Ways to Give

This is an immediate transfer, without reservation, of cash or property to us or for our use. The best asset to use for an outright gift might not be cash. You may have appreciated property-such as real estate or securities-that produces a double benefit when transferred to us. You receive an income tax deduction and avoid capital gains on the appreciation. Or, you may have real estate or personal property that is no longer needed. Using this property allows you to make a gift without reducing your financial assets.

Perhaps you cannot afford to make a current major contribution. If this is the case, you might consider a deferred gift.

• A bequest to the Center for the Arts through your will can reduce taxes on your estate. The gift can be cash or specific personal or real property. It can consist of a share of the residual of your estate. It can be outright or in trust. It can be restricted or unrestricted.
• A charitable remainder trust is a planned gift designed to benefit you now and provide funding for us in the future. Along with an immediate income tax charitable deduction, you receive income for yourself-and perhaps one or more others as well-for life. After that, we are allowed to use the remaining funds for our important work.
• Instead of giving us cash or securities to fund a trust, you might prefer to donate ultimate ownership of your home, retaining life use for yourself through a retained life estate. By deeding the property to us now, subject to your lifetime possession and that of a survivor, you receive an immediate income tax charitable deduction.
• A charitable gift annuity is another way to assure yourself lifetime payments from property you contribute. You make an irrevocable gift of money or securities to the Center for the Arts and receive a fixed dollar amount annually, which is determined by your age at the time of the gift. (Charitable gift annuities are not available in some states or from some organizations.)

Those who have made a planned gift or bequest provision are also honored as members of the Mason Legacy Society

Gifts to endowment are vital to the future of the Center for the Arts. A healthy endowment provides stability of income, ensuring the program's funding is secure for generations to come. The principal established by the endowment gift is permanently protected and invested in perpetuity to advance the mission of the University. Only a portion of the principal's earnings is distributed annually for expenditure, thus protecting the endowment's value against inflation.

Endowments may be unrestricted or restricted as to purpose, depending on the donor's intent.

Your gift can be doubled, tripled, or even quadrupled through a corporate matching gift program. To find out if your company, or your spouse's company, matches gifts, contact your human resources office.

If your company does match gifts, obtain from your company's human resources or community relations office a matching gift form and guidelines for matching gifts. Complete your portion of the matching gift form and mail your gift and the form to:

Annual Giving
Office of University Development
4400 University Drive, MS 1A3
Fairfax, VA 22030-4444