1. What are the four kinds of gifts I can give to Naval Postgraduate School Foundation?
Generally speaking, during your lifetime you can make an outright gift of cash, securities or other property (e.g., real estate, personal property).

Upon your death you can make a gift through your will or revocable trust or through a distribution from a retirement plan or life insurance policy.

You also have the option of making a gift that returns lifetime payments to you, your spouse, or other individuals, such as charitable remainder trust.

You can also make a gift that pays lifetime income to the Naval Postgraduate School Foundation through a charitable lead trust.

2. What sort of assets can I use to make a gift?
Almost anything: cash, publicly traded securities, the balance in your retirement account. Other assets can be very valuable but are more complicated to administer and must be reviewed by us before we can accept them as gifts: real estate, closely held stock and artwork.

3. What tax deduction will I receive for my gift?
It depends on the form your gift takes:

• Outright gifts to the Naval Postgraduate School Foundation generate a full income-tax charitable deduction. Outright gifts of appreciated securities are deductible at fair market value, with no recognition of capital gains - a great tax benefit!
• Gifts of personal property, like art, books and collectibles, are fully deductible so long as they are relevant to our mission. We can advise you on this point.
• Bequests do not generate a lifetime income tax deduction. They are exempt from estate tax, however.
• Similarly, life insurance distributions to the Naval Postgraduate School Foundation are not income-tax deductible, but are exempt from estate tax.
• A lifetime gift of an insurance policy to the Naval Postgraduate School Foundation generates a deduction for the value of the policy. If you give a policy with premiums still owing, you may also deduct annual gifts that offset our premium payments (for more details on this point, see Question 5 below).
• The charitable deduction for a gift that makes payments to you, such as a charitable remainder trust, is the fair market value of the gift asset minus the present value of the income interest you retain.

4. Can the Naval Postgraduate School Foundation serve as the Executor of my estate?
No. State law, the limitations of our corporate powers and our internal policies prevent us from taking such a role in your affairs.

5. I want to set up a life insurance policy, name the Naval Postgraduate School Foundation as beneficiary, and still retain ownership of the policy. Can I deduct the premium payments I make?
No. The IRS would not consider that a "completed gift" - they'd say that, as the owner of the policy, you could change the beneficiary designation to a friend or family member. The Naval Postgraduate School Foundation must be made the irrevocable owner of the policy for gifts offsetting premium payments to be deductible.

6. Can I transfer my IRA to to set up a life-income gift, and avoid income tax on the transfer?