Office of Institutional Planning and Development
OVERVIEW
The Office of Institutional Planning and Development (OIPD) fosters support from corporations, foundations, trustees, alumni and government agencies by creating, maintaining and enhancing mutually beneficial relationships between these entities and Miles College. Our goal is to encourage and increase donor giving and to leverage the College’s capacity to financially support its mission and vision and the surrounding community.
Why Give to Miles College?
Since 1898, Miles College has:
- Successfully provided outstanding educational opportunities for generations of students;
- Encouraged new thinking and research capabilities for faculty; and,
- Produced trailblazing alumni in a wide range of professions.
Gifts from alumni, friends, parents, corporations and foundations, and other individuals ensure that the Miles College experience remains accessible to tomorrow’s students by funding scholarships based on merit and financial need.
Your tax-deductible gift to Miles College builds on our legacy and future as one of the nation’s leading academic institutions of higher education. Every gift matters. No gift is too small.
Why Give to the Annual Fund?
Hard work and fiduciary discipline has provided the College a strong foundation from which to navigate the uncertain economic times ahead. But, even with these successes, we must continually identify new ways to secure funds for our future student scholars.
Your gift to the Annual Fund is categorized as “unrestricted” support for the College. Unrestricted dollars are so important because they are immediately available and provide the greatest flexibility for us to meet the emerging needs of our students and faculty.
Ways to Give
Online: Click to GIVE Online or Pay by PayPal
Mail: Send gift as a check or money order, payable to Miles College.
Mail to: Miles College
Office of Institutional Planning and Development
Suite 305 Brown Hall
5500 Myron Massey Boulevard
Fairfield, AL 35064
Phone: You may also phone in your gift to (205) 929-1444
Gift Options/Types
We are ready to work with you to create the most beneficial gift for you, for your family, and for Miles College. No matter how you choose to invest in Miles, you will be part of a group of committed alumni, parents and friends who are helping to create transformational experiences for students today and tomorrow.
Gifts to the College may be “unrestricted” for general purposes or “restricted” for specific use of designated departments/units/or purposes. The following types of gifts are accepted:
1. Outright Gifts (Click for Gift Form)
Cash: Gifts of cash are generally made in the form of a check or money order, and are the most common type of charitable gift. Checks/money orders should be made payable to Miles College and mailed to:
Miles College
Office of Institutional Planning and Development
Suite 305 Brown Hall
5500 Myron Massey Boulevard
Fairfield, AL 35064
Pledges
A pledge is a promise to provide a charitable contribution over a specified period of time. Pledges can only be made by the individual/entity exercising legal control over the assets to be given. Use the Pledge Form to make a gift of this type. Click for Pledge Form.
Securities
Gifts of publicly traded securities, rather than cash, are also an important way to support Miles College. You can sell your stock and then donate what's left over after you pay capital gains tax, or you can donate securities directly. The second option may give you a bigger deduction and the College gets a bigger contribution. Why? As a non-profit, Miles College benefits by selling the stock without paying taxes on the gain, and you benefit by making a larger contribution than what you might have been able to donate in cash.
If you plan to make a stock gift, please notify the Development Office of the number of shares and the name of the stock, so we can monitor our account to confirm when the stocks were transferred.
Real Estate
The College welcomes the opportunity to explore gifts of real estate (commercial, residential, vacation homes, land, etc.) with potential donors. Because this is a highly specialized field, all potential gifts of real estate are reviewed by a committee appointed by the President, prior to their acceptance.
Property Contributions in Excess of $5,000
Property (jewelry, for example) gifts to the College valued at over $5,000 must be accompanied by a qualified appraisal and specified tax forms which must be certified by the appropriate College official. Under no circumstances will the College serve as appraiser or pay appraisal fees for gifts of property.
Many companies match the charitable contributions of their employees. If your employer has a matching gift policy, the amount of your gift to Miles College can be doubled or event tripled! Type the name of your company in the box below to see if your company matches gifts to Miles College.
Memorial/Tribute Gifts
Gifts to Miles College may be made in memory or honor of a professor, student, relative or friend to recognize their life or acknowledge their accomplishments, or to commemorate or celebrate a noteworthy occasion (wedding, birthday, graduation or anniversary). The impact of your gift will transform lives every day, because your dollars will provide the financial resources to enable our students to grow and excel. (Memorial/honorarium envelopes are also available upon request.)
Complete the honorary gift section of the Gift Form which will prompt you to include the name and address of the honoree or family so that we may notify them of your gift. (The amount of your gift is never shared with the family or individual.)
For information on memorial and tribute giving, or to discuss creating a fund in honor or memory of an individual, please contact the Office of Institutional Planning and Development at (205) 929-1448.
2. Deferred/Planned Gifts
Bequests (Click to download a “Confidential Bequest Intention Form.”)
