH AS AN IRA, 401(K), OR 403(B) can result in charitable donations that minimize the amount of income taxes imposed on both individual heirs and the estate.
- Many companies offer their employees (and even spouses and/or retirees) MATCHING GIFT opportunities that can extend the impact of their individual gifts to AIC.
- A BEQUEST provision in a will allows a donor to make a gift to AIC that may not have been possible during their lifetime. Provisions can include assets such as cash, securities, bonds, real estate, and/or personal property.
- CHARITABLE REMAINDER TRUSTS pay income to the donor and/or others for life or a term of years, with the remaining assets benefitting AIC.
- CHARITABLE LEAD TRUSTS make payments to the College for a set term, with the remaining assets distributed to non-charitable beneficiaries such as family members. Trusts can help reduce gift and estate taxes, lower income tax liability, and avoid or defer capital gains tax, among other benefits, depending on the type of trust.
- Donors can give old or new LIFE INSURANCE policies with the College as beneficiary and owner. Individuals can donate a fully paid policy they no longer need or take out a new policy.
As always, donors are both advised and encouraged to discuss any options and objectives with their own financial, legal, and tax advisors, as mitigating circumstances and tax laws impacting charitable contributions can vary. For example, the CARES Act provided taxpayers taking the standard deduction with an additional above-the-line federal income tax deduction of $300 for qualified charitable donations starting in 2020.
For those taking the standard deduction, the $300 above-the-line deduction has been extended to the 2021 tax year for single filers and has increased to $600 on a joint return. As in 2020, these deductions apply to qualified cash contributions and not to cash contributions made to private foundations, donor-advised funds or supporting organizations, or to split-interest trusts such as charitable remainder and charitable lead trusts.
MANY REASONS, MANY CHOICES, ONLY ONE DECISION
AIC needs your support. AIC deserves your support. Your support has consequences.
There are at least as many reasons to give to American International College as the 2,400 undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral students currently enrolled. And yet, fewer than 10 percent of alumni give to the College each year. We are confident that this is no reflection on how most graduates feel about AIC and their college education and experiences.
When alumni give to or through AIC, they are expressing their gratitude and declaring a vote of confidence in their alma mater. Some that give are motivated by giving back to the people and place that helped prepare them to lead productive and satisfying lives and to make a difference in their communities. For others, it is about giving through the College as those alumni following in their footsteps make their own mark and leave their own legacies.
There are many reasons and many choices— but only one decision—to give to American International College.
Thank you for your dedication and support!
To make your gift, please visit www.aic.edu/donate or call the Office of Institutional Advancement at 413.205.3520.
