Send a check payable to the Rutgers University Foundation and designate the Equine Science Center on the memo portion of your check.

Commemorating a special person with a gift to Rutgers can be tremendously satisfying. It is a lasting tribute to a friend, colleague, or loved one and provides valuable support to New Jersey's leading research university.

A gift "in honor of" someone is usually made while that person is living, often for milestone occasions such as a graduation, promotion, birth of a child or grandchild, or retirement. A gift "in memory of" someone is the term used when the namesake is deceased. All these gifts are referred to as commemorative.

While many donors prefer to make gifts of cash, many are taking advantage of contributing gifts of long-term appreciated securities to support Rutgers. To make your gift of securities, please call the Development Office at 848-932-3576.

By including the Rutgers Equine Science Center in your financial and estate plans, you may increase your current income and provide future support for areas of the university important to you. Often you can make a larger gift that you might not have thought possible.

If you already own a policy with a significant cash surrender value, you may be able to make a major gift without affecting your current investment or cash flow. For example, you may have bought a policy years ago when family needs were great. Now your children are on their own, and you no longer need that protection for them. The donation of an existing whole life policy will carry a charitable deduction of approximately the cash surrender value.

This type of gift is a contract between you (the donor) and the Rutgers Foundation whereby the foundation guarantees to pay you, or persons you designate, income for life in exchange for a gift of cash or marketable securities. There are some rules. The gift must be valued at $5,000 or more, and you may not receive the income until after your 55th birthday. The income you will receive varies depending on your age when payments begin. The benefits include possibly increasing your retirement income, reducing current income taxes, and reducing future estate taxes. You may name yourself and your spouse or another person to receive the income.

Variations of this program are called a Charitable Remainder Unitrust or a Charitable Remainder Annuity Trust. Whatever the title, these programs pay quarterly interest to one or more people for life or a specified number of years. Eventually the amount remaining in the trust passes to Rutgers. An amount of $100,000 or more is recommended with this strategy, because each trust is a separate managed portfolio of investments, designed to meet your individual needs. The donor is entitled to an income gift and estate tax charitable deduction. The donor can avoid the capital gains tax by giving appreciated property or securities

Lead trusts are the opposite of remainder trusts. Income from these trusts is paid to Rutgers for a term of years or a lifetime, and then the trust investments are returned to you or your family. Besides providing support to Rutgers, you can receive significant gift or estate tax deductions. Properly planned, this can enable you to pass on property that you expect to grow in value with little or no estate tax.

This program is essentially a charitable remainder trust with many participants. It is similar to a mutual fund in that each donor receives a proportional share of the income generated by the investments. You must be 45 or older and willing to make an irrevocable gift of $5,000 or more to participate. You will receive a quarterly payment for the rest of your life. Other benefits include taking a charitable income tax deduction for a portion of your gift, the removal of your gift from your taxable estate, and all income from the fund is taxed as ordinary income. If your gift includes long-term appreciated securities, you will avoid a capital gains tax on that appreciation, so that the income you receive is based on the full value of your investments.

Highly appreciated real estate can be a tax burden. Donating the property to Rutgers can bring tax advantages similar to that of donating appreciated securities. If you have owned the property for at least one year before giving it to Rutgers, you earn a charitable deduction equal to the full fair market value, less any outstanding mortgage. The property is also removed from your taxable estate. Options exist that allow you to give your home to Rutgers and continue to live in it or to derive a lifetime income from the property

If you work at one of the 1,000-plus U.S. companies that have matching-gift programs, you can dramatically increase the impact your gift makes to the Equine Science Center.

These companies recognize the importance of giving, and will match their employees' gifts, often 1:1 and sometimes more. Please check with your employer's personnel office to see if your company offers this benefit.

A gift item directly related to Rutgers' broad mission of research, education, and public service is often fully tax deductible at its fair market value. Gifts not related to Rutgers' mission are deductible based on what you paid for the item. This is called a cost basis deduction. If you are interested in giving Rutgers some personal property, the Development Office can help you sort out the differences.

No one can predict the future. Affecting the future is another matter and entirely possible. One way to introduce your ideals and goals to future generations is to leave a legacy gift to Rutgers. Perhaps you want to ensure that the Equine Science Center continues to have the most advanced equipment, or that bright - but financially strapped - graduate students have access to fellowships. Or, you may wish to support the Equine Science Center’s mission of excellence in education, research, and outreach. Whatever you select, you can be certain that a bequest to Rutgers will carry your goals forward.

Legacy gifts are among the most popular types of deferred gifts because of their great impact and because they are completely revocable. Should your circumstances or goals change, the bequest amount or ultimate designation can be easily altered. There are several ways to make a bequest to Rutgers. You and your attorney can decide which is best for you. The Development Office would be happy to provide sample wording for your review and your attorney's opinion.

If you decide to include Rutgers in your will, please consider alerting the Development Office in advance. This helps the university plan for the future and acknowledge donors while they are still living. You also become eligible for membership in the Colonel Henry Rutgers Society. Society members receive a seasonal newsletter featuring articles on Rutgers and financial planning tips. In addition, Colonel Henry Rutgers Society members are invited back to campus for an annual luncheon featuring a lecture by one of the university’s esteemed faculty. Members are also invited to special events around the country.

This very sophisticated strategy is also called a Charitable Annuity Lead Trust. The bare bones of it include setting up a trust that pays income to a nonprofit entity, such as the Rutgers Foundation with a designation to the Equine Science Center, for a specific period of time. At the end of this term, the remaining assets in the trust are turned back to the donor or the donor's heirs. Depending on the circumstances, this arrangement may reduce or eliminate inheritance taxes and pass future appreciation on to your heirs unaffected by any taxes.

This is another beneficial package. A Charitable Remainder Trust can provide you or your spouse with lifetime income. Combined with a noncharitable trust, such as a trust for a minor child or an educational fund for your grandchildren, it can help you advantageously distribute your assets.

This is a creative use of life insurance. Make a donation to Rutgers -- securities, real estate, cash, personal property, whatever -- and, with the tax savings, buy a life insurance policy for the value of the donation. Life insurance can pass without tax to your heirs. Remember, tax savings will vary depending on the type and circumstances of the gift.