The most common planned gift is a bequest through your will or trust. Bequests can include a specific amount or piece of property, a percentage of your estate, or a contingency (if the donor outlives the heir).

STEP 1 | Determine Your Goals

Visit with the Advancement Team to determine your goals and the type of scholarship you wish to establish. We will discuss the criteria for your scholarship and determine a name for your scholarship.

STEP 2 | Fund Your Scholarship

The Advancement Team will work with you to determine how you would like to fund your scholarship. Scholarships can be established through a one-time gift, a two or three-year pledge for perpetual scholarships, or through your estate. Family members and friends can also give to your scholarship. Your scholarship will be awarded once the minimum contribution requirements are met.

STEP 3 | Contribute to Success

Once your scholarship begins to be awarded, you are contributing to a student’s success at Midland! Each year, you or a designated family member will receive a report to notify you who received your scholarship, and you will be recognized for your scholarship on Midland’s website. Family and friends can choose to continue to give to your scholarship to support even more students over time.

One of the most tax efficient charitable gifts is a remainder from your retirement account, as your charity is not required to pay taxes on the remainder as your heirs would. You can also include your charity on the beneficiary designation for life insurance, annuities, and brokerage accounts.

As you look to retire, financial worries with family obligations, coupled with the high cost of living, can make it difficult for many people to consider substantial charitable gifts now. A life income plan allows you to make a gift now while receiving a yearly payment for your personal financial needs. The three basic types of these plans are charitable gift annuities, charitable remainder trusts, and charitable lead trusts.

Advantages of life income gifts include:

• It pays you, your beneficiary, or both, an income for life and in many cases, a larger income than the gift property is presently earning for you.
• It can offer an immediate charitable deduction.
• You can avoid capital gains tax upon sale of any appreciated assets.
• You will have an eventual estate tax savings.
• It relieves you of the burdens of asset management and enables you to support, in a significant way, the Midland University program of your choice.

The easiest way to make a gift of life insurance is to include a percentage (1%, 5%, 10% or more) to Midland University as a part of the primary beneficiary designation. This is referred to as a "Life Share" gift and is fully revocable. Substantial gifts can also be made by making Midland University the beneficiary of a new policy or an existing policy that is no longer needed. In this event, premiums paid by the donor to continue coverage are tax deductible.

Depending on the circumstances involved, gifts of real estate can be an effective means of planning a gift. While the first thought often is a home or farm, real estate also can involve a vacation home, an apartment or commercial building, a shopping center, or undeveloped land. Each piece of property and its unique circumstances need to be reviewed to determine the suitability of the property as a gift. Generally speaking, an acceptable piece of property is one that can be readily sold.

This simple revocable arrangement can be attached to a variety of assets (IRA's; CD's; TSA'S; TDA'S; annuities; employee savings plans; etc.) to facilitate a gift after the lifetime of the owner(s).