Ways to Give
Ways to Give
Innovative Gifts that Keep Giving
Double Your Donation with Employer Matching
Use the form below to find out if your employer will match your donations to Del Mar College Foundation. You will receive an email with detailed instructions to set up your gift is match with your employer.
Tax Deductibility: Gifts you make to the Del Mar College Foundation are tax-deductible to the full extent allowed by current tax laws. The Foundation has 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status. Every gift from you is promptly acknowledged with a letter of appreciation/receipt, which you may use for tax purposes.
A gift may be designated or it may be made unrestricted. Unrestricted gifts may be used where the need is greatest. A gift that is designated for a particular program, department, campaign, project, or scholarship will be applied only to the area specified by the donor.
Give Today
Create a Scholarship
Making an initial gift can get your started if you want to create a scholarship in your name or a name you choose. You can build your scholarship’s growth with annual, quarterly, or monthly gifts (see Pledges below). This is a great way to leave a lasting and powerful legacy in our community.
Pledges (Letter of Intent)
A pledge is a written commitment to pay a specified amount sometime in the future. It may be paid annually, quarterly or monthly over one to five years. You may establish a pledge to the Foundation in the following ways:
- Completing and signing a "letter of intent" form provided by the Foundation
- Writing and signing a personal letter addressed to the Del Mar College Foundation outlining the specifics of the pledge
- Completing a pledge card provided by the Foundation
(Please note: The Foundation will provide a written receipt indicating the amount, designation and method of payment of the pledge. After each payment is made, a receipt will be mailed to you confirming the amount received.)
A pledge that is payable over multiple years affords you the opportunity to make a more substantial gift, for example to create a scholarships, than might be possible if you were limited to making payment in full within a single year.
Donate Online
For immediate or monthly recurring giving plans, please consider donating online as one of the quickest and most effective ways of making a difference. Donate at give.delmar.edu.
Gifts of Cash
Cash gifts can be used to offset up to 50 percent of your adjusted gross income in the year of the gift. For people in the 28 percent tax bracket, a $10,000 cash gift can provide a direct benefit of $2,800 in the form of tax savings. The portion of the gift that exceeds 50 percent of your adjusted gross income may be carried forward for up to five additional years. Checks should be made out to the Del Mar College Foundation with a memo on or with the check stating how the funds should be used.
Use a Credit Card to Give
Donors who like the ease and convenience of making regular gifts using a credit card may make donations through their Visa or MasterCard. For many credit card owners, this is a sensible way to make sustained, regular gifts to the Foundation, receive frequent flyer miles, and other company incentives in return.
Automatic Bank Draft / electronic Transfer of Funds
Donors wishing to make regular gifts over a sustained period of time often establish an automatic bank draft on their checking account as an easy and efficient way to give. Working with your bank, credit union, or savings organization, Foundation representatives can help you create a system for making regular gifts, which will remain in force until you elect to change it.
Match Gifts for a Crowdfunding Campaign
Where there is a specific and dire need and a time constraint, providing a matching gift often means the difference between success and failure for a crowdfunding campaign. We can match your philanthropic goals to existing DMC needs and find the best way to put your donation immediately to work in realizing your goals.
Participate in Employees Giving (if you work at Del Mar College)
If you are a DMC employee, you can authorize payroll deductions, donate once a year, or make a monthly online donations to Del Mar College Foundation. So many of our faculty and staff come to work every day and love that they can give back and make a difference in students' lives.
Join the President’s Council
Unlike many business leaders, our President does not have an expense account to support his efforts to enhance the College in the community or to develop critical initiatives that will take the College to the next level. President’s Council members support a unique fund for the President that allows him to accomplish those targeted and critical initiatives. As thanks and to keep you in the loop, members get special face time with the President and get invited to special insider events.
Make a Tribute Gift
Tribute gifts are a unique way to recognize someone special who has touched your life in a meaningful way.
Bonds, Mutual Funds
Bonds and mutual funds are similar to stocks in their tax treatment. A tax deduction for the full value of the gift is possible, if you have held the bonds or mutual funds for more than one year. Corporate, state, municipal, and U.S. Government bonds are excellent sources of gifts.
