Planned Giving
The tax-free charitable IRA rollover was extended until December 31, 2009 as part of The Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008, signed into law on October 3, 2008. This legislation enables you to make a gift from your IRA to Bastyr University in both 2008 and 2009, and exclude the transferred amount from your taxable income.
- You must be 70 ½ or older
- The transfer must go directly from your IRA to Bastyr University
- Your gift cannot exceed $100,000 per year
- Your gift counts toward your required minimum distribution
- The transferred amount is not included in your taxable income. (There is no income tax deduction for the transfer.)
Please note that transfers to charitable remainder trusts, gift annuities, donor advised funds and private foundations do not qualify.
Read more about our Lasting Legacy program.
Annual Giving
Give Every Year, Impact Every Day
Support the Annual Fund
Annual fund dollars are directed where they are most needed. They put scholarships in place for students, quality faculty in our classrooms, books in our libraries and equipment in our medical laboratories. By giving, you demonstrate to others that you value Bastyr, not just as an institute of higher education, but as an important leader with a mission to impact the entire human community. The true outcome of your generosity is in the research, teaching and learning accomplishments that your gifts make possible.
Your contribution, combined with the gifts from others, will maintain Bastyr's "margin of excellence." By giving, you will experience personal satisfaction and the joy of knowing that you have helped to preserve and expand health care services for future generations.
Ways You Can Support Bastyr
Unrestricted Gifts
Unrestricted gifts are among the most valuable to Bastyr University because they allow the University to allocate funds wherever the need is greatest, and to take advantage of unique opportunities as they arise. Your unrestricted contribution may be used for costs associated with financial aid, innovations in teaching, research equipment, facilities and much more.
Designated Gifts
Designated gifts allow you to direct your donation to a specific school research program.
Outright Gifts
Cash gifts can be made through credit card transaction, outright cash, personal checks, cashier's checks or money orders made payable Bastyr University.
- Gifts of appreciated securities, stocks and bonds provide considerable tax advantages when transferred to Bastyr before they are sold.
- Gifts of real estate — including personal residences, second homes, income property, and vacant land — offer a wide variety of tax and other benefits.
- Gifts of personal property — including rare books, works of art, valuable collectibles, and tangible items of demonstrable value — in some cases may enable you to make a significant gift to support Bastyr while also providing with outstanding tax benefits to you.
Gift Pledges
With a pledge, you may complete your gift by making regular payments over time, allowing you to give more generously than you originally may have considered. What is more, each payment on your pledge is eligible for an income-tax charitable deduction.
Scholarships – Separately, philanthropy and scholarships are among the most powerful influences working to shape the future of society. In combination, they may be unsurpassed in their power to improve the human condition.
Brick Program – Make a lasting impression on Bastyr University.
Planned Gifts and Leaving a Legacy – Bequests, life-income plans and other options for your estate can earn valuable income-tax deductions and reduce your estate taxes.
Mindful Living Mindful Giving Program – These opportunities allow you to align your daily economic activities with our deepest human values. Create exponential change through the smallest of daily choices.
Dr. William A Mitchell, Jr. Endowed Chair in Botanical Medicine – A founder of Bastyr University, Dr. Mitchell was known as a passionate and spirited advocate of naturopathic medicine.
Bastyr University is a nonprofit educational institution recognized by the Internal Revenue Service as a 501(c)(3) tax exempt organization. All contributions are tax-deductible to the extent provided by law.
Simple Ways to Help Support Bastyr
- iGive – iGive provides a way for you to shop at your favorite online stores and benefits Bastyr while doing so. Through iGive.com, over 680 brand name stores donate a portion of each of your online purchases to Bastyr. It's simple. Just sign up at iGive.com and select Bastyr as the organization to which you wish to make a donation. Use the links on its site to shop at your favorite stores. Shop conscientiously. Do your shopping while giving to Bastyr.
- Goodsearch – What if Bastyr University had a penny for every time you searched the Internet? Powered by Yahoo!, Goodsearch.com makes a donation to your cause every time you search using their site. Make Goodsearch your home page. Use it just as you would any search engine, get quality search results from Yahoo! and support Bastyr at the same time!
- PCC Scrip Card – PCC Natural Markets makes it easy to give back. Every time you charge your PCC scrip card (with an amount between $50 and $500) Bastyr University earns 5 percent of the amount applied to your card. Present your card at the check stand and the price of your groceries will be deducted from the card. Visit the development office (Room 205) to pick up your scrip card between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. Monday through Friday. Each card has a starting value of $5 to which you can add funds. We accept cash, check and credit cards (except American Express).
For further information about these programs and to get your own PCC Scrip Card contact Ashley Petty, development associate, at apetty[at]bastyr[dot]edu or (425) 602-3355.
