Your Guide to Giving

Gifts to Kennesaw State University make a meaningful difference in the quality and help support people and programs. The university accepts many different types of gifts, which are fully tax deductible in the year they are made. Gifts are accepted by the KSU Foundation, a 501 (c) (3) organization set up to receive and manage gifts on behalf of the university.

The easiest way to support KSU is to make a gift of cash. You can donate online using your credit card through our secured site. You can also download a pledge card and mail it in with your check payable to the KSU Foundation. Indicate on the pledge card the specific program you wish to support. If no program is specified your gift will support the Kennesaw Fund.

Your gift is fully deductible if you itemize it for federal income tax purposes up to 50% of your adjusted gross income. If your total gift exceeds this amount the excess may be carried forward for tax purposes for up to five years. 

Securities

Gifts of securities, especially appreciated stock held for more than one year, provide tax savings for you and support for KSU. By making this gift you can eliminate a capital gains tax while receiving a tax deduction for the full fair-market value on the date of the gift.

The value of the gift may be deducted up to 30% of adjusted gross income, with an additional five years carry over. The KSU Foundation will sell the securities as soon as possible and apply the funds wherever you specify.

You may also donate securities you have held for less than one year, but your deduction will typically be based on what you paid for the securities.

Gifts-in-Kind

Gifts of personal property (artwork, books, jewelry, etc.) can be donated to KSU and you can be entitled to an income tax deduction. A gift of personal property must be professionally appraised and then reviewed by the KSU Foundation before the donation can be finalized. 

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Real Estate

Gifts of real estate that you have owned for many years can be advantageous for you and KSU. If you donate the property, instead of selling it, you can avoid a potential capital gains tax and realize a charitable deduction for the full fair-market value of the real estate. 

Endowment Gifts

Would you like to make a contribution that will support KSU's students and programs in perpetuity? If so, you may wish to consider an Endowed Gift.
Endowed Gifts or endowments are established with permanent funds where only the interest earnings are dispersed annually, thus allowing the principal to remain a steady source for future growth.

Endowed gifts can support such areas as named scholarship funds, endowed professorships and endowed chairs. Gifts may also be added to the university's unrestricted existing endowment, strengthening the foundation of the institution in a vitally important way.

Endowed Gifts help secure the future success and quality of our programs and resources for our faculty and students. Because we use the interest from Endowed Gifts and preserve the principal, the gift legacy is kept alive and grows and produces some of the most meaningful permanent support on campus. We also offer naming opportunities with Endowed Gifts that provide an everlasting tribute to their namesake. These gifts generate earnings year after year, ensuring that educational programs, faculty positions and scholarships will be sustained. 

Endowed Gifts require a minimum funding level, which are sometimes payable over a period of years. These include:

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Capital Gifts

Capital Gifts are the perfect way to bestow your good name on the campus of Kennesaw State University. KSU provides an outstanding environment that greatly enhances the educational experience of our students. This is made possible by the support of Capital Gifts, which finance the expansion and improvement of the university's facilities. 

New buildings and enhancements to existing buildings have helped create a campus that is both attractive and technologically ready to serve generations of KSU students. Capital Gifts can be made to establish new facilities or renovate existing structures, add new classrooms, research facilities or equipment purchases, and upgrade worn or outdated facilities. The gift can be named after the donor or in honor of a loved one. 

Any space or room (lobbies, lounges, locker rooms, classrooms, labs, offices or meeting rooms) at KSU can be considered for naming for a minimum gift of $10,000. Additional naming opportunities include a variety of projects such as seats (indoor seats, outdoor benches and outdoor bleacher seats) or equipment (exercise, electronic, clinical, vehicles, etc.).

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Matching Gifts

A matching gift is an excellent way for you to significantly increase the impact of your contribution to KSU without any further financial obligation from yourself.
If your employer or your spouse's employer has a Matching Gift program, you can double or even triple the value of your donation. Many companies contribute financially to nonprofit organizations their employees support with an equal or greater corporate contribution. Some corporations even match the gifts of retired employees. All you have to do is notify your employer's human resources department of your gift to KSU.

It's a very simple process. First, make your gift online or download a pledge card now.

Next, find out if you or your spouse's company sponsors a Matching Gift program. Visit our Matching Gift Seach and find out if your company participates in gift matching.

Finally, complete your company's Matching Gift form and return it with your gift or pledge card. If you make your gift online, send only the company Matching Gift form to the Office of University Advancement. We will complete the rest to make sure your gift will grow and support KSU.

