ANNUAL GIVING
The Annual Fund at Oak Ridge Military Academy solicits contributions that are
unrestricted and are used to support Academy objectives such
as the New Classroom Building, special educational initiatives
such as scuba diving, rappelling, sky diving, drill competitions
and athletic programs. We must continue to support our annual
initiatives and programs for our Corps of Cadets. The continued
growth of our Annual Fund conducted each fall depends solely
on you, our alumni, family and friends. Revenue from the Annual
Fund will help preserve the financial long-term viability of
the Academy, providing important unrestricted funds for Trustees
to apply to the areas of greatest need.
Matching Gifts
Many companies will match contributions
made by their employees to charitable organizations. Matching
gifts can double and even triple the impact of your gift. If
you or a spouse is affiliated with a matching-gift company,
please contact your personnel officer to obtain a matching
gift form. The Office of Development at Oak Ridge maintains
a list of matching gift companies.
Assets
When making a significant gift, it is
sometimes more appropriate for a donor to consider a gift from
assets rather than current income. Your appreciated long-term
assets may include a home, farm, land, business, antiques,
etc. Certain types of assets can provide even greater tax benefits
to you than a gift of equivalent value in cash. We can explore
all ways you can make a significant impact on the Academy and
also support your long-range estate plans.
Bequests
Federal estate tax can take up to 55%
of your estate at the time of your death, significantly decreasing
the amount that your beneficiaries will inherit. When considering
your gift, one may revisit the long-term financial needs of
your loved ones. By remembering Oak Ridge and including us
in your will, your overall estate taxes may be drastically
reduced. Unlike income tax limitations, there is no 30% to
50% ceiling on charitable bequests in your will. Generally,
100% of your charitable bequest is tax deductible. As a supporter
of Oak Ridge, you are ensuring your gift and your legacy will
live beyond your lifetime and maximize the proceeds of your
estate that your loved ones will inherit.
Cash
We accept cash and check. You may wish
to pledge and pay on a specific date to meet tax planning or estate
needs. Gifts of cash or checks are generally dedicated up to 50%
of your adjusted gross income (AGI). Any excess can be carried
over for five years.
Charitable Remainder Trusts
Charitable remainder trusts offer independent
features that can be used effectively to achieve financial
and estate planning objectives. Introduced in 1969, they have
become increasingly popular because of the opportunities that
they afford. Funding a charitable remainder trust with appreciated,
long-term, capital-gain securities or real estate can augment
the available tax benefits because you can avoid the potential
capital gain tax that would result from an outright sale of
the property. A charitable remainder trust can help you avoid
any capital gain tax and offer a current charitable income-tax
deduction. Both of these benefits can substantially reduce
the cost of transferring the asset.
Credit Card Gifts
An increasingly popular alternative is
payment of your gift by credit card. Many alumni and friends
hold credit cards that offer rewards such as frequent flyer
points, long distance points, etc. Oak Ridge honors Visa, MasterCard
and American Express and will gladly bill your card on any
date desired.
Individual Retirement Accounts
Is your IRA poised to die when you do?
In certain unpleasant circumstances, tax laws dictate that
an IRA goes into liquidation within a year of the owner’s death.
Between estate and income taxes, there probably will not be
much left for a surviving spouse. If your IRA is $1,000,000
plus, you can avoid this dilemma by setting up a charitable
remainder trust to receive the IRA. Your heirs will receive
the income from the trust during their lifetime. When they
die, the remaining principal goes to a charity, such as Oak
Ridge Military Academy.
Life Insurance
Gifts of life insurance are convenient
and inexpensive. You can name Oak Ridge Military Academy the
primary beneficiary or owner of the policy. As the primary beneficiary,
you maintain access to the policy’s cash value. If you desire
immediate tax benefits, you may want to designate Oak Ridge as
the owner of your policy.
Memorial
Through memorial gifts to Oak Ridge,
many alumni, friends and supporters find comfort following
the passing of a loved one. Memorial gifts are a thoughtful
expression of sympathy and remembrance and should be sent directly
to the Development Office. Contribution will be acknowledged
to the surviving family.
Recognition and Tributes
Gifts may be made in honor of a person,
or in recognition of a special achievement. An acknowledgement
from Oak Ridge is always sent to the honoree.
Stock
Many of you have benefited greatly from
the gains the stock market has made in the past decade. If
you own appreciated stock, current tax laws make it possible
for you to make a charitable gift of stock at remarkably low
after-tax cost. You save money two different ways. First, there
are no capital gins taxes upon the transfer of stock to us.
Second, you receive an income tax deduction for the full market
value of the stock on the date of the gift (assuming that you
have held the stock over twelve months.)
Example: John and Mary purchased some stock many years ago for $1,000. It is
now worth $10,000. An outright gift of
stock to Oak Ridge would result in a charitable contribution
deduction of $10,000. In addition, there is a no tax on the
$9,000 of deduction of appreciation. In John and Mary’s case,
the charitable contribution of $10,000 of stock they donated
can be utilized as a charitable deduction up to 30% of their
adjusted gross income (AGI).
If you choose to make a sizable contribution
of stock, you may have to carryover part of your deduction to
succeeding years. To the extent necessary, you can use your charitable
deduction in the year of the gift and up to five carryover years.
To make gifts of stock to Oak Ridge Military Academy, please see the following
options below:
1) Deliver stock by hand. Endorse the back
of the stock certificate(s) in our presence or sign a separate
stock assignment form, which is often called a stock power. Stock
power forms are available through Oak Ridge or your broker.
2) Deliver stock by mail. We recommend
that you send the stock certificate(s) and the signed stock power(s)
to us in separate envelopes, registered certified mail, with return
receipt requested. Please include a separate stock power form for
each certificate of stock; sing the stock power(s) exactly as the
name reads on the certificate(s). Please do not fill in our name
on the stock power(s).
3) Deliver stock to us through a broker. Please instruct your broker to hold the stock(s) for our account.
Please do not instruct your broker to sell the stock(s) either
in your name or Oak Ridge’s name. Have your broker call us for
further instructions.
