The Chronicle of Philanthropy highlights our exploiting KETRA to convert a $5 million lead trust into an outright gift of the same amount for Baruch College.

Few Signs of ‘Donor Fatigue’ Appear as Year-End Appeals Wrap Up
By Holly Hall and Leah Kerkman

The following paragraphs are excerpted from the article:

As charities prepare for the busiest fund-raising weeks of the year, most nonprofit officials expect 2005 to end with record-setting donations.

Despite news reports that Hurricane Katrina and other natural disasters may have exhausted donors’ ability to donate to other causes this year, many charities have recently received donations of at least $10,000, with some in the multimillion-dollar range.

The big donations are prompted in part by a new tax law — passed by Congress out of concern that Katrina would hurt some charities — that expanded the tax breaks available to wealthy donors.

. . .

The legislation allows donors to deduct up to 100 percent of their income — up from 50 percent — for cash donations made from August 28 through the end of 2005.

. . .

Other wealthy people have decided to change their giving plans to take advantage of the tax break before it expires in January.

At Baruch College, in New York, William and Anita Newman had planned to create a charitable trust that would generate $5-million for the college over the next decade but provide them with little in the way of an income-tax deduction. Given the new law, the couple has decided instead to give $5-million in cash to Baruch this year; in return, they can take a tax deduction for the entire amount.

David Gallagher, vice president of college advancement at Baruch, says it has been a “hard sell” to persuade people who haven’t previously made big gifts to take advantage of the new tax break. But he says many loyal donors have been quick to see why the tax break is worthwhile, “especially those who have outstanding pledges.”

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