The Appalachian School of Law is an IRS recognized 501(c)(3) charitable organization dedicated to providing a quality legal education with an emphasis on giving back to the community.
Donations of cash may be made by check or online. Publicly traded securities can be transferred to ASL through physical delivery or by wire.
Gifts in kind are physical items intended for educational or research use. Donors should obtain a third-party appraisal for tax purposes. The cost of the appraisal is also tax deductible.
Gifts of real estate require investigation of marketability, mortgages or liens, and environmental concerns prior to acceptance. They can be made as outright gifts, as a will bequest, or as a living trust, wherein the donor retains all the rights of ownership throughout his or her lifetime. In the latter method, the property is not subject to probate upon transfer.
Life insurance is another way to make a gift to ASL. Donors can name the school as a beneficiary, or they can transfer ownership of universal or whole life insurance policies to ASL for a significant tax benefit.
A donor can name ASL as a beneficiary of retirement plans such as individual retirement accounts (IRAs), Keogh plans, and 401(k) plans. These are highly taxed assets, and giving them to a nonprofit can be beneficial to heirs receiving the remaining assets.
The simplest and most common way to make an estate gift is through a bequest. Donors need not rewrite their wills to include ASL as a beneficiary; it can be accomplished through an addendum called a codicil.
For more information and assistance in making a gift to ASL, please contact Thomas F. Huenefeld, Esq., LLM., Director of Advancement, at thuenefeld@asl.edu or (276) 244-1258.
