As many of you are aware, the end of the calendar year tends to be a busy time for gift processing. Many donors make their charitable contributions on or around December 31 in order to take advantage of tax deductions for the calendar year.
In order to assist you in your planning, please note the following:
- The IRS has taken renewed interest in ensuring that tax receipts issued for charitable contributions are substantiated with appropriate documentation, which includes verification of the date of gift. For gifts or pledge payments made by check, the postmark date on the envelope confirms the gift date. Therefore, FROM DECEMBER 22, 2014 THROUGH JANUARY 9, 2015, MAILING ENVELOPES MUST ACCOMPANY GIFT TRANSMITTAL FORMS AND CHECKS.
- To be included in December 2014 fundraising totals, we will accept gifts dated December 31 or earlier until Friday, January 9, 2015. Any gifts or pledge payments received in our office after that date, regardless of postmark date, cannot be included in the December fundraising report, but will appear in the January totals.
- Our offices will be closed Wednesday, December 24 – Friday, January 2. We will, however, respond to email and voice mail messages during that time.
- Credit card gifts and/or credit card pledge payments received by mail must be in our office no later than 12:00 p.m. on Tuesday, December 23 to be processed by the close of business that day. Any credit card gifts received after that time will be included in January fundraising totals. For tax receipting purposes, credit card gifts are deductible in the year when the charges are made on the card owner’s account.
- Please note that credit card gifts can be made through the TU online giving site (www.towson.edu/giving) any time prior to midnight on December 31. These gifts will be processed and credited in 2014. It is recommended that, over winter break, you provide this information in your out-of-office email reply and voice mail greeting.
- In order to ensure compliance with IRS regulations, credit card payments received by mail through the university post office December 22 – 31 will be processed and credited in 2015.
- For donors who wish to make gifts of securities, updated transfer instructions are attached. Instructions can also be found on the O drive at:
O:\Development\Development\Foundation Forms and Procedures\Procedures\Stock Gift Instructions.doc
Please notify John Mease, Vice President for the TUF, prior to the transfer of securities to ensure that the gift is properly identified and credited to the correct donor and project. M&T Bank will notify John Mease of all electronic stock transfers that they receive and will automatically sell the securities. The gift date from M&T Bank will be used to determine whether the gift is processed in December or January.
- For donors who wish to wire transfer funds, instructions are also attached. Instructions can also be found on the O drive at:
O:\Development\Development\Foundation Forms and Procedures\Procedures\Wire Instructions for Capital One Bank.doc
John should be notified prior to the wiring of funds to Capital One Bank.
- Transferring shares of mutual funds is different than transferring publicly traded securities and requires TUF to have an open account with the mutual fund provider. This can take three weeks or longer. Please contact John Mease for additional information.
- If you have a donor interested in establishing a charitable gift annuity, bequest intention or other planned gift, please contact Mike Cather at x44679 before December 19, 2014. After that date, our ability to complete a planned gift will depend upon the complexity of the transaction.
If you have any questions or need additional information, please do not hesitate to contact a member of the Foundation or Development staff:
John Mease 4-2040 or 410-206-9328 (cell) jmease@towson.edu
Mike Cather 4-4679 mcather@towson.edu
Jeri Bielas 4-6083 jbielas@towson.edu
Thank you in advance for your assistance and cooperation. Happy holidays to all – JB
