The Impact of Your Generosity
A photo of Earth taken from space with the words: “Impact. Verb. /im-pakt/. Have a strong effect on someone or something.”
By Sandi R. Bliss, chief advancement officer
Wow, what a year! We are so humbled by the generosity donors have shown in the midst of so much uncertainty. Thank you!
If you haven’t given yet and have been quietly contemplating the impact you would like to make on the lives of cadets, I have included a few ways giving is making a difference for the Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets.
Special Naming Opportunity
We still have naming opportunities available in the Corps Leadership and Military Science Building starting at $25,000. All naming opportunities can be accomplished through a five-year pledge. Call and find out what’s left to name.
Impact: An anonymous donor put forth a $4 million match to help us get this long dreamed of space built. And thanks to the generosity of all of you, we have almost acquired enough additional namings in the Corps Leadership and Military Science Building to meet this match. Thank you! It’s not too late if you want to have your own impact in this space.
Ways To Create Your Own Impact
Endowments are a powerful investment in the future of the Corps. Endowed gifts, which include cadet scholarships, are invested and each year a percentage of the return provides critical support to Corps initiatives. The distribution amount is approved by the Virginia Tech Foundation board each year. Endowments can be created with a minimum gift of $100,000 and established with a five-year pledge or through an estate gift.
Impact: Endowments provide a sustainable source of funding for Corps scholarships and programs. For donors to endowed funds, there’s an ongoing opportunity to get a first-hand look at their investments in the lives of cadets they are touching. These are the funds that will ensure the Corps is strong and can grow to 1,400 cadets in the coming years and sustain that number!
Annual gifts of any amount can make an immediate impact. They can be made one-time or arranged to be made on convenient, recurring basis. Gifts to the Commandant’s Priority Fund of $500 or greater automatically sponsor a first-year cadet on the fall or spring Caldwell March.
Impact: Annual funds keep the Corps’ lights on and so much more! They allow us to expand our scholarship reach and offer programs that allow cadets opportunities to be successful in the Corps and in their future careers. An added benefit of giving to an annual fund now through March 10, 2025, is you can earn a brick plaque that will be displayed in the Corps Leadership and Military Science building.
Estate Planning Options
There so many wonderful options for leaving a powerful legacy through planned gifts to the Corps, and we are here to help.
Future intent: If you have included the Corps in your estate planning, please let us know. If you have chosen to give through your estate, there are ways to experience the impact of your future gift during your lifetime.
Donor-advised funds: Create a donor-advised fund to maximize tax benefits now and recommend charitable gifts, possibly with family involvement, for many years to come within Virginia Tech and the outside charities of your choice.
Impact: Donors who were not ready to make a $100,000 cash commitment to fund their own endowment now can make this dream a reality by including the Corps in their estate plans. And they can choose to fund an annual pledge to support their named future endowment now, during their lifetime. These donors get the benefit of a changing the lives of cadets now and the joy of following a cadet’s journey in the Corps.
Important Opportunities for 2021
This year there’s a $300 charitable deduction per person ($600 per couple), even if you don’t itemize your deductions.
Donors making larger gifts and pledge payments this year can benefit from the ability to use more of their deduction and accelerating their tax savings. Most gifts made in 2021 can be deducted up to 100 percent of a donor’s adjusted gross income (as compared with the normal 60 percent). To qualify, they must be cash gifts to public charities. These benefits don’t apply to gifts of stock or real estate or gifts to a donor-advised fund.
If you are age 70 1/2 or older, you can make “qualified charitable distributions” to the Corps from your IRA without it being taxed as income. Moreover, qualified charitable distributions can count toward any required minimum distribution you must take.
Leave Your Mark with a Brick Plaque
Throughout history, Corps of Cadets graduates have left their names and class years in pencil on the bricks of Lane Hall. Now, you can leave your mark on a brick plaque in the new Corps Leadership and Military Science Building. We’ve actually used images of the Lane Hall bricks to make these one-of-a-kind plaques.
Here’s how it works: Donate at least $2,500 to any Corps of Cadets non-endowed fund, such as the Commandant’s Priorities Annual Fund, between March 10, 2020, and March 10, 2025. That’s just $500 a year.
Once you reach the $2,500 total giving threshold, we will send you a sample inscription to approve. The inscription will include your full name, class year, and Corps’ company on three separate lines. You can choose our typeface or your own handwriting. (Because of space limitations on the plaque, we will be unable to add titles, honorifics, military rank, or nicknames.)
Each brick plaque must be tied to a single giving record, and we must limit one plaque to each record. The $2,500 threshold can only be counted once to an individual giving record. If you are giving to honor a friend or loved one in addition to your own brick plaque, please be sure that $2,500 donation is tied to that person or another family member’s giving record. We are unable to count company matches toward any $2,500 giving threshold.
The brick plaques will be featured in a special place in the Corps Leadership and Military Science Building, expected to open in 2023. Give now to ensure your name is in place for the dedication ceremony.
For more information about any of these opportunities, please contact the Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets advancement team today at 540-231-2892, vtcc@vt.edu, or vtcc.vt.edu/give.