Mark a Place in the History of Bastyr
A new brick "Legacy Walk" runs along the garden to the Student Village. Members of the Bastyr community have the opportunity to purchase individual bricks in three sizes. Not only will your brick mark your place in the history of Bastyr University, your donation will also help future generations of students studying at Bastyr. All proceeds raised from the Legacy Brick Program will be used to support our annual fund.The annual fund provides vital funding for day-to-day operations and gives the University the flexibility to direct resources where they are needed most.
A tribute gift is a meaningful way of celebrating the lives of people you love or to mark special occasions. While creating a thoughtful remembrance, you demonstrate appreciation for the joy and benefits of that treasured relationship.
- $300 - 6"x 6" Legacy Brick: You may use up to four lines of text and 16 characters per line.
- $600 - 6"x 12" Legacy Brick: You may use up to four lines of text and 25 characters per line.
- $1,200 - 12"x 12" Legacy Brick: You may use up to eight lines of text and 25 characters per line.
These engraved bricks are a nice way to honor someone close to you or celebrate a major life milestone. Ideas include:
- anniversaries
- graduations
- new births
- birthdays
- special holidays
- life passage or achievement
- parents
- children
- professors
- alumni
An acknowledgment of your gift is sent to the person or family you are honoring, notifying them of your contribution without specifying the amount. You will receive an acknowledgment of thanks separately. Your gift is fully tax-deductible.
Download the "Legacy Walk Project" brochure and order form.
Please note: Estimate six months from the time your order is received for your brick to be laid in the Medicinal Herb Garden.
William A. Mitchell Endowed Chair
One of the most prestigious and important gifts that can be made in the investment of the future of Bastyr University is an endowed chair. The prestige surrounding an endowed chair is shared not only by its holder, but also by the donor whose gift makes it possible, by the person whose name it bears, and by the university at which it is established. With the support of visionary partners, Bastyr University is committed to raising the $1.5 million necessary to endow, in perpetuity, the Dr. William A. Mitchell Chair in Botanical Medicine. The Chair will provide a fitting legacy to Dr. Mitchell, while building on Bastyr's formidable strengths in botanical medicine. While new generations of students benefit from his legacy, Dr. Mitchell's reputation and teaching will expand the scope of Bastyr University's influence on a global scale.
The Chair will provide sustained leadership in a field that is of strategic importance to the University. Botanical medicine is a vital component of the healing arts. Though everyone yearns for health, western biomedicine remains primarily focused on disease and acute care. Increasingly, people are turning to complementary and alternative approaches when mainstream medicine does not meet all their expectations and needs.
The income from an endowed chair will help fund the professor's specific teaching and research requirements, including laboratory equipment, support staff, graduate assistants, research materials and computer equipment.
Support Students Through Scholarships
One of the most prestigious and important gifts that can be made in the investment of the future of Bastyr University is a scholarship or an endowed scholarship. The prestige surrounding a scholarship is shared not only by the recipient, but also by the donor whose gift makes it possible, by the person whose name it bears, and by the university at which it is established.
Many of us hope that by living our lives, we are helping to make the world a better place. Putting tax considerations aside, by investing in this scholarship, Bastyr University can extend its reach and continue making the world a better place. Donors who generously endow scholarships know that they are not only ensuring academic excellence, but that theirs is truly a gift to the future.
Create a Lasting Legacy
Your scholarship is much more than a symbol; it will be instrumental in establishing and perpetually advancing Bastyr's legacy of excellence in education of the arts and medical sciences, while simultaneously honoring the visionary philanthropy of you, the donors, as well as the student.
Your profile will be further enhanced by each tangible outcome that is generated through the work of each recipient of the scholarship.
In addition, you will be provided with annual briefings on the students your gifts support and observe firsthand the impact of your gift.
Helping Students Succeed
As you know, higher education is vital to our future, so scholarships are extremely important. Scholarship funding helps bright and talented students pursue their professional dreams and sends them an important message of encouragement. It also lifts their financial burden, offsetting costs for tuition, fees, living expenses, books and supplies allowing them to put greater attention on their studies. Ultimately, that means stronger natural health practitioners, researchers, educators and counselors.
The University is now in its strongest position ever in terms of interest from prospective students. By increasing available scholarship support, we have an unprecedented opportunity to make a difference in students' lives and to raise the quality of this already great University! And that provides positive outcomes for society as a whole.
Consider Donating Today
Scholarship gifts under $2,500 are unrestricted and used where the need is greatest. Or you may designate your gift to one of Bastyr's five schools.
Named Annual Scholarships [Minimum $5,000 per year]
Named Endowed Scholarships [Minimum $25,000]