Guide to Giving

Planned Gifts

4 Non-Cash Gift Ideas

These days, cash gets spread pretty thin—after everyday expenses and saving for the future, what's left? You may not feel comfortable giving cash today when you don't know whether you'll need that money tomorrow.

If this sounds like you, it might make more sense for you to support your favorite causes by donating assets you no longer need, instead of cash. Here are four examples of non-cash assets you can give to Auburn University to help support our mission.

Stocks and Securities
When owned longer than one year, appreciated securities are deductible at their full present fair market value—with no tax on the appreciation. Here are three ways to donate these assets:

Simply give the securities to Auburn University. If you have the physical securities, hand-deliver them to us or mail us the stocks and stock power separately. If you don’t have possession of the physical securities, instruct your broker to electronically transfer your intended shares and to notify us once the transfer is complete.
If you want to keep them as an investment, donate the securities to us and then buy more from your broker. You'll get a higher cost basis in the new shares, which will save you capital gains taxes in the future.
If you own stock that's selling for less than what you paid for it, sell those shares and use the loss to cut your taxes as allowed by law. Then contribute the proceeds from the sale to us.

Real Estate
Depending on the donation method you choose, you can benefit from income and capital gains tax savings while possibly increasing your annual income. Some options to consider include:

Life Insurance
Depending on the unique circumstances of your gift, you may receive significant tax benefits. There are two major ways that people use life insurance to support our cause:

You can name us as the beneficiary (or co-beneficiary) of an existing life insurance policy. After your lifetime, the proceeds of the policy support our cause.
You can make us owner of the policy and relinquish all incidents of ownership, resulting in current tax savings for you.

Test your knowledge about gifts of life insurance.

Tangible Personal Property
Gifts of items that can be touched or moved—for example, art or other collectibles—can provide you with the most favorable tax benefits if they are used in relation to our mission. Assuming you've owned the related property for more than 12 months, you may claim an income tax deduction for its fair market value, even though your cost may have been a fraction of its current value. Plus, you pay no capital gains tax. Otherwise, if the item is not related to our mission, your deduction is based on its cost basis.

For more information on alternative ways to give or for help in deciding the best gift option for you, contact Office of Trusts, Estates and Gift Planning at 334-844-7375 or plannedgiving@auburn.edu—without obligation.

Learn more about creative ways to give.

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.