Gift Planning

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Make a Future Gift of Retirement Assets

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Thank you for considering a IRA gift to us. A sample letter is available to send to your DAF provider. You may save and print the PDF of your letter. If you have email contact information for your DAF provider, you may send a PDF copy of your DAF letter or you may copy and paste the text into an email. You will need to enter the amount of your recommended grant and your DAF account number on the letter before mailing. If you would like to notify us of your generous gift, please complete the Notify us of your DAF Gift section.

Beneficiary Designation Gifts

A beneficiary designation gift is a simple and affordable way to make a gift to the Northern Arizona University Foundation to support NAU. You can designate the NAU Foundation as a beneficiary of a retirement, investment, bank account, or your life insurance policy.

Flowchart: Donor executes designation form with account custodian to designate NAU Foundation as beneficiary of a retirement, investment or bank account.

Benefits of a beneficiary designation gift

  • Support Lumberjack discoveries and achievements
  • Continue to use your account as long as you need
  • Simplify your planning and avoid expensive legal fees
  • Receive an estate tax charitable deduction
  • Reduce the burden of taxes on your family

How to complete a beneficiary designation gift

  1. Contact the institution that holds your assets for a change-of beneficiary form. Many institutions have this information available on their websites.
  2. Determine the percentage you want to designate to the NAU Foundation and return the form as directed by your institution.
  3. Notify NAU's Office of Gift Planning that you're ready to make an impact at NAU. We'll help ensure your funds align with your philanthropic priorities and enroll you into our 1899 Society - a society dedicated to celebrating your generosity at NAU. After your lifetime, your account or insurance policy will be paid or transferred to the NAU Foundation-consistent with the beneficiary designation.

Change of beneficiary information:

NAU Foundation
PO Box 4094 | Flagstaff, AZ 86011
Tax ID #86-0193726

The freedom to change your mind

Beneficiary designation gifts are among the most flexible of all charitable gifts. Even after you complete the beneficiary designation form, you can take distributions or withdrawals from your retirement, investment, or bank account. You can also change your mind any time in the future, for any reason; including if you have a loved one who needs your financial help.

Contact us

If you have any questions about a beneficiary designation gift, please contact us. We would be happy to assist you and answer any questions you might have. If you have already designated the NAU Foundation as a beneficiary of an asset or as part of your estate plan, we would like to acknowledge your contribution.

Additional Information

Flexibility—Most beneficiary designation forms are very flexible. You can name the NAU Foundation as a "full" or "partial" beneficiary of your policy. You can also name the NAU Foundation as a "primary" or "contingent" beneficiary.

Family Considerations—Beneficiary designation gifts allow you to provide for family and support meaningful NAU programs. For example, with a designation form, name your spouse as the "primary" beneficiary and each of your children and the NAU Foundation as "partial contingent" beneficiaries. With this arrangement, if your spouse survives you, he or she receives the account. If not, the account or policy is paid out to your children and the NAU Foundation in whatever shares (or percentages) you chose on the designation form.

Terminology—Common terminology includes "beneficiary designation" but also includes "payable on death" or "transfer on death." The term "beneficiary designation" is most commonly used to name beneficiaries of retirement plans or life insurance policies. The term "payable on death" (or "POD") typically involves the designation of a beneficiary of a checking account, savings account, or certificates of deposit. "Transfer on death" (or "TOD") often involves the designation of a beneficiary of stocks, bonds, or mutual funds.

Beneficiary Designations and Real Estate—Some states allow "beneficiary designation deeds" or "transfer on death deeds," which allows you to name the NAU Foundation as the survivor beneficiary of your home, farm, or other real estate. As with other beneficiary designation gifts, these gifts are revocable by filing a revocation or a new beneficiary designation deed.

Additional Materials
To download a brochure and learn more about beneficiary designation gifts
To download a brochure and learn more about transfer on death gifts
To download a brochure and learn more about payable on death gifts

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