Cash
Cash gifts include checks, drafts, and money orders. If your gift is mailed to the School before the end of the calendar year and you itemize when doing your taxes, you’re eligible for an income tax deduction for that year. Gifts of cash are deductible for up to 50% of your adjusted gross income. Cash contributions that exceed the deduction limit may be carried over and deducted in the following five tax years.
Payroll Deductions
University of Hawaiʻi employees may also to make gifts via payroll deductions. Please drop off forms directly to the School, or send completed forms to the UH Foundation.
Deferred Giving
By including SOEST in your estate planning, you ensure the future strengthen the School’s academic programming and research activities. Deferred giving, also called planned giving, provides numerous options for you to make a meaningful donation to the program or project of your choice at a future point in time. Among the many deferred giving options are end-of-life bequests, Charitable Gift Annuities and Charitable Remainder Trusts which allow a life income stream for the donor(s), and insurance beneficiary designations. Deferred giving options provide a gift for tomorrow, but often include significant tax advantages for today.
Real Estate
Almost any marketable real estate (home, vacation property, land, rental property, other real estate) may be gifted to the School, provided the property is unencumbered. Real estate accepted outright by the School is immediately sold so the proceeds can benefit the school’s students, faculty, and programs.
A gift of real estate may entitle you to a charitable deduction of the full fair market value of the property. For gifts of long-term, appreciated real estate the deduction limit is 30% of adjusted gross income with a five-year carry-over period for the excess. You can also bypass capital gains tax on the property.
Securities
The donation of stocks and bonds are an effective way for our donor partners to support our school and students.
Long-term, appreciated securities are those you’ve owned for more than one year and have increased in value. Such a gift would entitle you to a federal income tax deduction for the full fair market value of the securities on the date of the gift, up to a maximum deduction of 30% of your adjusted gross income for the year if you itemize deductions.
Short-term securities are those you’ve held for less than one year. If you itemize, you will be entitled to a federal income tax deduction for only the purchase price of the securities.
Depreciated securities are those that have declined in value since you bought them. To gain maximum tax benefits from the gift, it is normally recommended that the donor sell these, take the tax loss, and donate the cash proceeds.
For more information on any form of charitable giving, reach out to us today!