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How to Support

Types of Gifts

Types of Gifts

The Florida Polytechnic University Foundation welcomes gifts in many forms that best suit your interests and situation. Common options include cash, real estate, publicly traded securities, retirement plans, life insurance, and personal property. Other options are also available. We can work with you and your advisors to help you understand all of the various options. 

Direct gifts-whether cash, check, or via credit card-are critically important to Florida Poly because they can be put to work immediately, increasing their impact and extending their reach. Giving online through Florida Poly’s secure giving site allows us to address the university’s most urgent needs today.

Give Now

How You Benefit:

Make a bigger impact by donating long-term appreciated securities, including stocks, bonds, and mutual funds, directly to support Florida Poly. 

Selling your appreciated securities and contributing the after-tax proceeds, you may be able to automatically increase your gift and your tax deduction.

Gifts of stock, bonds, and mutual funds can be designated to support an area most meaningful to you. 

How it Works:

Security Gifts Held Electronically 

To give stocks and other securities held electronically, please follow these steps: 

  • Complete our securities information form. This allows us to match your gift to your broker's transfer and ensure your gift is deposited into the correct account. Due to privacy statutes, your broker is not able to provide the Foundation with any personal information when they transfer securities. Without this form, we will not be able to provide you a receipt for your gift. 
  • Provide your broker with the name of the security, number of shares, and your gift designation
Stock Gifts In Certificate Form

Security transfers have strict government regulations. If you would like to give shares in certificate form, please contact us.

Mutual Fund Gifts

Mutual funds have specific transfer procedures. If you would like to give shares of a mutual fund, please contact us.

Additional Info:

Give your broker the following contact information so specific transfer instructions can be obtained: 

Florida Polytechnic University Foundation
Kathy Bowman, Vice President Advancement
4700 Research Way
Lakeland, FL  33805
863-874-8700 
foundation@floridapoly.edu

The date of the gift will be the date that the securities arrive in our Foundation's account. 

Appreciated real estate—such as a home, vacation property, undeveloped land, farmland, ranch, or commercial property—can make a great gift to Florida Poly. 

How You Benefit: 

  • You avoid paying capital gains tax on the sale of the real estate.
  • You receive a charitable income tax deduction based on the value of the gift.

How It Works: 

Your real property may be given to Florida Poly by signing a deed transferring ownership. You may deed all or part of your real property to the University. Your gift amount will generally be based on the property's fair market value, which must be established by an independent appraisal. 

Additional Information: 

Please contact us if the property you wish to give has existing debt or a mortgage. Indebtedness can affect your charitable tax deduction. We have adopted gift acceptance policies to limit the acceptance of certain types of real estate, and we encourage you to please check with us before making a gift of real estate. If you are interested in life income options or would like information on the capital gains tax implications of your gift, please contact us. 

Donating all or part of your unused retirement assets—such as your IRA, 401(k), 403(b), pension, or other tax-deferred plan—is an excellent way to support Florida Poly. 

If you’re like most people, you probably won’t use all of your retirement assets during your lifetime. You can make a gift of your unused retirement assets to support our university. 

How You Benefit: 

  • You avoid potential estate tax on retirement assets. 
  • Your heirs avoid income tax on any retirement assets funded on a pre-tax basis.
  • You receive potential estate tax savings from an estate tax deduction. 

How It Works: 

You will need to complete a beneficiary designation form provided by your retirement plan custodian. If you designate Florida Polytechnic University Foundation as a beneficiary, our University will benefit from the full value of your gift, because your IRA assets will not be taxed at your death. Your estate will benefit from an estate tax charitable deduction for the gift.

If you have already included Florida Poly as a beneficiary of your retirement assets, please let us know by completing by contacting us at foundation@floridapoly.edu so that we may recognize you for your generosity. You may also choose to remain anonymous.

Additional Information:

Did you know that 60 to 70% of your retirement assets may be taxed if you leave them to your heirs at your death? Another option is to leave your heirs assets that receive a step up in basis—such as real estate and stock—and give your retirement assets to Florida Polytechnic University Foundation. As a charity, we are not taxed upon receiving an IRA or other retirement plan assets.

You can designate the Florida Polytechnic University Foundation as a full, partial, or contingent beneficiary of your life insurance policy. You will continue to own and can make use of the policy during your lifetime. Upon your passing, the University will receive the percentage of the death benefit that you have designated.

As a Florida Poly employee, you can easily make a change by contacting the HR department for the tools to direct your beneficiary to the Foundation.

Did you know you can include Florida Poly in your estate plans? Learn how your estate plan can impact tomorrow's leaders from Florida Poly.  
    
Here are five reasons you should consider sharing and documenting your intentions with us: 
    
1. Your Wishes  
Documenting your intentions will help ensure your wishes are met. With respect to designating a specific purpose or establishing an endowment, we will review or provide specific language. It also allows us to keep you apprised of new programs or developments that may impact your intention.  
    
2. Designating a Purpose  
If you have not yet designated a purpose, simply complete a letter of intent or a gift agreement to document your wishes. We will confidentially keep copies of your bequest documents in our records for future reference.  
    
3. Inspiring Others  
Estate gifts are a crucial source of continuing support for Florida Poly. Upon documenting your bequest, the estimated value will count toward current fundraising goals while inspiring other alumni and friends to follow in your footsteps.  
    
4. Appreciation and Recognition  
Documenting your intentions will allow the University to recognize you now for your future gift. Upon documenting your bequest intention, you will be invited to special University events and will receive a memento of appreciation. Additionally, you may remain anonymous and exclude your name from any donor listings.  
    
5. No Obligation  
By documenting your intentions, you are in no way entering into a legally binding or irrevocable gift agreement (unless you enter into a binding agreement for specific reasons). You retain the flexibility to change your plans should your circumstances or priorities change. As a courtesy, we kindly ask that you notify us should you update your plans for Florida Poly.

How To Document Your Bequest  

To document your bequest, we humbly request the following items be sent to the our office: 

  •  The portion of your will or trust document referencing Florida Polytechnic University Foundation.
  • The portion of your beneficiary designation form with available pertinent plan information (plan type, name of account owner, plan administrator, most recent market value information) .
  • The signed gift agreement or gift letter detailing the use of your gift by Florida Poly. 

Please contact us  for specific bequest or endowment language. Documenting your bequest solidifies a lifelong relationship that allows you to participate in the planning for our future.