Make Strategic Annual Gifts
If you itemize your tax return, annual giving can be helpful. Annual gifts range from cash to IRA rollovers, and can help you meet your tax deduction goals. One way to make cash gifts work for you is to bunch your donations as shown below
Rollover a Charitable IRA (Qualified Charitable Deduction)
Taxpayers age 70½ or older may transfer up to $100,000 annually from their IRA accounts directly to charity income tax-free. Even better: The transfer counts toward your required minimum distribution for the year. To qualify as an eligible transfer, the funds must be directed by the IRA trustee to the charity; the transaction is sometimes referred to as a charitable rollover. If you pull the funds out yourself and write a personal check, it doesn’t qualify as a charitable rollover and is a taxable event. One additional note: You may not use a charitable rollover to make donations to DAFs, supporting organizations or private foundations.
Appreciated or Depreciated Property
Appreciated stock, stock which is held for more than one year, can make an excellent gift. Not only do you avoid capital gains taxes on the gifted amount, but you also receive a tax deduction for the full fair-market value of your gift. The full value may be used to offset up to 30 percent of your adjusted gross income. The portion of the gift that exceeds the 30 percent threshold may be carried forward for up to five additional years.
If you own an investment that has decreased in value since you have owned it, consider selling it and making a charitable gift of all or a portion of the cash proceeds. In addition to an income tax deduction for the cash contribution, this creates a loss you may be able to deduct from other taxable income. The combined amount of the deductible loss and charitable deduction could actually total more than the current value of the investment.
Avoid Double Taxation and Inflated Taxable Income
Double taxation is a tax principle referring to income taxes paid twice on the same source of income. It can occur when income is taxed at both the corporate level and personal level. You can avoid double taxation by donating to a qualified charity like Del Mar College Foundation.
Give Tomorrow
Make a Planned Gift
Planned giving is a very special form of giving that can provide a lasting investment in education. Your planned gift can be used to establish an endowed or direct scholarship, name a room or building, purchase equipment or fulfill many other critical needs of the College.
Designate your Primary and Contingent Beneficiaries for Financial Products and Retirement Funds
You can designate the DMC Foundation as a beneficiary of insurance policies, IRA’s, bank accounts, retirement funds, and other assets these upon your death. Please be aware that Designated Beneficiaries will override your will.
Make a Bequest
A general bequest is a gift of personal property such as money, stock, bonds, jewelry, or other that is owned by a decedent at the time of death which is directed by the provisions of the decedent's will. A demonstrative bequest is a gift of money that must be paid from a particular source, such as a designated bank account or the sale of stock in a designated corporation. Charitable bequests reduce the estate taxes that might be owed on the estate left by a decedent. Please be aware that Designated Beneficiaries will override your will.
CDs, Savings Accounts, Brokerage Accounts and Checking Accounts with POD Provisions
POD stands for "Payable on Death." By adding POD provisions to an existing account, you retain full ownership and full control of the account during your lifetime. At your death, the account balance is immediately paid to your named beneficiary. The Foundation can receive this benefit without going through the probate process.
Creative Combinations
Depending upon your unique financial planning and gift objectives, you may use one or several giving ideas in combination to achieve your charitable goals. The Foundation Office will be happy to work with you and your professional advisors to explain the benefits of each of the plans listed and how they can work for you.
Charitable income tax deductions are subject to limitations determined by the level of your adjusted gross income and the type of asset given. Please review your particular situation with a Foundation representative and your tax advisor to determine how your circumstances relate to these limits.
Neither the author nor publisher of this document, nor this organization is engaged in rendering legal or tax advisory services. For advice and assistance in your specific case, you should obtain the services of a qualified attorney or other professional advisor. The purpose of this publication is to provide accurate information of a general nature only. Tax revisions occur often, as do changes in state laws, which govern wills, trusts, and charitable gifts. Please seek advice from your legal and tax advisor when considering these types of contracts. A Del Mar College Foundation, Inc. representative is available to help serve as an advocate and liaison for you in these matters.
Important Policies and Practices That Guide the Foundation
Page last updated May 11, 2022.