CREATING YOUR LEGACY AT SIENA COLLEGE How many of us remember purchasing the chewy Now and Later candies when we were younger? We received instant joy from the burst of flavor and due to the nature of the candy, continued to enjoy the benefits long after.
Gifts to Siena College generally can also be considered Now and Later and, like the candy, yield wonderful results. Most people who give to Siena do so by sending the gift Now (checks, credit cards, real estate, appreciated stocks.) Planned gifts can be considered the long-term Later where the donor delays the gift or splits the gift into two parts: income and asset. Siena is grateful to have many alumni and friends who give to Siena through planned gifts. In fact, about 20% of all gifts in Living our Tradition: The Campaign for Siena College were planned gifts. All donors who make a planned gift become members of our St. Francis Society. The most common planned gift is to include Siena College in your will. There is no magic language to this: simply name Siena as a beneficiary of an asset, an expressed dollar amount, or an expressed percentage of your estate. Even though the gift comes at a later date, we ask you to please inform Siena of your intentions so we can enroll you as a member of the St. Francis Society. The second most common planned gift is a beneficiary designation, such as naming Siena College as a beneficiary of a life insurance policy or a retirement plan. Again, even though the gift comes at a later date, we ask you to please inform Siena of your intentions so we can enroll you as a member in the St. Francis Society. Do you have a desire to create your legacy at Siena but want to delay your gift until you or your spouse do not need the asset anymore?
There are several simple vehicles that allow you to make the intention to give now but delay the transfer of the asset or the income from the asset until a later date. There are even ways to have the asset go to your children or grandchildren while still making a gift to Siena. For example, you can have the income from an asset paid to Siena (you get an income tax deduction) and then later have the asset go to your children (potentially estate tax free). As Siena swiftly heads toward its 80-year anniversary, more alumni than ever are making planned gifts to Siena College. For more information about planned giving, please contact Bradley Bodmer’82, Esq., Director of Development (bbodmer@ siena.edu or (518) 782-6919) or visit siena.edu. We are here to help you create your legacy within the mission of our great College.
To see the generous members of the St. Francis Society, please visit siena.edu/st-francis-society
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