There must be 50 ways to show your love here.
Or maybe infinite, since almost every Carleton gift is unique. To simplify things, though, we’ve provided references and resources below for the most popular ways to give.
Just as the 50th Reunion is a special reunion, the 50th Reunion Class Gift is a special gift. The following documents and links offer detailed information about the many kinds of gifts that are recognized and celebrated as part of your 50th Reunion.
Pledge Form
Ready to make your gift? Please use this pledge form to indicate your interest in support for the college in conjunction with the Class of ’72 50th Reunion.
Ways to Give Brochure
The Ways to Give brochure is a personalized summary of the most popular types of 50th Reunion gifts, with comments from your Carleton classmates and other alumni.
“Current Use” Gifts
Gifts that Carleton can “use now” have immediate value for the college. Any gifts pledged by our 50th Reunion (June 2022) and transferred to Carleton between now and June 30, 2026 (our 55th Reunion year), count towards our total 50th Reunion Class Gift. Since they can be used within the next five years, you can apply them to our Class of ‘72 Fund, if you wish.
- Cash – You can donate through our secure GiveCampus online form, using a credit card, popular electronic payment services, or bank transfer for payment. See additional ways to give and further details in Carleton’s cash and stock gift information.
- IRA qualified charitable distribution (QCD) – If you’re 70 ½ or older, each year, you can instruct your IRA administrator to transfer a gift (up to $100,000) directly to Carleton and avoid paying the tax had you taken it as income. Click here to hear from a classmate who found this to be a great option, for more reasons than you might think!
- Gifts of appreciated assets – When you donate appreciated stocks, bonds, or mutual fund shares instead of cash, you’re eligible for a charitable deduction for the full amount of your gift and to avoid the impact of capital gains taxes. See further details in Carleton’s cash and stock gift information.
- Gifts of real property: real estate and other valuables – Like stock, the fair market value of gifts of appreciated assets such as real estate, artwork, and other well curated collections can be deducted from your income tax today, avoid capital gains, and reduce estate taxes in the future. There are even ways to donate your home and live there as long as you’d like.
- TOOL: Cash and stock gift information – How to make a gift of cash or stock to Carleton.
Legacy Gifts
Alumni who make legacy gifts are automatically enrolled in Carleton’s Heywood Society. Legacy gifts–pledged by our 50th Reunion (June 2022) and transferred to Carleton at some future date through your estate–count toward our total 50th Reunion Class Gift.
For every new Heywood Society member, our 50th Reunion co-chair Greg Melville and his wife Susan Fox will give $7,200 to our ’72 Get Started Fund. And, if we reach our goal of 72 Heywood members, they will give an additional $72,000! So including Carleton in your estate plans will ensure support for future Carleton students, AND you’ll be triggering challenge funds to support them right away. Here are some of the most popular legacy gift approaches and a couple of useful tools.
- Beneficiary designations– Naming Carleton as the beneficiary of a retirement plan asset such as an IRA, 401(k), or 403(b), will accomplish a charitable goal while realizing a significant tax savings.
- Gifts from your will (Bequests) – Through a provision in your written and executed will or living trust, you can make a gift to Carleton in the form of cash, securities, real estate, or personal property. There are many types of bequests. Consult with your attorney to choose the one that best fits your needs and intentions.
- Life income gifts (Charitable gift annuities) – You can turn underperforming assets (cash, stock, CDs, savings bonds, etc.) into a gift to Carleton that provides income to you or you and a loved one. Your Carleton College Charitable Gift Annuity will return fixed, quarterly payments for life and provide tax benefits, too.
- Donor advised funds – Name Carleton College as a beneficiary of your donor advised fund. Designate us to receive all or a portion of the balance of your fund through your fund administrator (you can also make a grant to us at any time from your donor-advised fund). The balance in your fund passes to Carleton College when the fund terminates.
- Gifts through trusts – Charitable Remainder Trusts provide you income from an asset that then passes to Carleton as a gift. Charitable Lead Trusts provide income to Carleton before the asset passes to your heirs. For the savvy donor, charitable trusts can provide tax-advantaged income, eliminate capital gains, or preserve assets for your heirs.
- Gifts of life insurance – Name Carleton College as the beneficiary of an existing life insurance policy; donate an existing, paid-up life insurance policy you no longer need; or purchase a new life insurance policy and name Carleton College as the owner and beneficiary.
- TOOL: Estate commitment form – Already have Carleton in your plans? Use this form to make sure your gift is included in the 50th Reunion Class Gift.
- TOOL: Sample will & trust language – Sample language you can share with your attorney to name Carleton in your estate plan.