Increase the value of your annual gift through your employer’s matching gift program. Check with your human resources or employee benefits office to find out if your company will match your gift. You may also qualify under the matching gift program of a company from which you retired, at which your spouse works or from which he/she has retired, or on whose board you serve. There are also some foundations and associations that provide matching funds.

Honorary gifts recognize special individuals, anniversaries or events. Memorial gifts recognize lifetime accomplishments of individuals who have passed away. Honorary or memorial gifts can be unrestricted or designated for use in the College or the Illinois Eye Institute. Gifts are recognized with a card sent to the honoree or family of the memorialized individual.

A gift of tangible personal property is commonly thought of as an asset that can be touched and moved. Examples of tangible personal property include artwork, jewelry, collections, automobiles, furniture, rare coins and antiques etc and such a gift can generate a charitable tax deduction.

However, a gift of tangible personal property is subject to certain Internal Revenue Service rules regarding the charitable deduction. Specifically, the IRS has ruled that donated tangible personal property must be put to a use "related" to the purpose or mission of the organization. A related purpose, or use, of a personal property gift must exist in order that the full fair market value of the asset is a charitable deduction. Otherwise, the charitable deduction is limited to the cost basis of the asset.

Some examples of tangible personal property that could have a related use to ICO, if given as a gift, are:
1. Computers; software
2. Books related to course work at the College
3. Optometric equipment
4. Eyewear
5. Patents and copyrights

Delivery
The delivery date, or date of the gift, is the date the tangible personal property is received by the College.

Valuation for Charitable Deduction
If a donor claims a charitable deduction of more than $500 for the contribution of tangible personal property, then Part I of IRS Form 8283 must be completed.

If a donor claims a charitable deduction of more than $5,000 for the contribution of tangible personal property, then the donor is required to have a qualified appraisal dated within 60 days of the donation and reported in Part B of the IRS Form 8283. The donor, according to IRS guidelines, must pay the appraisal fee.

A properly timed charitable real estate gift will allow a donor to enjoy added benefits created by incentives in the tax system.

Gifts of real estate which are held long term (i.e., longer than one year) are generally tax deductible at full fair market value, with no tax on the appreciation above original cost.

Gifts of appreciated real estate such as undeveloped land, farms, or personal residences may be transferred by deed to the Illinois College of Optometry with no liability for income or estate taxes on the appreciation. For this reason, it may make sense to make contributions of real estate where the current market value of the gift may be significantly greater than its original cost. It is a wonderful way to make a significant impact on the College’s outstanding students and academic programs.

If the market value of the contributed real estate exceeds $5,000, an income tax charitable deduction will not be allowed unless the donor complies with IRS "qualified appraisal" requirements.

A qualified appraisal can be done any time from 60 days before the donation, up until the due date (including extensions) for the return, on which the donor reports or claims the gift. The appraisal fee will be the obligation of the donor, who can deduct the cost of the appraisal as an IRS, Sec. 212(3) deduction, not as a charitable deduction under the IRS, Sec. 170.

A gift of life insurance can be an ideal and cost-effective way for you to do something today that can have a tremendous impact tomorrow. Many alumni and friends of the Illinois College of Optometry have made significant financial commitments to the institution by using life insurance as a sensible and affordable way of giving.

A gift of life insurance can be an ideal and cost-effective way for you to do something today that can have a tremendous impact tomorrow. Many alumni and friends of the Illinois College of Optometry have made significant financial commitments to the institution by using life insurance as a sensible and affordable way of giving.

The college welcomes gifts of common stock or other publicly traded securities. Substantial tax benefits are realized by transferring appreciated securities held long-term (owned by the donor for more than one year prior to the gift) to the Illinois College of Optometry. By making such a gift, the donor is entitled to a federal income tax deduction for the full fair market value of the security, subject to applicable limitations. By contributing the security instead of selling it outright and contributing the proceeds of the sale, the donor avoids capital gains tax liability. This means you receive a double tax benefit.

It’s easy to make a gift of securities. There are three methods to transfer the stock:

1. If the certificates are held in a brokerage account, simply ask your broker to contact our office for instructions on making the transfer.
2. If you have the stock certificates in your possession, send the unendorsed stock certificates by registered mail to our office. Enclose a cover letter outlining the purpose of your gift, along with a description of the issues and the number of shares and certificates. In a separate mailing, send signed “stock power” forms for each certificate with the name of the issue filled in and the signature guaranteed by a broker or officer of a national bank. We can sell the stock more readily if you sign a blank stock power without filling in our name.
3. Lastly, you can hand-deliver securities to the Illinois College of Optometry’s Office of Institutional Advancement.

