Instructions for 2020 year-end gift processing

Ohio University is open with limited operational activity and most offices are closed from Monday, Dec. 21, 2020, through Tuesday, Jan. 5, 2021. The Division of Advancement, the Ohio University Alumni Association, and The Ohio University Foundation will be closed during this period and will re-open Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021. 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 2020 tax receipt for an online gift if it is submitted by Dec. 31, 2020, at 11:59 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST). A gift made online after 11:59 p.m. EST will be issued a 2021 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. 18, 2020, at 5 p.m. EST in order to ensure timely processing and 2020 tax deduction eligibility. After Dec. 18 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. 18, 2020, in order to ensure 2020 tax deduction eligibility (regardless of the postmark date). If the credit card gift is not received by Dec. 18, 2020, we will issue a 2021 tax receipt. After Dec. 18, please use the secure, online giving form.

Mailed-in Checks

We will issue a 2020 tax receipt for a gift if it is postmarked on or before Dec. 31, 2020, AND the check is dated on or before Dec. 31, 2020. If either the check OR the postmark is dated after Dec. 31, 2020, we will issue a 2021 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. These Stock 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, 2020. Please make donations of these types of securities prior to Dec. 15 to ensure tax credit for 2020.
• BNY Mellon Capital Markets Holiday Hours:
  • Thanksgiving Day- November 26 – Closed
  • November 27 – 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
  • BNY Mellon will continue to implement an enhanced cannabis securities policy which is enforced by BNY Mellon’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 policy was 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 2020 tax receipt for gifts received on or before Dec. 31, 2020. Electronic funds transfer instructions [PDF].

2020 Charitable IRA Rollover Opportunity

If you are 70.5 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 note that RMDs for 2020 have been waived with the CARES Act.

Please remember that if you wish to make a Charitable IRA Rollover gift in 2020, you must do so by Dec. 31, 2020, 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.

If you already made a gift directly from your IRA to The Ohio University Foundation at any point during 2020, your gift would qualify as a Charitable IRA Rollover. 

Please visit our IRA Rollover site to initiate your gift today. If you need assistance, please contact Kelli Kotowski, executive director of gift planning, at (740) 597-1819 or kotowskk@ohio.edu; or Caty Allgood, director of gift planning, at (740) 593-9968 or allgood@ohio.edu.

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