Planned Giving
Your Legacy, Their Future
A planned gift to UT Martin is more than a financial decision—it’s a powerful way to shape the future of education in West Tennessee. Your generosity provides life-changing opportunities for students, supports dedicated faculty, and strengthens programs that make a lasting impact.
Whether you’re passionate about scholarships, faculty support, research, athletics, capital projects, or international travel experiences, we’ll work with you to create a plan that reflects your values and fulfills your vision. Together, we can ensure your legacy continues to inspire for generations to come.
Let’s start the conversation about how your gift can make a difference.
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The Impact and Benefits of Your Gift
When you include UT Martin in your estate plans, you create a lasting legacy that transforms lives and strengthens our mission. Your generosity not only supports students and programs for generations to come—it can also provide meaningful advantages for you and your loved ones:
- Reduced capital gains taxes
- Reduced probate costs and estate taxes
- An income tax deduction
A planned gift is a powerful way to ensure your values live on. It allows you to care for your family, make a difference at UT Martin, and achieve your financial goals—all in harmony with your wishes.
Let’s explore how your gift can make an impact.
Meaningful Ways to Make a Difference
Including UT Martin in your estate plans is one of the most meaningful ways to create a lasting impact. A bequest allows you to make a gift that reflects your values—one that takes effect only after your lifetime, ensuring your loved ones are cared for first.
Your bequest can take many forms, including:
- Securities (stocks, bonds, mutual funds)
- Real estate
- Personal property (art, jewelry, collectibles)
- A percentage of your estate
- The residue of your estate (what remains after other obligations are met)
One of the simplest and most meaningful ways to make a lasting difference is by naming UT Martin as a beneficiary of your retirement plan, life insurance policy, or annuity. This thoughtful gift costs nothing during your lifetime and ensures your values live on—supporting students and shaping futures for generations to come.
A Charitable Lead Trust is a unique way to make a lasting difference while preserving wealth for your loved ones. By creating a CLT, you provide income to UT Martin for a set period—supporting students and programs today—before the remaining assets return to your heirs. This approach allows you to leave a powerful legacy, reduce potential estate and gift taxes, and maintain control over how your assets are distributed.
Your Impact
Your trust ensures immediate support for our mission while securing your family’s future. It’s a strategy that blends generosity with smart planning.
How It Works
- You transfer assets into the trust.
- The trust pays a fixed amount or percentage to UT Martin for a set term.
- At the end of the term, the remaining assets revert back to you or your heirs.
Benefits to You
- Possible gift or estate tax savings.
- Charitable deduction for the present value of payments to charity.
- Opportunity to create a legacy that benefits both your family and the causes you care about most
A Charitable Remainder Trust is a powerful way to create a lasting legacy while meeting your financial goals. With a CRT, you can convert appreciated assets into a reliable income stream, reduce taxes, and relieve yourself of investment management—while ultimately making a meaningful gift that supports our mission for generations to come.
Your Impact
By establishing a CRT, you ensure that after providing for yourself and your loved ones, the remainder of your trust will advance the work you care about most. It’s a way to turn your assets into a future of opportunity and progress.
Types of Charitable Remainder Trusts
- Annuity Trust – Provides fixed annual payments for life or a set term.
- Unitrust – Provides variable annual payments based on a percentage of the trust’s value, recalculated annually.
How It Works
- You transfer assets into the trust.
- The trust pays you (or your chosen beneficiaries) an income stream for life or a set term.
- At the end of the term or upon death, the remaining assets go to charity.
Benefits to You
- Immediate charitable deduction based on the remainder value.
- Avoid capital gains tax on appreciated assets when sold by the trust.
- Potential to increase income and diversify investments.
If you are age 70 ½ or older, you can take advantage of a simple way to benefit UT Martin and receive tax benefits in return. You can give up to $108,000 from your IRA ($216,000 for married filing jointly if both spouses have IRAs) directly to a qualified charity such as UT Martin without having to pay income taxes on the money. (For 2026, the projected amount is $115,000 / $230,000.)
A retained life estate allows you to make a significant gift while continuing to enjoy your property during your lifetime. With this arrangement, you deed your home, vacation property, farm, or land to our organization now, but retain the right to live on and use it for the rest of your life.
Benefits of a Retained Life Estate:
- Immediate Impact: You make a meaningful commitment today without giving up use of your property.
- Tax Advantages: You may qualify for an immediate charitable income tax deduction.
- Flexibility: You continue to maintain and enjoy your property as you always have.
