Current Gifts

Current gifts are gifts made in the current year and can be utilized immediately. They are commonly referred to as "outright gifts" or "immediate gifts". Current gifts may be designated to help fund opportunities for today and can be assigned to benefit a specific area of interest to you, including student or faculty focused priorities at ABAC.

Types of Current Gifts:
    Cash Gifts
    Real Estate
    Securities
    Bargain Sales
    Charitable Lead Trusts
    Tangible Personal Property

Cash Gifts
Cash gifts are the most common contributions made to the ABAC Foundation. A gift of cash is not subject to taxation and is fully deductible on an annual basis up to 50% of your adjusted gross income (AGI). If the cash gift is large enough to exceed 50% of your AGI in the year of the gift, the remaining amount of the gift may be carried over and used as a deduction for up to five years. The gift amount is removed from your estate. A contribution postmarked in December is deductible for that tax year even if the Foundation receives it in January. Return to Top

Real Estate
Real estate of many types (including undeveloped land, farms, homes, and commercial buildings) can be contributed. Potential gifts of real estate are evaluated based on their ability to be upkept and various other risks associated with the property. Gifts of real estate offer the same deductions as gifts of securities, carry no gift taxes, and may reduce your overall estate taxes. You avoid capital gains taxes on the appreciation you have in the property.

Potential gifts of real estate are evaluated by the ABAC Foundation on a case-by-case basis before acceptance. The Foundation must consider insurance, environmental, maintenance, property tax liability, and other potential risk factors, including special tax provisions which apply to certain types of real estate. Return to Top

Note: Deferred giving offers other ways to make gifts of real estate: life estate agreements, charitable remainder annuity trusts and unitrusts, and bequests.

Securities
Gifts of appreciated stocks or bonds have the same positive benefits as cash, but may be more beneficial to you, per Internal Revenue Service standards.

Gifts of marketable securities that have been held longer than one year allow you to make a charitable deduction equal to the full fair market value of the securities. These gifts allow you to avoid taxation and can be a major benefit to you if you have held securities for several years and they have grown in value.

In addition, by making a gift of securities and letting the institution sell them, you avoid paying any taxes on capital gains on the appreciation in the value of the securities. This can be a major benefit to you if you have held securities over a number of years and if they have grown in value. Return to Top

Bargain Sales
Bargain sales are sales of property, such as securities or real estate, to the ABAC Foundation for less than the full fair market value. A bargain sale consists of a sale portion and a gift portion. A portion of the appreciation of the asset is considered a gift to the College, and you receive a tax deduction for this amount. Return to Top

Charitable Lead Trusts
A donor creates a Charitable Lead Trust by transferring ownership of an asset to a trust. The trust gives the income, or a percentage of the income, to the ABAC Foundation each year for a period of years (usually 15-20). At the end of the period of years, the trust assets are given back to the donor or to named beneficiaries. The lead trust typically is used with assets with a potential for continued high appreciation. The trust permits the assets to be transferred to other family members at a low transfer cost. Utilizing the lead trust, the donor may leave a significantly larger inheritance to his or her heirs than he or she could have left via a will or other trusts. Return to Top

Tangible Personal Property
There are two main categories of tangible personal property:

1. items related to the College's purpose , and
2. items not related to the College's purpose.

Gifts of related-use items allow the donor an income tax charitable deduction of the appraised value of the gift on the date of the gift (up to 30% of the donor's adjusted gross income with the five-year carry-over provision). (e.g. equipment to be used in a teaching lab)

Gifts of unrelated items allow the donor a deduction only of the item's cost basis. Every potential gift item of tangible personal property is evaluated on an item-by-item basis by the ABAC Foundation to determine if it is related-use property. Please consider a gift of cash or securities to provide for the maintenance of special collections. (e.g. a diamond ring) Return to Top

Note: Historically, rules pertaining to the charitable deduction for works of art have changed from year to year. Please check the current year's deduction before making any decisions. When the donor is the creator of a work of art, the donor's tax deduction is limited to the cost of creating that item.

When donors provide gifts to the ABAC Foundation the institution and the donor sign a Gift Agreement. This legal document insures all parties of the gift's intent and purpose. For an overview and specific options related to you, please contact the Office of College Advancement:

Office of College Advancement
ABAC 13 - 2802 Moore Highway
Tifton, GA 31793
(229) 391-4900