If you have a home or other real estate that you no longer want to live in or manage, it may make sense to incorporate that property into your charitable planning. Gifting real property to the University of Wyoming can take a number of different forms and may help you with capital gains issues. In some cases you may continue to occupy the property for the balance of your life. By utilizing a charitable remainder trust or a charitable gift annuity in conjunction with your real estate asset, you may be able to convert a low-yielding, highly appreciated piece of property into an income-producing asset.

Valuable collections, works of art, jewelry, antiques, and other personal property can also make meaningful gifts, either through your estate, a life-income vehicle, or otherwise. However, special tax rules apply, and the amount you can deduct depends on the appraised value and how the gift will be used.

When the time comes to transfer or sell your business, you may want to consider a charitable gift of stock for philanthropic and various tax reasons. It is not uncommon for a closely-held business interest to have appreciated greatly in value. A common method in which to liquidate all or a portion of such interest is for the business entity to redeem the stock from the university at a price established by a qualified appraiser. Donors may be entitled to individual tax deductions for the value of the business interest transferred to UW, while the company typically provides the cash for the redemption. This strategy is often a great way to deal with business succession issues while making a significant and lasting impact at UW.

Transferring mineral interests to UW can provide significant tax benefits. When you donate mineral rights, you’re typically eligible for a charitable income tax deduction based on the fair market value of the interests at the time of transfer. This can be particularly advantageous if the mineral rights have appreciated substantially since you acquired them, as you avoid capital gains taxes that would apply if you sold them directly. Your gift can have a big impact on Wyoming’s university.

It is often inefficient from a tax perspective to leave qualified retirement plan assets to members of your family, as any amounts remaining in qualified plans may ultimately be subject to both income and estate taxes. Thus, all things being equal, it is often better to leave all or a portion of your qualified plans to UW, while leaving more tax-favored assets to your family. You can easily gift retirement plan assets to UW upon your passing by obtaining and completing a change of beneficiary form at any time. You can designate a specific amount, all, or percentage of the assets for UW and can choose whatever college, program or activity on campus you would like to support (whether in the form of an endowment or otherwise). You can also gift directly to UW through a qualified charitable distribution from your IRA.  This satisfies required minimum distributions while also offering savings on taxes.

Life insurance can be used in any number of creative ways to fulfill your charitable and estate planning goals. You may find that you own a policy you purchased many years ago to provide liquidity to pay estate taxes or to provide needed security and protection for your family. You can simply gift an existing policy to UW or name UW as the beneficiary of that policy. You may also find that life insurance is a great way to leverage your giving to ultimately make a larger gift to UW. Naming UW as the owner and beneficiary of a new policy could help you in fulfilling these goals. You can also make tax-deductible annual gifts to UW to fund your premium payments so that your after-tax cost of making a significant charitable commitment is pennies on the dollar.

You want your charitable donations to be as effective as possible when you give. Donor-advised funds or DAFs are the fastest-growing charitable giving vehicle in the United States because they are one of the easiest and most tax-advantageous ways to give to charity. You can support UW through a DAF.