Ways to Give

There are many options available for planning a gift. Planned gifts can be made directly to the college through your estate or through a gift model that can provide tax benefits or even income to you and your family. Below, we have outlined some basic ways to make a planned gift. Please contact us if you have any questions about the options available to you.

Gifts via Wills or Trust

The most popular vehicle for planned giving, a bequest is a gift made through your will or trust. When making a bequest or trust gift, you designate a specific amount or a percentage of your estate to be given to Colby-Sawyer College after your death. Bequests are easy to add to a new or existing will at minimal expense, they are tax-free, and they do not cost you anything during your lifetime.

To help you get started, we’ve partnered with FreeWill, a free online tool that guides you through the process of creating an estate plan and giving to Colby-Sawyer College. Use FreeWill today. If you have already included a gift to Colby-Sawyer College in your estate plans, you can share that information by completing this form.

Life Income Gifts

Charitable Gift Annuities (CGAs), Charitable Remainder Trusts (CRTs), and other life income gifts allow you to designate assets to Colby-Sawyer while providing income to yourself or others during your life or the lifetime of your loved ones. You can make a life income gift by transferring securities, cash or other property to Colby-Sawyer, who manages the investment and pays an income to you or your designated beneficiary until death. For more information about CGAs, CRTs and other life income gifts, please contact Planned Giving Officer Peg Andrews ’85.

Naming Colby-Sawyer in your Assets

A document called a beneficiary designation form enables you to name Colby-Sawyer as a beneficiary of a qualified retirement plan, IRA, life insurance policies, annuity or other financial accounts. This is the easiest way to name Colby-Sawyer in your estate plans without any cost.

Gifts from Retirement Plans

Naming Colby-Sawyer as a beneficiary of your retirement plan is an easy and convenient way to make a planned gift and to join the Heritage Society. Eligible retirement accounts include individual retirement accounts (IRAs), 401(k) plans, 403(b) plans, and other retirement savings plans offered by employers. Using this free, online tool, you can list all of your eligible accounts in one place and name Colby-Sawyer as beneficiary to receive all or part of your retirement plan benefits after your death, or you can choose to receive a charitable tax deduction during your life by making a gift when you take a distribution from your qualified retirement plan or IRA.

If you are 70 ½ or older it’s very simple to make an “IRA Rollover” gift, which allows your IRA administrator to make a direct transfer to Colby-Sawyer as part of your mandatory required distribution (MRD). Making a gift directly from your IRA allows you to support what is important to you and to keep a portion of your distribution form being included in your taxable income.

Retained Life Estate

You can donate your primary or secondary home to Colby-Sawyer and receive an income tax charitable deduction while retaining the right to live on the property for the remainder of your life. Retained Life Estate gifts could help you significantly reduce your taxes if you currently itemize on your tax return.

Other Ways to Give

Planned gifts enable you to make a commitment to Colby-Sawyer through options that may provide a reduction in taxes for you during your lifetime or for your heirs after your death. We have outlined the most popular and common planned giving vehicles above, but other ways to support Colby-Sawyer through gifts of property, stocks, bonds or even a life insurance policy may be open to you. If you have questions about the ways that you can direct gifts to Colby-Sawyer, please contact Planned Giving Officer Peg Andrews ’85.