Ways to Give
THE SEATTLE UNIVERSITY FUND
Annual fund gifts are contributions from alumni, parents and friends that provide the foundation on which all universities of excellence thrive. At Seattle University, these gifts target the university's areas of greatest need in any given year. Often referred to as "margin of excellence dollars," they bridge the gap between annual tuition revenues and actual university costs.
The cumulative effect of every gift is significant. From annual gifts as small as $10 to those as large as $10,000, Seattle University provides student financial aid, offers vital operating fund assistance to specific schools and programs and, in general, directs dollars to those programs and projects that make the difference between a good university and a great one.
Gifts to the Seattle University Fund:
- Provide flexibility. Annual fund contributions supply the much-needed gift of flexibility. The university can use these unrestricted funds immediately for the most pressing needs, and to respond quickly to new opportunities.
- Help Seattle University move forward with confidence. When you give—and give again every year—you allow Seattle University to plan for the future with confidence.
- Signify your advocacy for our important work. The spirit of your gift to the Seattle University Fund demonstrates your regard for the university and your desire to help us realize our vision to "become the premier independent university of the Northwest in academic quality, Jesuit Catholic inspiration and service to society."
Gifts to the Seattle University Fund have grown dramatically in recent years. Last year alone, generous donors made unrestricted annual gifts totaling more than $2.1 million.
GIVING CLUBS:
President's Club
The President's Club recognizes some of the most generous supporters of Seattle University, our students and our mission. By accepting an invitation to join the President's Club, you will enjoy its many benefits and, most importantly, be confident in the knowledge that your contribution is critical to the university's continuing success.
Your cumulative annual gift of $1,000 or more, made between July 1 and June 30 each year, automatically enrolls you as a member of the university's President's Club. Gifts may be made to any program or college, or, more generally, to the Seattle University Fund. Corporate matching gifts can be included in your cumulative total.
Benefits of membership include:
- Acknowledgment in the annual President's Report
- Free parking pass, allowing you occasional on-campus parking privileges for one year
- Invitation to President's Club and Alumni Advent Mass
- Invitation to the annual President's Club recognition event
- Invitation to selected campus and regional events
- Lemieux Library privileges
To learn more about Seattle University's President's Club and how to become a member, contact: Donna Warren, Director of Annual Giving, (206) 296-6140 or via email at warrend@seattleu.edu.
Parents Fund
As a Seattle University parent, you can continue to support your child's education through the Seattle University Parents Fund. Parent support is crucial to sustain the combination of programs and opportunities unique to Seattle University. Gifts to the Parents Fund are unrestricted resources that are directed to priority student needs, including:
- Student support services
- Academic programs
- Scholarships
- Faculty development
- Technology advancements
- Campus enhancements
To learn more about Seattle University's Parents' Fund please contact Rebecca Callahan in the Annual Giving Office at (206) 296-2332 or via email at callahanr@seattleu.edu.
Quinton Morris, director of chamber and instrumental music
ENDOWMENT GIFTS
Endowment gifts are the lifeblood of any university. They provide permanent, predictable, long-term funding that enhances and enriches academic and co-curricular programs across campus. When you establish an endowment gift at Seattle University, we invest it for long-term growth. The university uses the investment income to fund the particular scholarship, professorship or program you have chosen to support.
Increasing the endowment is a top priority of the Campaign for Seattle University: For the Difference We Make. This growing investment will allow Seattle University not only to preserve its signature strengths, but also to move with confidence into new areas of discovery. In addition, a larger endowment will help control tuition increases while aiding significantly our efforts to attract and retain the very best faculty and students.
Increasing the endowment is a top priority of the campaign, allowing Seattle University to preserve its signature strengths.
How Endowments Work
The Seattle University endowment is the sum of the university's permanently invested capital. It is used to generate funds each year for a wide range of programs—from scholarships for needy students to endowed professorships that attract to our campus the finest teachers in the nation, from programs that enhance our Jesuit Catholic identity to those that aid our community outreach efforts. Put simply, endowment is the university's financial foundation—a stable, permanent source of funds. As of January 1, 2008, Seattle University's endowment stood at $225.6 million.
Unlike a personal checking account, the endowment is not a cash reserve that Seattle University can draw on at will. Instead, virtually all endowed funds are invested, and a portion of the earning is released each year to support the university and the purposes specified by donors. Our trustees determine how much of the endowment to spend each year.
In the Campaign for Seattle University: For the Difference We Make, we have put a priority on securing endowments that support scholarships for students or provide funding for faculty positions. These types of funds are especially critical because they help us attract the best students and scholars. Endowed faculty positions also have extra value because the prestige associated with named professorships can be a powerful aid to recruitment. Other endowed gifts might provide support for a library collection or funds for an athletic team. Some endowment gifts are unrestricted, which allows the university to direct proceeds to the areas of greatest need.
