PHILANTHROPY
PHILANTHROPY
Westinghouse grant to aid minority programs
The first installment of a $75,000 grant from the Westinghouse Foundation was presented to Virginia Tech President James D. McComas by Westinghouse Central Atlantic Region Vice President John McCormack.
Delivered in three $25,000-payments over a three-year period, the grant will be used to support undergraduate women and minority students enrolled in an innovative engineering program designed to stimulate continued interest in the field. Under faculty supervision, the students participate in ongoing research projects in the College of Engineering much sooner than they would in a standard four-year curriculum. Private support from Westinghouse and other corporations supports students' stipends, tuition, and fees.
Real estate gifts can avoid capital gains tax
Prospective donors' tax questions have been concerned increasingly with the benefits of real estate gifts.
These gifts can take many forms--personal residences, vacation homes, farms, undeveloped lands, rental units, commercial, or industrial properties. Donors who wish to make an outright gift can receive the same favorable tax treatments that accompany a gift of any appreciated asset--notably, a charitable deduction equal to the property's fair market value and avoidance of a capital gains tax on the property's appreciated value.
A gift of real estate also can be an excellent way to fund a charitable remainder trust or to purchase a gift annuity, both of which can provide the donor with a reliable income. Another attractive opportunity is the gift of a personal residence in an arrangement which allows the donor to continue to live on the property. As might be expected, a deferred gift of real estate involves more complicated tax considerations. Prospective donors can arrange to discuss their individual situations in detail by calling the university director of will and trust programs, James Dawson, at 1-800-533-1144.
Virginia Tech Magazine Volume 14, Number 2 Winter 1992