Forever ACC Legacy Society

With a gift through your estate, you can establish an endowed scholarship, provide permanent support for an educational program, help strengthen our general endowment, or provide support for more immediate needs at the College. You define the impact you would like to make.

Opportunities include:

• Named Endowed Scholarship Fund – Permanent support for deserving students
• Named Endowed Program Fund – Permanent support for an academic program of choice
• General Endowment – Funds permanently invested to provide recurring income for the College
• General Support – Gift utilized to support area(s) of greatest need at ACC

We would love to help you explore the different ways a future gift could impact ACC.

There are many ways to support the College with an estate gift, options that help you balance planning for family and loved ones with a chance to give back. The following provides a brief introduction:

Charitable Bequest – By naming Arapahoe Community College in your Will or Living Trust, you create a gift today that we will receive only when your estate is settled.

IRA or Retirement Plan – You can name Arapahoe Community College as a beneficiary of your IRA or workplace retirement plan. To include the College, simply request a “beneficiary change” form from your IRA custodian or Human Resources department, complete the form, and then return it according to their instructions. Beneficiary change forms are often available online.

Life Insurance – You can name Arapahoe Community College as the beneficiary of a new or existing life insurance policy. To include ACC, simply request a “beneficiary change” form from your life insurance company, complete the form, and return it according to the instructions provided. Again, most companies make beneficiary change forms available online.

Charitable Gift Annuity – A gift annuity is a simple contract in which Arapahoe Community College agrees to pay you (and/or another person) an income for life, in exchange for a gift you make today.

Charitable Remainder Trust – In the right situations, a charitable remainder trust can provide powerful financial, tax, and estate planning benefits. You donate assets into a trust for the eventual benefit of Arapahoe Community College. In the interim, the trust pays income to you and/or your designated income beneficiaries.

Charitable Lead Trust – A charitable lead trust can provide support for Arapahoe Community College while transferring assets in the future to your heirs with little or no gift or estate tax.

Retained Life Estate – You can donate future ownership of a residence to Arapahoe Community College, while still retaining the right to live there for the rest of your life.

Any of these estate gifts could help make a significant impact at the College, and we would love to honor your support through our Forever ACC Legacy Society.

Revocable Gifts

The future is uncertain. However, you can still create a planned gift today while simultaneously retaining control over these assets for the balance of your life. Such gifts are called revocable gifts. You can change your mind. You have total control.

Unless you are confident that you will not outlive your assets, a revocable estate gift is almost always the best option. These gifts are generally one of the following:

• Bequest in a Will or Living Trust
• Beneficiary Designation in IRA or Retirement Plan
• Beneficiary Designation in Life Insurance Policy
• Pay-on-Death arrangement for a bank account

By naming Arapahoe Community College in your will, living trust, or as a beneficiary, you can protect yourself against an uncertain future. Should you ever need these assets, they are available. If not, your gift will come to Arapahoe Community College exactly as you desire.

Revocable vs. Irrevocable Gifts

The IRS provides important tax incentives to encourage support for charitable organizations. To qualify for any given tax benefit, a gift typically must be irrevocable. Stated another way, a gift must be complete and not one a donor could ‘reclaim’ in any way.

Clearly, an irrevocable gift only should be made after proper reflection and consultation with your legal and financial advisors. However, with proper planning, such gifts can provide important income and tax benefits for you and your heirs.

Examples of these gifts include Charitable Remainder Trusts, Charitable Lead Trusts, and Charitable Gift Annuities.

Arapahoe Community College can help you explore the benefits that may result from an irrevocable planned gift. 

It is always appropriate to consult with your professional advisors when considering an estate gift. The following information can help your advisor facilitate any gift you might wish to make:

Legal Name: Arapahoe Community College Foundation

Address: 5900 S. Santa Fe Drive, Campus Box 43

Littleton, CO 80160

Phone: 303.797.5881

Website: www.araphaoe.edu/foundation

Brokerage Information

Arapahoe Community College gratefully accepts gifts of publicly traded securities. In general, donating securities in appreciated positions will help maximize an individual’s tax benefit, as the associated charitable income tax deduction is typically based on the full fair market value of the security. No capital gains tax would be payable by the donor or Arapahoe Community College.

Recommended Language for Bequests and Testamentary Gifts

Sample language for a specific bequest to Arapahoe Community College through a will or living trust:

“I give to Arapahoe Community College, 5900 S Santa Fe Drive, Littleton, CO 80160  a Colorado non-profit corporation, the sum of $ [or % of my estate; or the property described herein], for its general purposes.”

Sample language for a residuary bequest to Arapahoe Community College is

“I give to Arapahoe Community College, 5900 S Santa Fe Drive, Littleton, CO 80160, a Colorado non-profit corporation, all [or %] of the rest, residue, and remainder of my estate, both real and personal, for its general purposes.”

Beneficiary Designation

A person wishing to support Arapahoe Community College through a retirement plan, IRA, or life insurance policy, should request a Beneficiary Change Form from his/her company or plan administrator. Beneficiary Change forms are typically available online. Please indicate the desired gift amount or percentage and return/submit the completed form.

Other Arrangements

Arapahoe Community College also encourages estate gifts through other arrangements, including Charitable Remainder and Charitable Lead Trusts. However, Arapahoe Community College prefers not to serve as a Trustee for these gifts.

Purpose of Gift

People who make estate or outright gifts may designate their gift for a specific purpose.  Examples include:

• Endowed Scholarship Fund – Create a named endowed scholarship to support a student
• Endowed Program Fund – Named fund to permanently support an academic program of choice
• General Endowment – Funds are permanently invested to provide recurring income to the College
• General Mission – Gift utilized to support area(s) of greatest need

A person who contributes $25,000 or more may establish a Named Endowed Fund. As highlighted above, a Named Endowed Fund could fund student scholarships or support an academic program of choice. Typically, these funds are named in honor of the donor and/or family, or perhaps to honor another loved one(s).    

Arapahoe Community College created the Forever ACC Legacy Society to honor and recognize those who remember us with an estate gift. This provides us with an opportunity to say “thank you” during a person’s life.

The College also recognizes that some donors prefer to remain anonymous regarding a future estate gift. We will honor and respect these wishes in full. In addition, we also seek the opportunity to share our gratitude for an estate gift whenever possible.

In some cases, a client may allow an advisor to share his/her name with the College. In others, an advisor can play a helpful role in forwarding a ‘Thank You’ letter to a client, while still preserving client anonymity.

If your client moves forward with an estate gift, we would appreciate any guidance about the best way to share our gratitude. Arapahoe Community College places great importance on thanking people for their confidence and generosity, while also respecting their wishes for anonymity in every instance.