Instructions for 2019 year-end gift processing

Ohio University, including the Division of Advancement, the Ohio University Alumni Association, and The Ohio University Foundation, is closed from Wednesday, Dec. 25, 2019, through Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2020. The University will reopen on Thursday, Jan. 2, 2020. During this period, the Division of Advancement wants to ensure that all donors who wish to do so are able to transact gifts to The Ohio University Foundation.

Please review the information below for details regarding making a year-end gift.

Online Gifts

We will issue a 2019 tax receipt for an online gift if it is submitted by Dec. 31, 2019, at 11:59 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST). A gift made online after 11:59 p.m. EST will be issued a 2020 tax receipt.Make your gift online.

Phoned-in Credit Card Gifts

If you wish to make a credit card gift over the phone, you must call (740) 593-2636 by Friday, Dec. 20, 2019, at 5 p.m. EST in order to ensure timely processing and 2019 tax deduction eligibility. After Dec. 20 at 5 p.m. EST, please use the secure,online giving form.

Mailed-in Credit Card Gifts

IRS regulations consider a credit card gift as having been made at the moment it is processed. Therefore, mailed-in credit card gifts must be received by The Ohio University Foundation by Friday, Dec. 20, 2019, in order to ensure 2019 tax deduction eligibility (regardless of the postmark date). If the credit card gift is not received by Dec. 20, 2019, we will issue a 2020 tax receipt. After Dec. 20, please use the secure,online giving form.

Mailed-in Checks

We will issue a 2019 tax receipt for a gift if it is postmarked on or before Dec. 31, 2019,ANDthe check is dated on or before Dec. 31, 2019. If either the checkORthe postmark is dated after Dec. 31, 2019, we will issue a 2020 tax receipt.

To mail a gift, please make your check payable to The Ohio University Foundation. If you wish to designate your gift to a certain area, please write that in the memo line of the check.

The mailing address is:
The Ohio University Foundation
P.O. Box 869
Athens, OH 45701-0869

Gift of Securities

Gifts of appreciated securities are a great way to transmit assets to OHIO as charitable contributions. TheseStock Transfer Instructions [PDF]will help you make your gift. Additionally, as we approach the end of the calendar year and the busy time for gift giving, our broker, BNY Mellon, offers the below suggestions and information as it relates to certain types of securities donations:

• All mutual fund gifts and gifts of physical securities will be processed on a best efforts basis after Dec. 15th, 2019. Please make donations of these types of securities prior to Dec. 15 to ensure tax credit for 2019.
• BNY Mellon Capital Markets Holiday Hours:
  • Thanksgiving Day- November 28 – Closed
  • November 29 – Market Closes at 1 p.m.
  • Christmas Eve – December 24 – Market Closes at 1 p.m.
  • Christmas Day – December 25 – Closed
  • New Year’s Day – Closed
• Effective Sept. 30, 2019, BNY Mellon implemented an enhanced cannabis securities policy which is enforced by BNYM’s subsidiary, Pershing LLC. Due to this new policy, BNY Mellon’s Pershing will no longer accept incoming positions or trading of non-permitted Cannabis Related Business (CRB) securities. Full compliance for this new policy is effective as of Nov. 30, 2019.

Electronically Transferred Gifts (Wire or ACH)

Electronic funds transfers (wire or ACH) will be accepted into The Ohio University Foundation’s bank account during the closure period. We will issue a 2019 tax receipt for gifts received on or before Dec. 31, 2019.Click here for electronic funds transfer instructions [PDF].

2019 Charitable IRA Rollover Opportunity

If you are 70 1/2 or older, you can make a charitable gift of up to $100,000 from your IRA, which will qualify as your required minimum distribution (RMD). You will not pay federal income tax on the amount given from your IRA to The Ohio University Foundation.

Please remember that if you wish to make a Charitable IRA Rollover gift in 2019, you must do so by Dec. 31, 2019, in order for it to qualify this year.

NOTE: If you are writing a check from your “IRA Checkbook,” please note that the gift is not considered completed until the funds are withdrawn from your custodial account. For year-end processing, please mail your check by Dec. 1 to ensure your gift qualifies for the current tax year required minimum distribution.

If you already made a gift directly from your IRA to The Ohio University Foundation at any point during 2019, your gift will qualify as a Charitable IRA Rollover.

Please visit the IRA Rollover site for detailed instructions on how to make this gift, and contact Kelli Kotowski, Executive Director of Gift Planning, at (740) 597-1819 or by email at kotowskk@ohio.edu with any questions or specific designations you may have for your gift.

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If you have any questions about making a year-end gift, please visit the Year-End Gift website, call (740) 593-2636 or email giving@ohio.edu.