Yes. The easiest way to make memorial and tribute gifts is online. Before you complete your gift to Purdue, in the ADDITIONAL GIFT INFORMATION section of our online form, check the “In Memory/Honor Of” box and provide the requested information.
Planning an endowment gift can be a creative, challenging, and rewarding process. Our development professionals can help you choose the most beneficial gift asset and the best method for transferring it to the university in order to achieve your giving objectives.
Giving to Purdue can bring several tax advantages. Although you should always speak to your accountant or attorney regarding your taxes, the general information below may help you decide how or when to give.
State of Indiana College Tax Credit
Indiana taxpayers may take a tax credit of half (50%) of their gift to Purdue. For a joint return, the maximum credit is $200 (based on a gift of $400 or more), and for a single return, the maximum credit is $100 (for a gift of $200 or more). The tax credit directly reduces the “bottom line” of your state income tax by reducing the amount you owe in taxes. All it takes is your gift to Purdue and one simple form: the Indiana CC-40.
Federal Tax Advantages
Contributions to the Purdue Foundation are deductible as charitable contributions within the limits of the Internal Revenue Code.
Cash Gifts
Cash gifts are deductible up to 50% of adjusted gross income, with any carryover applied within five years. For example, the net cost of a $1,000 cash gift to a donor in the 35% marginal tax bracket is only $650 after the $350 tax savings.
Personal Property and Gifts-in-Kind
Gifts-in-kind (books, livestock, works of art, etc.) are deductible at the full fair-market value if they are related to educational programs or activities of the university and have been held for more than one year by the donor. Unrelated gifts-in-kind also may be made.
Gifts of Appreciated Property
With careful planning, charitable gifts of certain types of assets will provide even greater tax benefits to the donor than a gift of equivalent value in cash.
Gifts of appreciated property (securities and real estate) held for more than one year are deductible up to 30% of adjusted gross income with no capital-gains tax on the appreciation. The deduction is based on the fair-market value of the donated property. Gifts of appreciated property held for less than one year are deductible only up to the cost basis in the property, with a limit of 50% of adjusted gross income.
The charitable deduction for gifts of property that would yield ordinary income or short-term capital gains if sold is limited to the donor’s tax basis (usually the original cost of the property). Gifts of appreciated property held long-term provide a double tax benefit.
The full fair-market value of gifts of long-term appreciated securities or real estate is deductible up to 30% of a donor’s adjusted gross income. Any amount in excess of the 30% ceiling can be carried forward for up to five years.
For example, Mr. Albert, who is in the 28% income-tax bracket, owns securities currently valued at $22,000, which he purchased several years ago for $2,000. He contributes the securities to charity and realizes a $22,000 charitable deduction, which saves him $6,160 in income taxes (28% of $22,000). In addition, Mr. Albert avoids the potential capital-gains tax on his $20,000 paper profit. This means a further savings of $3,000 (15% of $20,000). Thus, the actual cost for Mr. Albert for the gift of $22,000 in appreciated securities is only $12,840 ($22,000, less $6,160, less $3,000).
The time may come when contributions for a particular project can no longer be used for their original purpose due to changing conditions (for example, when a construction or renovation project is completed, with funds remaining). In that event, the university in its discretion may utilize those funds for an alternate purpose in a manner that coincides with the donor’s original intent as closely as possible.
Philanthropy is based on voluntary action for the common good. It is a tradition of giving and sharing that is primary to the quality of life. To assure that philanthropy merits the respect and trust of the general public and that donors and prospective donors can have full confidence in the not-for-profit organizations and causes they are asked to support, it is declared that all donors have these rights:
The text of this statement in its entirety was developed by the American Association of Fundraising Counsel (AAFRC), the Association for Healthcare Philanthropy (AHP), the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE), and the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP). (1993)
I’m walking with Grandparents University tour group near the steps of Hovde Hall. It’s a Thursday morning in July, and the only students around are between the ages of 7 and 14. I catch a snippet of a conversation between a grandmother and her grandson as she details the pranks she pulled with her friends around this area.
I smile because just a few months ago I was doing the same thing.
Grandparents University (GPU) is a two-day event where grandparents and their grandchildren embrace Purdue and all it has to offer.
Participants choose a specific major to study and attend a class taught by Boilermaker experts. The majors aren’t exactly like the ones we have here at Purdue, but they do get to do cool activities like creating hot sauce, designing monsters, flying drones, and cooking in a Purdue kitchen. It’s a great opportunity to see wisdom and curiosity combined in the classroom, as grandparents and their grandchildren collaborate on these projects. They’re equally willing to learn from the instructors —and from each other—while creating lasting memories.
They might not know it yet, but this Purdue experience at such a young age will help with their college decision in a few years.
My mother started working at Purdue when she was pregnant with me, so I’ve been familiar with the university my whole life. Many of my childhood memories are associated with different parts of campus, and these memories played a big part in my decision to attend Purdue. I was going to a place that I knew—a place I already considered a home away from home. In the same way, when these children make their college decisions, they will already have built connections with Purdue through Grandparents University.
It will also help they already have a Purdue degree!
At the end of GPU, the kids graduate just like regular students by walking across the stage of Elliott Hall of Music. They even have their own caps to decorate and keep—which is great because robe rentals would be a nightmare.
I had been to nine commencement ceremonies before my own in May, so I’m well-versed in Purdue graduations. Nevertheless, it was still fun to watch this one.
These children had learned so much more than what was taught in their major. They learned more about their grandparents and strengthened their connection with them. They learned about the university and what’s in store for them when they (hopefully) become Boilermakers. And at the Block Party, they befriended students they had never met before and hung out on Memorial Mall—just like regular college students.
It was almost exactly what I experienced throughout my college career. Yes, I got my degree and now have a job as was intended on this life path. But I also made lifelong friendships and went outside my comfort zone in ways that helped me grow as an individual.
Purdue shaped me and continues to shape me. I credit a lot of my growth as a person and a professional to my college career here, and a lot of what I know to the professors and instructors I had throughout my education.
Through Grandparents University, you have the opportunity to provide the same transformative experience for future Boilermakers. You can be the Purdue instructor that inspires a path that lasts a lifetime.
Patsy earned a bachelor’s degree in food and nutrition in business from Purdue in 1969, in addition to an MBA in food marketing from Michigan State University in 1970. She retired from Kraft Foods in 2006 after 36 years in corporate food marketing and marketing communications management.
A community volunteer, Patsy serves on the Women’s Fund of Central Indiana Advisory Board and the Purdue College of Health and Human Sciences Dean’s Leadership Council, in addition to the President’s Council Advisory Board. She is a former member of the Health and Human Sciences Alumni Board. Patsy held several offices from 2006 through 2013, including president and treasurer. She serves her community’s Discover Indianapolis Club in Fishers, holding several leadership roles for over 10 years.
Patsy has received several honors, including the Purdue University Nutrition Science Department Hall of Fame recipient in 2009 and the Purdue University College of Health and Human Sciences Distinguished Alumni Award in 2016. She also received the college’s Gold and Black Award in 2016, an honor reserved for donors who have moved the college forward by committing exceptional financial resources.
In addition to endowing two scholarships, the Patsy J. Mellott Scholarship and Patsy J. Mellott HHS Scholarship, she established the Patsy J. Mellott Teaching Innovation Award in the College of Health and Human Sciences in 2013. In 2015, she endowed the Patsy J. Mellott Women’s Tennis Coach Performance Award. She is a lead donor in the Christine M. Ladisch Faculty Leadership Award and the Purdue Women’s Network Virginia C. Meredith Scholarship for the College of Health and Human Sciences.