I'm Transforming Aggieland With...

… A Donor-Advised Fund

Valeta Wheeler ’86 had only one factor in mind when choosing her method for charitable giving: flexibility. In her initial will, she planned to leave most of her assets to a few charities. But when some of those organizations changed over time, she sought a more flexible giving approach that allowed her to easily control her donations. A few financial planning workshops later, Wheeler created a donor-advised fund (DAF). “It provided me the flexibility to change the recipients of my assets without having to contact a lawyer to update my will,” she said.

Wheeler created her DAF through an outside financial institution, which administers her contributions, such as cash and stocks. Through her DAF, she retains advisory privileges over how the funds are invested, as well as granting distributions to charities of her choice, including the Texas A&M Foundation. The former student also benefits from her DAF during and after her lifetime. She receives tax deductions for DAF contributions, and while her funds are waiting to be distributed, her financial institution invests them to grow their value and further her giving impact. In addition to her current distributions to the Foundation, Wheeler also named the nonprofit as an after-lifetime beneficiary of her DAF to continue growing the campus initiatives she’s most passionate about: scholarships, brain research and The Gardens at Texas A&M University.
 

… Real Estate

After retiring from their private veterinary practice, an anonymous donor couple sold their small animal hospital and leased the property to a national veterinary organization, turning it into an income-producing property. Each month, they receive the lease payment, part of which they use to create pass-through scholarships that provide immediate impact for students at the Texas A&M School of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences, one of their alma maters. This charitable approach also provides an income tax deduction. “The veterinary profession has been good to us, and we want our legacy to be training and helping the next generation of vets,” the donors said. But more importantly, they don’t want their scholarships to be temporary.

To continue supporting veterinary students after their lifetime, the couple left their property to the Foundation as a bequest in their will. The bequest ensures that they maintain ownership of the property until their passing, while the Foundation has committed to using it to fulfill the donors’ vision of continuing to contribute to their scholarships, which currently support between six to eight veterinary students per year with at least $5,000 per recipient.
 

… Appreciated Securities

When Jim Hopper Sr. ’68 began his estate planning journey, his CPA advised, “You can’t fit one penny into your coffin.” After setting assets aside for family, Hopper noticed he hadn’t addressed his stock accounts. Throughout his lifetime, he’d invested in various companies that performed well, buying shares when their cost basis was low and letting their value accumulate over time. “My investments had multiplied in value, but I didn’t want to pay the associated capital gains taxes and saw no need to be taxed later.” Hopper chose to use his appreciated securities to directly support the College of Engineering’s senior capstone projects.