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Debra Pemstein
Vice President for Development and Alumni/ae Affairs
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Click here to make a gift to Bard now!
The Annual Fund
The Annual Fund is critical in helping Bard to maintain its tradition of innovation
and standard of academic excellence. Each year, the Annual Fund helps to provide
more than $9,000,000 in student scholarships, helps to pay faculty salaries,
funds the purchase of new books for the library, and supports the day-to-day
operations of the College.
The Annual Fund comprises unrestricted gifts that are made to Bard College
during the fiscal year, between July 1 and June 30. Gifts to the Alumni/ae
Fund and the Parents' Fund are included in the Annual Fund.
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How to Make a Gift to Bard College
Making a charitable contribution to Bard College is easy. Gifts
can be made via check or credit card. Bard also gladly accepts gifts of appreciated securities and real estate. Another excellent way to make a donation to Bard is through a planned gift.
- Making a Gift by Check
Checks and other correspondence should be sent to:
Office of Development and Alumni/ae Affairs
Bard College
PO Box 5000
Annandale-on-Hudson, NY 12504-5000
- Making a Gift by Credit Card
Bard College accepts VISA and MasterCard.To make a contribution
by credit card over the telephone, please contact Robert Laity at 845-758-7315 or 1-800- BARDCOL, with your Visa, MasterCard, or American Express card. To make a gift online, we accept Visa, MasterCard, Amex, Discover, and ACH debits from any U.S. checking account.
- Matching Gifts: How You Can Double (or Even Triple) Your Gift to Bard College
You may be able to double or even triple your gift
to Bard College through your or your spouse's employer's
matching gift program. Companies that participate in these
programs will provide their employees with matching gift forms
to fill out and send to Bard along with their contribution or pledge form.
- The Tax Benefits of Making a Charitable Contribution to Bard
Contributions to Bard College are tax-deductible
to the fullest extent of the law. Please check with your financial
advisor for specific information regarding the deductibility of your gift.
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Gifts of Appreciated Securities: The Benefits of Giving Gifts of Appreciated Securities
A gift of appreciated securities is a very tax-effective way
to support Bard. When you donate appreciated stocks to Bard, you avoid the
capital gains tax you would have paid if you had sold the asset. If you
have owned the securities for longer than twelve months, you also receive an income
tax charitable deduction for their full fair-market value. These tax savings,
both in income and capital gains taxes, make gifts of securities a popular alternative to cash.
If you wish to maintain this particular stock
in your portfolio, consider giving Bard the stock and using the cash you would have donated
to purchase the same securities in the open market. The newly acquired shares
will then carry the current market value as their cost basis, an easy way to reduce future capital gains tax liability.
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Planned Giving
The John Bard Society and The Legacy Club
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.
Pooled Income Fund
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.
Charitable Trusts
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.
Charitable Gift Annuity
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.
Retirement Assets
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.
Life Insurance
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.
Bequests
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.
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