To learn more about endowment gifts, please visit the Seattle University Planned Giving website.
Legacy Society members Bernie Steckler, professor emeritus, and his wife Joyce
PLANNED GIFTS
There are many creative ways that Seattle University alumni and friends can incorporate future support for the university into their individual, long-term financial planning strategies. Among the most common are those noted here.
Bequest By Will: The Gift Of a Lifetime
Including a charitable bequest in your will is a simple way to make a lasting gift to the university. When you make this type of gift, we establish a special fund that benefits your particular area of interest in perpetuity, and becomes your personal legacy of giving. You can decide to put Seattle University in your will at any age by adding to an existing will or drafting a new one. In so doing, you leave a lasting gift to the university you love.
Planned Gifts: Helping Seattle University do good works forever
Here is how it works:
- You include Seattle University in your will as a bequest; we can help you or your attorney with recommended language.
- You determine the particular program you would like to support with your gift.
- Upon your death, we set up a special fund in your name, in the name of your family or in honor of any person or organization you choose to recognize.
- Your charitable gift is excluded from your assets for estate tax purposes.
- Our professional planned giving staff considers your charitable wishes and ensures that your gift dollars are directed precisely as you have asked.
- The university handles all the administrative details.
- Your gift can be placed into an endowment that is invested over time. Interest earnings from your gift are used according to your wishes. Your gift—and all future earnings from that gift—are permanent sources of university capital, helping to do good work forever.
Making a bequest to Seattle University is an easy way to transfer assets to charity. You can give cash, appreciated stocks or other assets. Some of the most tax-efficient asset types to give through your will come from retirement plan accounts, since heirs would be taxed on the income in respect of the decedent (IRD). You can choose to give a stated dollar amount, a specific property, a percentage of your estate, the remainder after distributions to other beneficiaries or you can make your gift contingent on certain events.
Other Planned Gift Options
- Giving through a charitable gift annuity allows you to arrange a generous gift to Seattle University while providing yourself a new income source you can count on for the rest of your life. You can make a gift of cash or property to Seattle University now, get immediate tax benefits, and ensure that you or a loved one you designate receives fixed quarterly or annual income payments for life.
- Giving through a charitable remainder trust allows you to receive income for the rest of your life, knowing that whatever remains will benefit Seattle University. You can place cash or property in a trust that pays you a fixed income or one that changes with market conditions. You can start receiving income payments immediately, or defer them to increase your charitable income tax deduction. Upon your death, the remainder of the trust transfers to Seattle University, and is directed to the program(s) you have chosen to support.
- A charitable lead trust helps you build a charitable fund with Seattle University during the trust's term. You transfer assets into a trust, which pays the university an annual amount to build your charitable fund. During its term, the trust can be managed expertly by experienced trust professionals, which may help your trust investments grow over time. When the trust terminates, the remaining assets are transferred to you or your heirs, often with significant transfer-tax savings.
To learn more about planned giving, please visit the Seattle University Planned Giving website.
WHAT YOU CAN GIVE
In addition to gifts of cash, Seattle University has been privileged over the years to receive gifts in the form of appreciated stock, life insurance and real estate, as well as gifts from retirement plans. The Campaign for Seattle University welcomes support in all these forms.
- Everybody wins when you make a gift of appreciated stock to the university. Your gains are put to good use. Your gift of stock is reinvested—in students, faculty, facilities, academic enhancements, Jesuit Catholic initiatives, co-curricular activities or any other program of your choice—and your donation qualifies for an immediate tax deduction based on the full fair market value.
- Making a charitable gift of real estate to Seattle University can help you turn your property gains into long-term good. Such a gift often releases potential that has been tied up for years, enables you to make a bigger charitable difference than you may have thought possible, helps you avoid estate taxes and minimizes or eliminates burdens placed on your heirs. Gifts of real estate range from personal residences and vacation homes to rental properties, farmland, and commercially developed land.
- Life insurance provides a simple way for you to give a significant gift to Seattle University and establish your legacy, with tax benefits that you can enjoy during your lifetime. You can make a gift when life insurance is no longer needed for personal financial wealth replacement by either giving a paid-up policy or continuing to pay premiums on a current policy. You may receive a number of tax benefits, including reduced estate and income taxes.
- For a gift through your estate, retirement plan assets are often the best to give because they are so heavily taxed if left to heirs. Income and estate taxes can easily consume over 65 percent of the account balance at death. By naming Seattle University as the remainder beneficiary of these assets, you can leave a legacy more sizable than would be possible in most other instances.