HOW TO GIVE
Gifts are great for MIT, and they can also be good for you. You can feel good about investing in a world-class institution, changing a student's life or making a difference in a classroom, while creating tax benefits for yourself and your family, advancing your retirement planning and accomplishing many other good purposes.

This section provides you with the information you need to tailor a gift to your specific circumstances. If you already know what form you want your gift to the Institute to take, you can give now. If you have questions, please contact us.

• Mechanics of giving: how to give common types of assets to MIT and the tax benefits of each type of gift. Read about planned giving, memorial giving and matching gifts.
• Class giving
• Designating a gift and naming opportunities
• Pledges and gift crediting: how to make gifts over time and how your gift will be credited. Remember, any gift you make for the duration of The Campaign for MIT will be credited to both the Campaign and the Alumni Fund.

Investing in MIT's Future
Scott Marks Jr. '68
Five years ago, Scott Marks Jr. '68 faced a dilemma. Then the vice chairman of First Chicago NBD, Marks owned a sizable chunk of company stock and was looking to diversify his holdings. As a senior officer of his company, however, a large-scale sale of his employer's stock was problematic. But there was another option.

"Most public corporations discourage their senior officers from selling their stock," Marks explains. "Even if they can sell, senior officers can only do it, under law, during narrowly defined windows. Around this time, I became aware of charitable remainder trusts as an interesting way to provide a meaningful gift to my university, and diversify a portion of my assets at the same time."

Marks and his wife created the Scott and Pamela Marks Charitable Remainder Trust in 1996. A fixed percentage (not less than 5 percent) of the net fair market value of the trust's assets, valued annually, is paid to the Markses, as designated beneficiaries of the trust. Any return above and beyond this percentage goes to increase the principal. When the Markses are deceased, the remainder will be transferred to MIT.

"The trust enabled me to diversify in a way that was very tax efficient, since I didn't have to pay any capital gains taxes on my transfer of low-cost basis stock to MIT," Marks says. "It was a way for me to achieve my goals and, from an internal politics and public relations point of view, it was good for my employer. The headline 'Marks gives $1.2 million to his university' sounds a lot better than 'Marks sells off $1.2 million of his First Chicago NBD stock.'"

The creation of the unitrust is just one example of Marks' longstanding support of the Institute that he also serves as a member of the Alumni Fund Board and the Corporation Development Committee. His volunteer resume also includes stints as a class agent, and in September 2000, he received the Alumni Association's Lobdell Distinguished Service Award. He is also an incoming member of the MIT Corporation.

"Giving to MIT is important because I feel an obligation to repay a kind of debt," says Marks, who attended MIT in the 1960s on a scholarship. "But on a different level, giving is important because I think MIT holds a unique place in the ranks of United States higher education. It needs the support of all its alumni and friends to remain at the leading edge."