My word for Willamette is...
- Community--WU provided me with many opportunities to be involved in worthwhile and fulfilling community projects. For example, I enjoyed helping other students as a member of residence hall government. Student government also allowed me to participate in significant projects that helped people outside of Willamette.
- —Vincent Pontier '01, M'03
- Balancing--Regardless of the set of skills and lacks one owns when arriving at Willamette, the balance with which a graduate departs, and the tools to re-balance as needed in the face of accelerating change, are a unique gift of the WU experience.
- —Steven Fullmer '78
- Continuation--Great education, inspiring and continuing into later life. Continuing into marriage with a WU athlete (later to become a NY Yankee minor leaguer). Continuing with son's marriage to another WU student. Son to continue as a college prof and Dr. of Criminology--author and scholar. So the WU tradition continues!
- —Esther Manning '36
Stocks, Bonds and Mutual Funds
Gifts of appreciated stocks or bonds often provide more tax advantages than cash gifts because you avoid capital gains tax and you get a market value tax deduction if you have held the securities for more than a year. . Making such a gift is quite simple if you hold the securities in a brokerage account in “street name”, which is typical. (If your securities are held in an IRA or other retirement account, you should not do anything before consulting your financial advisors or Willamette’s Office of Gift Planning.)
Transfering Shares
Simply provide the following information to your broker:
- Brokerage Firm: Salomon Smith Barney
- Account Name: Willamette University
- Account Number: 520-01262-1-6-161
- DTC number: 0418
- Willamette Tax ID: 93-0386972
- Representative: Jim Kniffin (503) 588-5741
Please contact Steve Brier, Director of Gift Planning, at (866) 204-8102 (toll free) or sbrier@willamette.edu, to let Steve know the name of the corporation and the number of shares that your broker is transferring to Willamette. We need this information promptly in order to properly credit your gift and ensure your tax deduction.
Please also contact Steve Brier first if any of the following apply:
- you hold physical stock certificates;
- a plan administrator holds your shares;
- you want to contribute shares in a mutual fund;
- or you or your financial advisors have any questions.
Benefits to Donors
Double Tax Benefits
Gifts of appreciated stocks, bonds and mutual funds you have owned for more than one year can provide the following double tax benefits:
- An income tax charitable deduction equal to the fair market value of the securities on the date of the gift
- Elimination of all or part of the capital gains tax on the securities' appreciation
Despite the recent market downturn, many people hold investments with a sizeable amount of built-in appreciation. You always should consider a gift of appreciated property as a possible alternative to a large cash gift.
Example
The following example illustrates the advantages of a gift of appreciated property instead of a cash gift.
More than a year ago, Pat Bearcat acquired shares of stock in a corporation for an aggregate purchase price of $5,000. The current aggregate value of the shares is $25,000. If Pat makes an outright gift of the shares to Willamette University, Pat would receive an income tax charitable deduction of $25,000, the same as if Pat had made a cash gift of $25,000. However, by gifting the stock instead of cash, Pat also would eliminate capital gains tax on the $20,000 of appreciation in the value of the stock. The value of eliminating capital gains tax can be substantial. Pat could save federal and state taxes in excess of 25% of the stock's appreciation by gifting the stock instead of an equivalent amount of cash (tax savings of more than $5,000 in this example, in addition to the tax savings from the $25,000 income tax charitable deduction).