PHILANTHROPY
PHILANTHROPY
Development head named
Barrett H. Carson, director of development at the College of William and Mary since 1984, is Virginia Tech's new associate vice president for university development. He assumed the post in mid-June, succeeding F. Duke Perry.
Carson, a professional development officer since 1977, will lead the university's comprehensive fund-raising programs through the central Office of University Development. He will be responsible for gift strategy, long-term development planning, campaign planning and direction, and operational management of all university fund-raising efforts.
The new associate vice president is a 1971 graduate of Utica College of Syracuse University, and holds graduate degrees from the College of William and Mary.
Carson directed the comprehensive development program at William and Mary, where he was chief architect of its $150 million "Campaign for the Fourth Century."
Fund raiser honored
Mike Carroll, in his fourth year as director of development for athletic programs and a leader in the Second Century Campaign for athletic programs, was named outstanding fund raiser of the year at the 18th national conference for athletic fund raisers in Atlanta. He became the 10th recipient of the award, which in past years has included winners from Michigan State and the University of North Carolina. Since Carroll came to Virginia Tech, yearly contributions to athletics have doubled.
Virginia Tech 15th in corporate giving
A recent report by the Council for Aid to Education lists Virginia Tech 15th among the nation's colleges and universities reporting corporate gifts in 1990. The only Virginia school to make the top 20, Virginia Tech received corporate gifts of more than $25 million during the year, an increase of 118 percent over 1989.
1991's window of opportunity
If you're like most folks, you're often bewildered by the way Congress and the Internal Revenue Service change the rules of the tax game. That was certainly the case with the Tax Reform Act of 1986 and the more recent Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990.
An interesting provision we'll call the "stained glass window of opportunity" in the 1990 Act, however, allows taxpayers a special break in 1991 if they give items of "tangible personal property" to non-profit institutions such as Virginia Tech.
"Tangible personal property" includes works of art, books, prints, manuscripts, antiques, pianos, cars, boats, collections of coins and stamps, and-yes-stained glass windows.
After calendar year 1991, if Congress does not extend this one-time provision, the appreciated value of donated tangible personal property must again be included as a tax preference item in computing alternative minimum taxable income (AMT). For 1991 only, however, the amount of appreciation of these gifts does not have to be included as a tax preference item when computing the AMT. This means you get to deduct the full current market value of tangible personal property donated in 1991-regardless of the amount of appreciation over the years-subject to the usual limit of 30 percent of adjusted gross income.
This year represents a "window of opportunity" to give such gifts to Virginia Tech. In this year of unprecedented budget constraints, the university has a great need for gifts that relate specifically to Virginia Tech's educational mission.
For more information, call the university director of will and trust programs, James Dawson at 1-800-533-1144.
Stewardship: Gifts earmarked for special purposes are maintained in separate accounts by the Virginia Tech Foundation Inc., a chartered, nonprofit corporation, which manages and distributes gifts made on behalf of the university.
Andersen Consulting endows scholarship
A $100,000 endowed scholarship has been established by Andersen Consulting, a Washington, D.C.-based partnership. The Andersen Consulting Alumni Scholarships program will provide annual awards to rising juniors and seniors in the colleges of arts and sciences, engineering, and business. Candidates are selected on the basis of academic excellence, leadership, and extracurricular activities by a committee of firm and university representatives.
Each award will be a minimum of $1,000, to be generated by earnings from the endowment. Six scholarships have been awarded for the 1991-92 academic year, as initial gifts from the donor, the Arthur Andersen & Co. Foundation, and the donor's partners and employees.
The firm has already presented a contribution of more than $35,000 toward the full endowment. Andersen Consulting is a private, multinational firm providing accounting, auditing, tax consulting, and management information consulting services. Its consulting service is the largest in the world.
Virginia Tech Magazine, Volume 14, Number 1, Fall 1991