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Memorial and Honorary Gifts: Getting Started

If you have a family member or friend whose life has been touched by Rensselaer, we hope you'll consider making a gift to us in honor of that person. Providing a gift establishes a living tribute that allows you to:

Honor a loved one or yourself
Support our continuing efforts
Receive personal financial benefits from your contribution.

You may feel reluctant to condition your gift upon personal recognition. Yet allowing us to use your name or the name of a loved one can inspire philanthropy in others and further a cause that's important to you.

Giving Now or Later
Any charitable gift you arrange can be made in honor of someone. Consider these two basic methods of establishing an honorary gift.

A gift today—An outright gift can help fund our immediate needs or an upcoming project. The financial benefits include an income tax deduction and possible elimination of capital gains tax.

A gift through your will or living trust—You can include a bequest in your will or living trust stating that a specific asset, certain dollar amount or—more commonly—a percentage of your estate will pass to us at your death in honor of your loved one.

No matter which basic method you choose, you have the ability to endow your gift so that it lasts forever. Endowments are structured so that you designate the purpose of your gift. Your gift is invested with and becomes part of our endowment and a distribution is made each year. Because the principal remains intact, the fund will support our mission in perpetuity.


	Download a free guide to learn more about shaping our future through endowments and memorials.

Your Next Step
Making an honorary gift is a wonderful way to acknowledge someone's vision for the future. Depending on the nature of your gift, there are a variety of ways we can recognize your generosity. Please contact Arthur T. Tracy at 518-276-2561 or tracya@rpi.edu to learn more about ways to recognize your honoree.

The information on this website is not intended as legal or tax advice. For legal or tax advice, please consult an attorney. Figures cited in examples are for hypothetical purposes only and are subject to change. References to estate and income taxes apply to federal taxes only. State income/estate taxes or state law may impact your results.

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