Giving to Bard

Nearly 140 years ago, John Bard founded St. Stephen's College, the predecessor to Bard College. He gave the Chapel of the Holy Innocents and part of his riverside estate, Annandale, to support the new venture. His generous gift provided the site needed to establish an institution devoted to teaching students to foster their own growth and direct their own efforts. John Bard's generosity exemplifies the way that capital and planned gifts enable institutions to grow and respond to their changing needs. To recognize alumni/ae and friends who support Bard's future programs through a planned gift or in their estate plans, the College established the John Bard Society and the Legacy Club. The John Bard Society and the Legacy Club provide new opportunities for the alumni/ae and friends of Bard to help the College thrive in the next century.

Bard established a Pooled Income Fund to offer alumni/ae and friends another opportunity to contribute a meaningful gift to the College. Many donors contribute to the Pooled Income Fund, and each donor receives a pro rata share of the fund's net payout, all of which must be distributed annually. Donors may continue to contribute to the fund, thereby increasing their share of the net income. Once the gift matures, the assets attributable to the donor are removed from the fund and allocated as designed. A gift to the Pooled Income Fund is irrevocable. Cash or marketable securities may be contributed. Gifts of low-yielding securities or appreciated stock can offer a tax-efficient way to make a meaningful gift. Donors receive a charitable income tax deduction in the year in which they contribute to the fund, and those who donate appreciated stock avoid paying the capital gains tax. Bard requests a minimum donation of $5,000 to join the Pooled Income Fund. You may add to or increase your participation at any time with gifts of $1,000 or more. Bard's Pooled Income Fund is managed by State Street Bank in Boston; over the years, the fund's principal has had double-digit growth. As the principal grows, donors receive larger quarterly checks. The payout varies from quarter to quarter, depending upon the fund's performance.

The Charitable Remainder Annuity Trust is an irrevocable gift that provides a specified fixed annual income for the donor or someone he or she designates, for life or for a specific number of years up to twenty. When you establish this trust, you select an annual payout rate, at a fixed dollar amount, and choose a trustee. At the conclusion of the income payments, the principal is distributed to the College.

Another option that provides Bard's friends with a lifetime income, yet at a variable rate, is the Charitable Remainder Unitrust. This type of trust pays an income to a percentage of the value of the principal. Upon creating the trust, you designate the percentage and select a trustee. The trustee revalues the principal each year to determine that year's income. You may make additional contributions to the unitrust, and the investment strategy may vary with your changing financial needs. Both the Charitable Remainder Annuity Trust and the Charitable Remainder Unitrust can increase your capacity to give a larger gift to Bard.

A Charitable Lead Trust is an irrevocable trust that designates Bard College as the income beneficiary for a specified number of years or for a period measured by the named person's life. Upon completion of that period, the trust assets may revert to the donor or pass to persons designated to receive them. In establishing a Charitable Lead Trust, you may choose a unitrust, which pays an annual income equal to a percentage of the value of the principal, or an annuity trust, which pays a fixed dollar amount. You select the percentage or the fixed dollar amount when you create the trust.

The Charitable Gift Annuity, a contract between the donor and Bard College, is an irrevocable arrangement in which the College pays a guaranteed lifetime income to the donor, and, if designated, another annuitant, at a rate based on the age(s) of the annuitant(s). The Charitable Gift Annuity is a way of reducing income taxes since it generates a charitable income tax deduction in the year in which it is created, and a portion of the annual income received by the donor may be tax-free. In addition, assets contributed via the Charitable Gift Annuity usually avoid federal estate taxes. Bard asks for a minimum donation of $10,000 in cash or marketable securities to establish a Charitable Gift Annuity. Individuals receiving payments from the Charitable Gift Annuity must be at least 55 years of age when the payments begin. Those younger than 55 can establish a Deferred Payment Gift Annuity, in which the gift is made and the donors defers receiving income until age 55.

Tax-deferred savings plans such as Individual Retirement Accounts, Keogh Accounts, 401 (k) plans, and others were created as savings tools for retirement, not as inheritance plans. When the plan ends (often at the end of the plan participant's life or that of a spouse), the proceeds are potentially subject to several forms of taxation: income tax, estate tax, and generation-skipping tax (if grandchildren are included in the estate settlement). An estate or inheritance tax may also be added, depending on where the participant lives. If qualified retirement assets remain in the estate, the cumulative effect of these taxes could result in more than 60 percent of the retirement assets being consumed by taxes. By naming Bard College as a plan beneficiary, tax-deferred retirement plans pass directly to the College outside of the estate and are not subject to income or estate taxes. This can be accomplished on a Change of Beneficiary form indicating the amount or percentage of assets to be contributed to Bard. The beneficiary can be changed again at any time.

If you own a life insurance policy and no longer require its protection, you may wish to consider transferring ownership of the policy to Bard College. It is also possible to purchase a new policy and transfer ownership to the College. Either gift will generate a charitable income tax deduction roughly equal to the cash surrender value of the policy on the date of the gift. In addition, any premium payments that are made on behalf of Bard College entitle the donor to additional charitable income tax deductions for the amount of the premiums. An alternative is to name Bard College as beneficiary (but not owner) of a new or existing policy. This would allow revocation of the gift should circumstances change. If completed, the eventual gift to the College would qualify as a federal estate tax deduction. The gift of a life insurance policy may allow you to make a larger donation to Bard than otherwise possible.

A bequest, the most common way for donors to provide for the future of Bard College, offers several advantages.

A donor may be able to make a larger gift than otherwise possible, the estate may save on estate taxes, and the arrangement is revocable, allowing for changes as needed. You may designate a bequest for a specific purpose or leave it unrestricted. An unrestricted bequest provides general support for Bard and allows the College to use the gift where it is most needed at the time. You can make a bequest to Bard College by preparing a new will or revising an existing one. You can provide for the College in your will by:

• Making a specific bequest of cash, securities, or other property by designating an exact dollar amount, a particular asset, or a fixed percentage of your estate.
• Making a bequest of all or portions of your residuary estate after it has provided for all other beneficiaries by specific bequests.
• Making Bard a contingent beneficiary of the estate by stipulating that the College will receive all or a portion of the estate if named beneficiaries do not survive you.
• Making the College the remainder beneficiary of a trust established in the will to provide income plans previously described or a marital trust that pays all income to a spouse for life.

Sample language to include in a will or in a codicil to a will:

For an unrestricted bequest: I give (the sum of ______ dollars) or (all or ______ percent of the residuary of my estate) to Bard College of Annandale-on-Hudson, New York, for its general purposes.

For a restricted bequest: I give (the sum of _____ dollars) or (all or _____ percent of the residuary of my estate) to Bard College of Annandale-on-Hudson, New York, to be used for the following purpose: (state the purpose)

For the bequest of residuary estate: I give (whatever remains) or (_____ percent of whatever remains) of my estate to Bard College of Annandale-on-Hudson, New York, after all specific bequests have been made and all expenses of administering my estate have been paid.

These descriptions provide general information only. For specific information on your personal situation, please consult your legal and financial advisors.