Cash gifts, checks, credit cards, or other property, provide Kresge Eye Institute with much needed financial assistance. These gifts can be used immediately to the area(s) in which it is designated.

Tribute and memorial gifts are thoughtful ways to mark a special occasion or to honor the memory of a relative or friend. To make a memorial gift, send your contribution (along with acknowledgment information so we can notify the recipient or family) to Kresge Eye Institute. Tribute donations can be made to celebrate or remember all of life’s important milestones:

• Births and birthdays
• Weddings and anniversaries
• Graduations and retirements
• Bar or Bat Mitzvahs
• Mother’s Day or Father’s Day
• Get well, good luck, best wishes, congratulations
• Celebrating life’s successes and joys
• Simply saying “thank you”

Your gift will be acknowledged immediately with a card sent to the person or group that you are honoring. A personal message on the card will let them know that a thoughtful donation has been made in their name. Tribute Gifts can be made online here.

A bequest in a will or trust stipulates that the entire amount or a percentage of your estate be given to the university after your lifetime. Your bequest may be designated to a research program, to a faculty endowment or scholarships, or it may be unrestricted and used where needed most. Gifts from your estate to Kresge Eye Institute are exempt from estate tax. Life-income gifts provide income to a donor and/or another individual, such as a spouse. The donor realizes income tax savings for the year the gift is given to the university. A charitable gift annuity, for example, provides a guaranteed income for a spouse or other loved one, and a deferred income gift annuity provides you with additional retirement income. At the end of the beneficiary’s lifetime(s), the remainder is transferred to Kresge Eye Institute. Retirement fund assets would be heavily taxed if given to an individual. After your lifetime, the remainder of your retirement fund can be designated to a research program, to the Ligon Research Center of Vision, to a faculty endowment or scholarships, or it may be unrestricted and used where needed most. Life insurance, in the form of an old policy no longer needed by the original beneficiary or a newly created policy to benefit Kresge Eye Institute, can provide invaluable support to the institute. Small premiums now can generate a major gift in the future, and premiums for these policies may be tax deductible. Many employers provide group life insurance as a benefit, and Kresge Eye can be named for a portion of the proceeds. This giving vehicle is an important one for younger donors who wish to make a leadership gift. Charitable lead trusts provide income to Kresge Eye over a set number of years and then transfer assets to children or other individual(s) named by the donor. This plan enables heirs to receive assets while minimizing taxes.

Endowments provide permanent financial support to Kresge Eye Institute. A list of endowments can be seen here, and they include research support, faculty support, lectureships, and resident/fellow educational support. Competition for the best faculty, researchers and residents/fellows is extremely high. Private endowed scholarships have enabled Kresge Eye Institute to recruit, support and retain especially talented people. By providing specially designated resources for research and teaching, endowments enable gifted faculty and researchers to excel in their particular disciplines. When creating an endowment, you have a unique naming opportunity and the ability to make a gift in perpetuity which will create lasting impact for Kresge Eye Institute. Contact Jon Goldstein, Kresge Eye Institute Development Officer, to discuss further at [email protected]

KEI currently has several established endowments that provide invaluable support to the institute. Each endowment has its own mission and goals that have been established by the donor.

Gifts of assets that may make helpful gifts while saving taxes include real estate (subject to university approval), closely held stock, business practices (law, medicine, etc.), partnerships, contracts, leases, royalties and patents.