Eligible Property Types:
- Primary residence
- Vacation home
- Farm or agricultural land
- Other real estate approved by the UT Foundation
A Donor-Advised Fund is a flexible charitable giving account managed by a sponsoring organization, such as a community foundation or financial institution. You contribute assets—cash, securities, or other property—receive an immediate tax deduction, and then recommend grants to your favorite charities over time. Establishing a Donor-Advised Fund provides significant tax advantages while simplifying your future charitable giving.
Imagine creating a gift that provides you with dependable income for life while shaping the future of UT Martin. A Charitable Gift Annuity makes this possible. In exchange for your gift of cash or appreciated securities, you receive fixed, lifetime payments—and the satisfaction of knowing your generosity will support students and programs for years to come.
Your gift today becomes a legacy tomorrow. It’s a simple, powerful way to turn your values into lasting impact.
Honor someone special by making a gift in their name. Your contribution is a meaningful way to celebrate a friend or loved one while supporting the mission of UT Martin and creating opportunities for future generations.
Meaningful Ways to Make a Difference
Bequests Through Your Will or Trust: Your Legacy, Our Future
Including UT Martin in your estate plans is one of the most meaningful ways to create a lasting impact. A bequest allows you to make a gift that reflects your values—one that takes effect only after your lifetime, ensuring your loved ones are cared for first.
Your bequest can take many forms, including:
- Securities (stocks, bonds, mutual funds)
- Real estate
- Personal property (art, jewelry, collectibles)
- A percentage of your estate
- The residue of your estate (what remains after other obligations are met)
Beneficiary Designations: A Simple Way to Make a Difference
One of the simplest and most meaningful ways to make a lasting difference is by naming UT Martin as a beneficiary of your retirement plan, life insurance policy, or annuity. This thoughtful gift costs nothing during your lifetime and ensures your values live on—supporting students and shaping futures for generations to come.
Charitable Lead Trust (CLT): Giving Now, Caring for Loves Ones Later
A Charitable Lead Trust is a unique way to make a lasting difference while preserving wealth for your loved ones. By creating a CLT, you provide income to UT Martin for a set period—supporting students and programs today—before the remaining assets return to your heirs. This approach allows you to leave a powerful legacy, reduce potential estate and gift taxes, and maintain control over how your assets are distributed.
Your Impact
Your trust ensures immediate support for our mission while securing your family’s future. It’s a strategy that blends generosity with smart planning.
How It Works
- You transfer assets into the trust.
- The trust pays a fixed amount or percentage to UT Martin for a set term.
- At the end of the term, the remaining assets revert to your heirs.
Benefits to You
- Possible gift or estate tax savings.
- Charitable deduction for the present value of payments to charity.
- Opportunity to create a legacy that benefits both your family and the causes you care about most
Charitable Remainder Trust (CRT): Income Today, Impact Forever
In the right circumstances, this plan can increase your income, reduce your taxes, unlock appreciated investments, rid you of investment worries, and ultimately provide very important support.
- Annuity Trust—pays fixed annual payments.
- Unitrust—pays variable annual payments.
IRA Distribution
If you are age 70 ½ or older, you can take advantage of a simple way to benefit UT Martin and receive tax benefits in return. You can give up to $108,000 from your IRA ($216,000 for married filing jointly if both spouses have IRAs) directly to a qualified charity such as UT Martin without having to pay income taxes on the money. (For 2026, the projected amount is $115,000 / $230,000.)
Retained Life Estates
Allows you to continue to live in your home but gift it to UT Martin in the present. This method of giving is ideal for those who (1) do not plan on passing on their home to family or other heirs, (2) itemize their income tax deductions and want to save on income taxes now, (3) want to make a significant gift to UT Martin, and (4) want to continue to live in their home.
Donor Advised Fund
Creating a Donor-Advised Fund can provide you with immediate tax benefits while making your future charitable giving easier.
Charitable Gift Annuities
Provides fixed payments for life in exchange for a gift of cash or securities to UT Martin.
Memorial and Honorary Gifts
Consider making a gift to us in honor of a friend or family member whose life has been touched by UT Martin.
How to Give
Cash
One of the most common ways to make a gift to UT Martin is to write a check, make a gift using a credit card, or donate online.
Stocks & Bonds
Giving appreciated stock that you have owned for more than one year is one of the most tax-advantaged ways to make charitable gifts. You can potentially save income tax as well as capital gains tax.
Retirement Assets
Consider giving through your IRA, 401(k), 403(b), or other Qualified Retirement Plan for a tax-smart way to make an impact at UT Martin.
Life Insurance
A gift of a life insurance policy, that you no longer need, can be an option to generously support UT Martin without affecting your cash flow.
Real Estate
There are many options for donating your home, second home, commercial building, land, farm, or other real estate to UT Martin.
Personal Property
A gift of artwork, collectibles, antiques, or other personal property are all excellent ways to support UT Martin.
