Legacy and Planned Giving The Stevens League recognizes and honors those who support MCAD through a planned gift. Planned gifts expand MCAD’s endowment, improve academic programs, and keep tuition affordable for students. The Stevens League gives MCAD the opportunity to thank you today for the support you provide in the future. When you make a planned gift to MCAD, you’re creating extraordinary opportunities for future generations of artists and designers. You can put your assets to work any way you choose by endowing a scholarship fund, making an unrestricted gift, or supporting a specific academic program. Whatever the purpose, a planned gift is an investment in the future and a powerful way to give back to the creative community. Give Now Donor Profile: Peter Seitz Michael Gaughan ’02 For Peter Seitz (1931-2023), an endowed scholarship is a way to continue bolstering students after retiring from a thirty-year teaching career at MCAD in 2002. A German-born graphic designer, Seitz served as the first design director at the Walker Art Center before moving on to establish the graphic design curriculum at MCAD in 1971. Having received scholarship support himself while studying design in Ulm, Germany, and at Yale graduate school, Seitz had an understanding of students’ financial needs. “Teaching at MCAD allowed me to see the same issue, but from a teaching and administrative point of view,” says Seitz. Wanting to lift up aspiring young designers, Seitz, along with a gift from AIGA Minnesota, established the Peter Seitz Legacy Design Scholarship Fund at MCAD in 2008. “The scholarship is an acknowledgment of great performance in graphic design and allows students to further their education. It felt good when students graduated, got a well-paying job, or went on to graduate school.” Peter Seitz passed away on September 21, 2023, and his Legacy Design Scholarship Fund will continue for the MCAD community. Gifts from Your Will Including MCAD in your will or trust allows you to make a gift that costs you nothing during your lifetime. While a bequest offers no immediate income tax benefits, it can reduce or even eliminate estate taxes. You can make a bequest to the college through your will, trust, or estate plan. To include MCAD in any of these documents, you can use the following language: “I give, devise, and bequeath to the Minneapolis College of Art and Design, a nonprofit Minnesota corporation, located at 2501 Stevens Ave, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55404 the sum of $________ (or, ___ percent of my estate, or ____ percent of the residue of my estate) to be used for such purposes as the Board of Trustees determines at the time this bequest becomes effective.” Gifts that Give Back Certain gifts to MCAD can create a stream of income and a charitable income tax deduction for the donor. These gifts include: Charitable Gift Annuities Charitable Gift Annuities (CGAs) are one of the most popular planned gift options. Gift annuities can provide you with a guaranteed fixed income for your lifetime as well as significant tax benefits. In an uncertain economy, the stability of a CGA is very attractive to donors who wish to avoid risk. A Charitable Gift Annuity is a contract between the donor and MCAD. In exchange for a gift of cash or property, MCAD agrees to make fixed payments to the donor for the remainder of their life and/or the life of another individual. Payments are based on a rate schedule determined by the American Council on Gift Annuities. The rate is calculated based on the age of the donor. In addition to this fixed income for life, the donor receives a federal income tax deduction at the time the gift is made. Charitable Gift Annuities require a minimum gift of $10,000. When the donor or other named beneficiary dies, MCAD’s financial obligations are completed. Gifts from Your Retirement Plan Assets A Charitable Remainder Trust (CRT) is a special tax-exempt irrevocable trust arrangement written to comply with federal tax laws and regulations. Generally used as part of a complex estate plan, CRTs involve a donor transferring cash or assets (especially appreciated assets) to the trust in order to preserve these assets and to receive income for life or a certain term of years. Payments can be fixed or variable, and special tax advantages may apply. Most CRTs involve gifts of $250,000 or more. Charitable Remainder Trusts It is important to handle retirement plan assets (IRA, 401(k), 403(b), etc.) carefully in your estate as these funds can be significantly diminished by both estate and income taxes. By making a tax-free charitable gift of your retirement plan assets, you can maximize the impact of your hard-earned savings. To establish MCAD as a beneficiary of your retirement plan assets, simply complete a change of beneficiary form (available through your plan administrator) and notify MCAD of your gift. Life Insurance Naming MCAD as a primary or secondary beneficiary of an insurance policy is a very simple way to give a significant gift. This can be done with an existing policy or by establishing a new one. To establish a planned gift to MCAD, contact Adam Buhr, Vice President of Institutional Advancement, at 651.428.7820 or abuhr@mcad.edu.