Your gift makes a difference at WMed. There are many ways to give and support WMed. Whether an unrestricted gift, a contribution to an endowed scholarship or professorship, or naming WMed as a beneficiary of a qualified retirement plan, each gift allows us to fulfill our mission.
Unrestricted gifts provide funding for the medical school to address its greatest priorities at the time your gift is realized. Unrestricted funding helps WMed cover unforeseen needs and invest in new opportunities, fueling further growth, and enabling innovation. As a private institution of higher education, charitable contributions made to the WMU Homer Stryker M.D. School of Medicine are tax-deductible to the full extent of the law. You should consult your tax advisor or applicable federal and state income tax instructions.
We are dedicated to helping you find the gift method that will help you achieve your philanthropic goals. If you don’t find the information you need below, please don’t hesitate to contact us.
Donations are Accepted Through the Following Methods:
Online
By Phone
Please contact us at 269.337.4509.
By Mail
Please send your check payable to WMU Homer Stryker M.D. School of Medicine and indicate your area of interest on the memo line. Mail to: Gift Processing 1903 W. Michigan Avenue Kalamazoo, MI 49008-5403.
Ways to Give
- Gifts of Cash and Pledges
Your cash gifts to WMed are completely tax deductible, up to 50 percent of adjusted annual gross income. If the deduction exceeds that limit, the remaining deduction can be itemized for an additional five years. You may also make a pledge for gifts of $5,000 or greater, donated over a period of up to five years.
- Endowments
An endowment is a gift that lasts forever. With an endowment, your gift is invested, and every year the proceeds support the area you choose.
- Planned Gifts
Planned gifts take many forms and offer a variety of benefits to you and your family. A well-designed planned gift can yield meaningful financial benefits, including tax savings and enhanced gifts to pass on to your loved ones. The goal of planned giving is to fulfill your philanthropic wishes in coordination with your overall financial and estate planning.
- Gifts by Will or Trust (Bequests): Bequests by friends, grateful patients, and alumni play an important role in ensuring WMed’s financial strength. We can provide you, or your advisors, with the proper bequest language to ensure that your gift accomplishes what you intend.
- Gifts of Retirement Assets (Beneficiary Designations): You can easily designate WMed as a beneficiary of all or part of your 401(k), IRA, or another qualified plan. Simply obtain a Designation of Beneficiary Form from your retirement plan administrator and complete as directed. Because distributions from retirement plans may be subject to income tax, it is often a good idea to give these assets to charity and leave other assets to heirs.
- Employee Giving
WMed employees can set up a payroll deduction to conveniently give to their desired areas at the School of Medicine or donate to the UMake WMed Fund to ensure gift goes towards WMed’s greatest priorities.
- Honorary, Memorial, or Tribute Gifts
A contribution to WMed is a wonderful way to recognize a physician or nurse who had an impact on your family; to honor a friend, family member, or special occasion; or remember a loved one. Your gift ensures that we may continue to enrich lives by providing compassionate and expert clinical care, advancing leading-edge research, and training tomorrow’s leaders and innovators in science and medicine.
- Matching Gifts
Many companies offer matching gift programs – which can double or triple the amount of your contribution – to encourage employees and their families to give to charitable organizations. Contact your human resources department to see if your company sponsors a matching gift program or click on the button below to use our Matching Gifts tool and see if your company will match your donation and to access the forms, guidelines, and instructions that you need to submit a matching gift.
- IRA Contributions
IRA contributions are a tax-smart way to make an impact at WMed. The IRA charitable rollover (also called the Qualified Charitable Distribution, or QCD) is a great way to make a tax-free gift to the School of Medicine and satisfy your Required Minimum Distribution (RMD). If you are not required to take an RMD but no longer itemize your deductions, then a QCD may be right for you as well.
How Do You Qualify?
If you are age 70½ or older, you can transfer up to $100,000 from your IRA to any qualified public charity, including WMed, free of federal income tax.
- Stocks, Bonds, and Mutual Funds
You can make gifts or pledges with appreciated securities also to your benefit, as the full market value of the gift can be deducted if the securities were owned for more than 12 months. Securities used in this manner avoid capital gains taxes, and the gift is entirely deductible for federal tax purposes for up to 30 percent of the year’s adjusted gross income.
Gifts of securities are made electronically via transfer between brokers. Contact the Office of Development and Alumni Affairs for transfer instructions.
- Volunteer
Personal outreach is one of the most effective fundraising methods, which makes you one of the most important people in guiding others through the decision to make a gift to WMed.