Mail to: Miles College
Office of Institutional Planning and Development
Suite 305 Brown Hall
5500 Myron Massey Boulevard
Fairfield, AL 35064
Bequests are the most common type of planned or deferred gift. When planning for a bequest, you will need to consider two things:
1. How you would like your gift to be used to benefit Miles College in the future --- whether you wish to designate your gift to Miles College’s greatest needs (i.e., unrestricted gift) or to a specific division and/or program (i.e., restricted gift -- Athletics, Scholarships or Library).
2. How much of your estate to gift to Miles College – (i.e., a specific dollar amount or simply a percentage of your total estate).
The Development Office will ensure that the bequest is properly accepted and acknowledged and the funds are applied in accordance with the terms of the bequest.
All bequests should be directed to “The Board of Trustees of Miles College, for Miles College …”
THE HERITAGE SOCIETY
The Heritage Society honors all planned giving donors for their support to Miles College. We are pleased to welcome you into the Heritage Society if you have:
- Provided for Miles College in your will or trust.
- Designated Miles College as the beneficiary of a qualified retirement plan, savings bond, bank account, or life insurance policy.
SAMPLE BEQUEST LANGUAGE
Life Insurance Policies
Donors may give an existing life insurance policy to the College, or purchase a new policy with the College as owner and beneficiary of the policy.
Endowments
Endowed support can meet your long-term financial planning goals while establishing a fund that benefits students in perpetuity. When you establish an endowment, the corpus of the fund is held in perpetuity, invested, controlled and accounted for by Miles College as part of its permanent endowment. Only the interest, dividends and capital gains are disbursed in accordance with the provisions stated within the endowment document. However, the corpus may be added to at any time by the donors, their estate, or others acting in their behalf, or in support of, the fund.
3. Gifts-In-Kind
The Development Office and/or the appropriate department or unit at the College, should be consulted before in-kind gifts are accepted from donors. An In-Kind Gift Form must be completed and submitted by the individual or unit accepting the gift.
Once the In-Kind Gift Form is received and properly completed, the Office of Development will issue a gift acknowledgement letter to the donor stating: (1) A description of the gift received; and, (2) The date of the gift. The value of the in-kind gift will not be mentioned in the official acknowledgement letter from Miles. According to IRS regulations, the donee (which is the College in this case) is not responsible for gift valuations. The burden of proof regarding the tax-deductibility of charitable contributions rests with the donor.
Gifts-In-Kind Over $5,000
If the value of the in-kind gift exceeds $5,000 as determined by the donor, a “qualified appraisal” is required from the donor before the gift can be accepted. Also, the donor will be required to file IRS Form 8283 with the income tax return on which s/he claims the gift, and the College will be required to sign the form acknowledging receipt of the gift. This form (Form 8283) should only be signed by the Business Office.
Disposal of Gifts-In-Kind
If such gifts are sold within two years from receipt, Miles College must submit a Form 8282 to the IRS with a copy to the donor. The Business Office will complete this form.
FAQs
Q: Is it safe to make a gift online?
A: Yes. We use industry standard SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) encryption to protect the confidentiality of your personal information.
We also adhere to the Donor Bill of Rights and the eDonorBill of Rights as developed by the American Association of Fund-Raising Counsel (AAFRC), Association for Healthcare Philanthropy (AHP), Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE), and the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP), and adopted in November 1993.
The purpose of those policies is to “assure that philanthropy merits the respect and trust of the general public, and that donors and prospective donors can have full confidence in the not-for-profit organizations and causes they are asked to support.”
Q: How can I become a member of one of the Annual Giving Societies?
A: Gifts made to Miles College during the period of July 1 to June 30 each year qualify for membership in the annual giving societies, based on the level of the contribution. We appreciate gifts of all amount and gratefully acknowledge every contribution, no matter the size.
STAFF ROSTER
Barbara Owens
Vice President of Institutional Planning and Development
Email: bowens@miles.edu
(205) 929-1448
Director of Alumni Affairs/Annual Fund
Email:
(205) 929-1453
Alicia Johnson-Williams
Director of College Relations
Email: ajwilliams@miles.edu
(205) 929-1641
Linda Chambers, Ph.D.
Director of Sponsored Programs
Email: lchambers@miles.edu
(205) 929-1467
Advancement Services Manager
Email:
(205) 929-1444
Stephanie Shipp
Administrative Assistant
Email: sshipp@miles.edu
(205) 929-1803
ANNUAL GIVING SOCIETIES
The donor recognition societies listed below honor all donors who make generous annual gifts to Miles College each fiscal year: July 1-June 30.
Name Gift Level
Leadership Council $100,000 and above
Chairman’s Circle $25,000-$99,999
President’s Club $10,000-$24,999
President’s Circle $5,000-$9,999
1898 Society $1,898-$4,999
Benefactors $1,000-$1,897
Partners $500-$999
Friends Guild $100-$499
Bridge Builders Club For donors who make automatic, recurring gifts monthly or quarterly.