Now is a Good Time to Plan Your Charitable Gift

International House relies on the support of alumni and friends to effectively pursue its mission. To learn more about giving options, including special naming opportunities and tax benefits available to donors, please contact Shanti Corrigan, Director of Development and Alumni Relations, at (510) 642-0124 or e-mail Shanti.

Supporting the Legacy of
International House

Especially in times of global unrest, International House is a haven where students from all nations live under one roof in peace. Divided by differences in nationality, culture, politics, race and religion, here residents are united by friendship. In recognition of this proud history, many alumni and friends are choosing to honor this legacy by making a charitable gift.

Through the University of California, Berkeley Foundation, donors are able to support I House with a gift that pays income for your life through a charitable gift annuity. Many people are interested in finding an investment that will give them a fixed, and healthy, return on that investment. Charitable gift annuities do just that. The Foundation is licensed through the California Department of Insurance to issue these gift annuities. Establishing a gift annuity results in the following benefits:

· A current income tax deduction;
· Avoidance of capital gains tax for gifts of appreciated property;
· A fixed income for life; and
· The knowledge that your gift ultimately will support International House.

You can provide an income for yourself and one other person for your lives. The annuity rate depends on the age of the annuitants at their next birthday. The chart below gives you an idea of the annuity rate for one individual along with the tax deduction and annual annuity assuming a single gift of $50,000.

The annuity payments do not change during the lives of the annuitants, and they are guaranteed by all of the assets of the Foundation. The minimum contribution for a gift annuity is $20,000. Donors may transfer cash or appreciated securities to fund gift annuities. A benefit of funding a gift annuity with cash is that a substantial portion of the annual payment is tax-free income.

Sometimes younger donors do not need the income stream from a gift annuity right away, but would like to lock in the value of appreciated assets. In fact, donors can receive a larger annuity if they agree to postpone payments for several years by establishing a deferred charitable gift annuity. This plan has all of the benefits of the gift annuity, the only difference is the deferral of the start date for payments.

We have some good news to share with you about International House supporters, Richard and Lillian Lessler, who recently described their reasons for making a planned gift in Cal Futures, the planned giving newsletter for alumni and friends.

The Lesslers have supported International House by establishing several deferred charitable gift annuities. One of Dick's formative experiences at Cal came from his residence at International House. Today, he looks back with fondness on the education that he received through the friendships and cross-cultural interactions that marked his time at I-House.

It is because Dick and Lillian are committed to furthering this mission that, over the years, they have supported Cal by funding several deferred gift annuities. In each case, they have contributed appreciated stock to the University.

Their gifts, they know, make good financial sense for Cal and for them. Based on their current ages, the Lesslers would have received less than six percent form a charitable gift annuity that immediately commenced making payments. However, by deferring the first annuity payment by four to six years, they will receive annual payments of between seven and nine percent on their various deferred payment annuities - and provide much needed support for International House at the same time.

Dick and Lillian are pleased to support Cal. This "win-win" arrangement gives them a better return on their money now and lets them support the university they believe in so strongly.