Ways to Give

As you think about your charitable giving, we hope you will consider the following options:

An unrestricted gift is the most flexible kind of gift because it allows the College to apply financial resources where they are needed most.

Restricted gifts are earmarked toward one or more specific goals. Donors may target their contributions in ways that reflect their interests while also addressing important College needs.

Gifts intended to be perpetual whereby the principal is invested and remains intact, and only a portion of the annual earnings is used for general or specific purposes. Endowment earnings are available year after year, regardless of economic fluctuations.

Making an outright gift to the Dharmakirti College is often the easiest for a donor to make, plus provides the most immediate benefit to the College. These are mostly gifts of cash or publicly traded securities and, generally, qualify for tax deductions.

Cash gifts are an easy way to give as well as fulfill philanthropic goals. Cash gifts of any size make an immediate impact on the donor's designated program of choice.

Check or credit card pledges allow donors to make ambitious commitments over a period of months or years, thereby gaining flexibility in scheduling payments.

Donors can make gifts to the College using marketable securities including stocks and bonds. These assets are a win-win opportunity for donors and the College under current tax laws. They provide an immediate benefit to the College, a current income tax savings for the donor, and are easily transferred to the College. A gift of marketable securities entitle the donor to take a charitable deduction for the full fair market value of the security held longer than one year. Usually, this avoids paying capital gains tax that would otherwise be due if the donor sold the securities.

Planned giving enables donors to help others during and beyond their lifetime. By including specific language in a will or trust naming Dharmakirti College as the recipient of a gift, donors help ensure the future of the College's services and programs in the community, and can further their financial goals.

Planned gifts are often structured to provide income to the donor, family members, or friends for life or a term of years. They take many forms including charitable gift annuities, charitable remainder trusts, life estate agreements, and property. The choice depends on the donor's particular situation, financial goals, and philanthropic objectives.

A planned gift is more than a financial investment. It is an investment that will transform and enrich the lives of those around you. Your planned gift to the College will have a lasting, positive impact on Dharmakirti College- and just as importantly, will give you the satisfaction of having done so.

Donors are encouraged to structure a gift as a perpetual endowment so that the College can distribute an ongoing portion of the annual earnings to their specific interest at Dharmakirti College.

A gift of a life insurance policy can be a way to combine charitable objectives with tax advantages for donors.

Donors may receive an income tax deduction by naming Dharmakirti College as an partial beneficiary or owner of a life insurance policy. If a donor continues to make premium payments after making the gift, those payments may also be deductible. The amount of the deduction depends on the type of policy gifted. An irrevocable gift of life insurance may be appropriate when the policy becomes unnecessary either from the growth of the donor's assets or the reduced needs of their dependents.

Because the tax laws regarding gifts of life insurance policies are complex, please contact your attorney, financial adviser, or tax professional to determine an option best suited to your individual goals.

Real estate includes homes, commercial buildings, farmland, cabins, and other property. Gifts of real estate can be very helpful to the College while providing donors with substantial benefits, as well. Even if the value of the property is more than a donor wishes to give (or deduct) in any given year, a portion of it may still be used to make a gift. The College reviews each potential gift of real estate before accepting the gift.

Almost anything of value - furniture, tankas, dharma books - can be used to make a gift to the College. Consult your attorney or financial advisor about how to use these properties as charitable gifts to the College.

Many companies match employee contributions to charitable causes. Matching gifts are an additional contribution over and above a donor's personal gift or pledge. A dollar-for-dollar match is common, and some companies donate a two-to-one ratio or more for every dollar an employee contributes. To learn about your employers policies contact the human resources office at your workplace.

Colleges created by families, corporations, or organizations can partner with the Dharmakirti College to bolster their mission and direct resources to best meet community needs. Supporting Dharmakirti's educational programs is an effective way to create lasting change by enhancing individual opportunity through education and improving the quality of life in the community.

Dharmakirti College welcomes gifts of up-to-date electronic equipment, multimedia equipment, software, computers, building supplies, office supplies etc., which can be put to good use by the college. Donors should contact the College to learn whether the proposed non-cash contribution would be appropriate for the College. Timely acknowledgement will be made by the College describing the gift. The donor, however, is responsible for verifying the value of non-cash property.

In honor of gifts of a certain level, Dharmakirti College honors the donor's generosity with opportunities to name a particular buidling or program on their behalf. The dedicated name may be the donor's, a family member's, or another person the donor wishes to honor with a lasting legacy.

There are certain restrictions on distributions from retirement plans that are not present in distributions from an IRA. All retirement plan assets may be rolled over into an IRA after a person retires or leaves employment with a given organization.

When retirement assets are held in an IRA, they are an excellent source of money for donors to make outright gifts to the College. While the money withdrawn from an IRA is fully taxable, if that money is gifted to Dharmakirti College, the donor could receive a tax deduction for up to the total amount of the gift.

Possible tax consequences of gifting from an IRA can be minimal and the gratification of seeing a favorite project at the College immediately funded can compensate for taxes owed.

Dharmakirti College is registered as a nonprofit organization with the Corporation Commission of the State of Arizona and is a tax-exempt organization under section 501(c)(3) of the U.S. Internal Revenue Service Code. Your contributions are tax deductible to the extent allowed by law.