The charitable gift annuity is a gift with a retained income. It is an appropriate answer to those donors who wish to make a meaningful contribution to the College while creating, maintaining or enhancing an income stream for their own economic security

Simply, it is a legal agreement between an individual(s) and the Illinois College of Optometry in which the donor gives money or securities, and in return, the College agrees to pay the donor a fixed income for life. The amount of income received is determined by the value of the gift and the annuity rate. The annuity rate is determined by the donor's age at the time the gift is made.

A charitable remainder unitrust is a gift plan defined by federal tax law that allows you to provide income to yourself or others while making a gift to the College. The income may continue for the lifetimes of the beneficiaries you name, a fixed term of not more than 20 years, or a combination of the two.

As a unitrust donor, you irrevocably transfer assets, usually cash, securities, or real estate, to a trustee of your choice. During the unitrust's term, the trustee invests the unitrust's assets. Each year, the trustee distributes a fixed percentage of the unitrust's current value, as revalued annually, to your income beneficiaries. If the unitrust's value goes up from one year to the next, its payout increases proportionately. Likewise, if the unitrust's value goes down, the amount it distributes also goes down. For this reason, it may be to your advantage to choose a relatively low payout percentage so that the unitrust assets can grow, which in turn will allow the unitrust's yearly payments to grow.

Payments must be between 5% and 50% of the trust's annual value and are made out of trust income, or trust principal if income is not adequate. Payments may be made annually, semiannually, or quarterly.

When the unitrust term ends, the unitrust's principal passes to Illinois College of Optometry to be used for the purpose you designate. You may add funds to your unitrust whenever you like.

Benefits include:

1. You will qualify for a federal income tax deduction.  Note that deductions for gifts of long-term appreciated property will be limited to 30% of your adjusted gross income and gifts of cash and non-appreciated property will be limited to 50% of your adjusted gross income.  You may, if necessary, take unused deductions of either kind over the next five years, subject to the same 30% or 50% limitation.
2. The income beneficiaries you name will receive annual income for life or for the period you designate.
3. If you fund the trust with an appreciated asset and the trust sells it, there will be no immediate tax on the capital gain.  If you were to sell such an asset yourself, you would owe tax on all the capital gain realized in the sale.
4. Your estate may enjoy reduced probate costs and estate taxes.
5. You will provide generous support to the Illinois College of Optometry.

You may make a gift of cash, securities, real estate or other assets by remembering the College in your will. This can be an important consideration of those whose estates might otherwise be subject to higher estate tax rates. With a gift through your will or living trust, you retain full use of your gift property during your life.

Types of charitable bequests include:

General Bequest
The most familiar type of bequest is the general bequest, which specifies that ICO will receive a designated sum.  For example, you might make a general bequest of $10,000. You may prefer this arrangement because it is considered a primary charge against your estate, which means it will almost certainly be fulfilled.

Percentage Bequest
This is an excellent alternative to the general bequest. The percentage bequest states that ICO will receive a certain predetermined percentage of your estate. By making a percentage bequest of 10%, for example, you assure yourself that inflation will not reduce the true value of the bequest you intended for our benefit.

Specific Bequest
When making a specific bequest, you are directing that one particular property be transferred to ICO, such as a certain piece of real estate, the stock from one specific company or some other specific property. This type of bequest is ideal for individuals wishing to give particular stocks or a valuable art object.

Residuary Bequest
This bequest directs that ICO receive either everything remaining in your estate or a designated percentage of your estate after all necessary costs, all general bequests, and all specific bequests are satisfied. This type of bequest allows you the flexibility of making several primary bequests while still giving you the assurance that ICO will be a secondary beneficiary of your estate. But the residuary bequest has the drawback of uncertainty. ICO would receive only as much, or as little, as is left after all primary obligations are satisfied.

Contingent Bequest
As the name implies, this bequest is "contingent" on some event.  Usually, you might make a primary bequest for a relative, with the contingency that if that relative is not living at the time of your death, the bequest would pass to ICO.  The contingent bequest is often used in the case of a husband or wife who stipulates that if his or her spouse is not living at the time of his or her death, then the bequest specified for the spouse will pass to a contingent charitable beneficiary.