A Goal In Sight
For millions of children and adults, the world can be blurry, distorted or hardly visible at all, and the suffering this causes can be immense. The problem of vision loss is awesome, the solutions urgent and the prospects promising. The Eye Institute has the scientific capacity to alleviate some of this suffering and improve the outcomes for many whose diseases may at one time have been untreatable.
Eye Institute physicians have literally saved the sight of thousands of people through sophisticated surgical techniques and medical interventions, but we have miles yet to run in our quest to discover the ‘how’ and ‘why’ of eye disease.
Since we opened our doors more than thirty years ago, Eye Institute researchers have diligently worked to understand the causes of eye disease. Discoveries in the lab, made possible in part through private funding of research endeavors, have produced new knowledge resulting in an improved understanding and more effective methods of treating such disorders as color blindness, macular degeneration, viral infections of the eye, retinal disorders and glaucoma.
Thank you! Because of your support, we remain among the preeminent eye research centers in the country and continue to generate vital information in the worldwide effort to cure blinding eye disease. Your eye sight is a precious and fragile gift and improving, restoring and preserving it is the driving force behind the Eye Institute’s programs.
Funding the Future of Vision
- Gifts to the Eye Institute can be made for general support, or restricted to a specific area within the Eye Institute.
- Some individuals help create endowments, which last in perpetuity and may be named in honor of the donor(s) or a loved one. In an endowment, only interest from the principal is used each year, thereby insuring the future availability of funds for facilities, training, research or equipment.
- Support may be made through an outright gift, a pledge payable over up to five years, a life-income gift such as a charitable remainder trust or annuity, or a bequest.
- Gifts may be made in the form of cash, appreciated securities, real estate, or personal property.
Making a Gift
Charitable gifts reward donors in many ways. There is the satisfaction of supporting an important cause, the excitement of seeing your gift lead to positive change, and –in many cases – tangible financial benefits to you and/or another beneficiary, through tax advantages and the retention of lifetime income from the donated asset.
Gifts of Cash and Pledges
Many gifts to The Eye Institute are in the form of cash. Cash gifts are deductible for federal income tax purposes up to a limit of 50 percent of your adjusted gross income in the year they are made. Cash gifts may be pledged for payment over a period of up to 5 years.
You may send a check, payable to the Medical College of Wisconsin, to:
The Eye Institute
Attn: Development Office
925 N. 87th Street
Milwaukee, WI 53226
Gifts of Stocks and Bonds
Many donors to The Eye Institute make outright gifts and pledges in the form of appreciated securities rather than cash, in order to benefit from extra tax advantages.
You may deduct the current fair-market value of the security as a charitable gift and avoid any capital gains tax, provided you have owned the securities for more than 12 months. The value is based on the average per share value on the date of transfer times the number of shares.
You avoid paying a tax on capital gains which you would owe if you sold the securities first and then made a gift to the Eye Institute. Gifts of securities are deductible for federal tax purposes up to a limit of 30 percent of your adjusted gross income. We advise you to consult with your tax advisor on all tax-related issues.
Gifts of Personal Property
In planning your estate, remember that valuable collections, works of art, and other forms of tangible personal property may be subject to estate taxes. By donating such items during your lifetime rather than at your death, you not only reduce your taxable estate but also reduce your taxable income in the year of the gift.
Gifts That Provide Income
You may wish to make a substantial gift to The Eye Institute but feel you cannot afford to give up the annual income produced by the asset. Our life-income gift program offers several ways to help you make such a gift, while retaining an income for your lifetime.
The benefits to you, the donor, vary, but all these arrangements have the following attractive features:We will be pleased to discuss with you the various options which you may wish to consider when planning a life-income gift.
- Income for life paid to you and/or another beneficiary, such as your spouse or another family member;
- Increased income if a gift is made to a life income plan that produces a higher yield than the donated asset;
- An immediate federal income tax deduction for a portion of the value of the gift; and
- Elimination of capital gains tax at the time of transfer if the asset is in the form of securities or real estate that have appreciated in value.
Gifts of Real Estate
Almost any kind of real estate can make a valuable gift to The Eye Institute: a primary residence, vacation home, farm, commercial real estate, or an undeveloped parcel of land. You can even contribute your residence now and still reside in it for life.
As with gifts of appreciated stocks, bonds, mutual funds, and personal
property, no capital gains tax is due when you donate appreciated real estate;
you are entitled to an income tax deduction in the amount of the appreciated
value of the real estate; and you avoid estate taxes on the appreciated asset.
Gifts through Bequests
The Eye Institute has been the recipient of bequests, both large and small, from many alumni, friends, and grateful patients over the years. These donors felt they needed their capital during their lifetimes, but found it possible to associate themselves forever with the Eye Institute.
These bequests, no matter how modest, have been welcome and important to the Eye Institute. To make an unrestricted gift, you may wish to consider using the following language:
"I give, devise, and bequeath unto The Eye Institute of the Medical College of Wisconsin:
1.all of my residuary estate; or
2.a portion of my residuary estate equal to ___% thereof; or
3.the following described property______; or
4.the sum of _____________."
If you choose to restrict your gift further, to be used for research on a
specific disease for instance, please contact the Development Office at (414)
456-7821 for suggested language.
The value of a bequest to The Eye Institute is deductible for estate tax purposes, and there is no limit on the amount of the deduction.
Directing Your Gifts
Honor and Memorial Gifts
You may choose to honor a loved one by making a donation in his/her name to the Eye Institute. This can be done to recognize a loved one’s passing, to acknowledge a special occasion or perhaps to honor a significant person in your life. Honor and memorial gifts will be acknowledged to the appropriate individual and such donations may always be designated to support a particular clinical activity or program of your choice.
Endowments and Chairs
An endowment is an investment fund created by an individual or a group of donors, with the income generated by the endowment used to fund a specified purpose at the Eye Institute. An endowment is established in perpetuity, providing long-term benefits to both the donor and the Institute.
Gifts to establish an endowment can be used to create named scholarships, fellowships, professorships or research funds.
The Medical College of Wisconsin endowment policy is to distribute each year 50% of the average of total endowment fund net returns for the three most recent fiscal years. The balance of endowment income was returned to principal to offset the long term effects of inflation and, thus, to maintain purchasing power over time.
As with any gift, The Eye Institute’s Development Office can provide you with more detailed information about how you can establish an endowment.