Matching gifts do count toward donor recognition. For example, if your company matches your $500 one-to-one, you will automatically become a $1,000 donor and a member of the proud President's Club.
Matching Gifts are a wonderful way to increase your contribution to KSU and help your company fulfill its charitable goals.

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Scholarships

Gifts for scholarships and fellowships benefit worthy students at Kennesaw State University and provide them with the opportunity for an outstanding education. Donors can either endow a scholarship fund or award specific amounts annually to be used up entirely within that academic year. In both cases, the donors have the opportunity to name the scholarship in honor or memory of a loved one, specify the scholarship criteria and designate the scholarship to the program of their choice. A scholarship committee within the university then selects qualified students based on the criteria specified by the donors.
An Endowed Scholarship is the only way to create a scholarship that will be given permanently. It can be established to pay tribute to or remember a loved one or mentor. A minimum of $20,000 is required to name an Endowed Scholarship. These funds are the principal, which will never be spent and exist in perpetuity to benefit generations of students.

A benefactor may choose to establish the entire endowment at once or make payments over a period of three to five years. KSU works with the benefactor to create an agreement defining the terms of the scholarship and endowment, including the scheduled payments.

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Each year, when the benefactor, friends or family make contributions to the scholarship, their contributions will be added to the endowment's principal.

An Annual Scholarship, which works much like a checking account, can be set up on a yearly basis to fund student needs at KSU. The amount of money that is donated each year as a contribution is paid out in the form of a scholarship awarded to a deserving student. KSU works with the benefactor to create an agreement defining the terms of the scholarship. The Annual Scholarship can be renewed each year.

Planned Gifts

The term planned gifts refers to specific strategies that (in most cases) benefit charity at some point in the future while offering immediate benefits to the donor.

The gift of a paid-up life insurance policy is a good example. By designating a qualified charity as owner and beneficiary of such a policy, you will receive a charitable income tax deduction that, in most cases, is equal to your cost basis in the policy.

Charitable Remainder Trust (CRT) 

Perhaps the most versatile charitable giving tool. With the CRT it is possible to bypass capital gains tax on the sale of highly appreciated assets, generate an increase in income, receive a charitable income tax deduction, and fulfill your philanthropic objectives.

The CRT is a legal trust that can be constructed to produce a predictable annuity payment each year or take advantage of investment growth opportunities in the trust principal.

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Charitable Bequests

A bequest establishes your wishes today without relinquishing needed assets during your lifetime. Bequests can transfer a specific asset. You can also give a percent of the estate after costs and taxes. Another good idea is to transfer property to a testamentary trust. If you would like more information on the strategies discussed here or other gift planning option, we invite you to contact us. 

Cash gift provides immediate liquidity for charity and generates a charitable income tax deduction for the donor in the year of the gift.

Giving stocks or bonds may provide greater tax benefits. If you have owned securities for more than one year and the fair market value has increased since you purchased them, you can avoid capital gains tax and receive a charitable income tax deduction equal to the fair market value.

A gift of real estate that has been held for more than a year also has the advantage of providing you with a charitable deduction based on the current fair market value, as well as bypassing capital gains tax on the appreciation.
Selected artwork, books and antiques are examples of gifts of personal property that can, in certain situations, be an appropriate gift.

To ensure that any tangible personal property qualifies for a favorable charitable tax deduction, please contact us.

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Gifts That Generate Income For You

The Gift Annuity is a great example of how a gift generates income for the donor. This is actually a contract between a donor and a charity that is part gift and part annuity.

In addition to the annuity payment, the donor receives a charitable income tax deduction and a portion of each annuity payment may be tax-free.

The Deferred Payment Gift Annuity in which annuity payments are delayed for a number of years offers rates that make it an attractive supplement to retirement income.

The Kennesaw Fund

The Kennesaw Fund raises unrestricted funds annually to support student and faculty needs. Providing maximum flexibility, the Kennesaw Fund dollars provides a steady stream of support for programs that are the heart of the university. 
Every gift to The Kennesaw Fund makes a difference.

Campus construction, classroom upgrades and the growth of new academic programs continue at a rapid pace and point to the vitality of KSU. The Kennesaw Fund gives alumni, students, parents and friends the opportunity to express financial support for the university's mission and ensure continued enrichment of campus resources.

The annual funds for the academic units at Kennesaw State University include programs that span the campus: