WAYS TO GIVE

Find the option below that is right for you. You can then choose to Donate Online or feel free to contact Steve Meeker or Shauna Junek for additional information.

CASH

Cash is the easiest and most common way to make a gift. You receive a charitable contribution deduction and the university is able to use your gift immediately. These gifts can also be restricted to a particular area by the donor. Unrestricted gifts are used for the areas of greatest need. You can mail your donation to the BHSU Foundation, 1200 University Unit 9506, Spearfish, SD 57799-9506. If you wish to donate using a credit card, call (605) 642-6385 between the hours of 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. MT.  

Endowments

Endowments combine a donor’s vision with the needs and objectives of Black Hills State University. Year after year, endowment funds continue to provide support for BHSU students in the form of scholarships or other programs. You can create your own endowment fund in the BHSU Foundation, which will perpetually provide for funds which you’ve designated.

To guarantee that income from the endowment will always be sufficient to support the specified purpose, minimum support levels are established. You may want to consider one of the following endowment options:

• General Support – An endowment to support general needs of the university may be created with a gift of $10,000 or more. These gifts give the university flexibility on directing the spending to the areas of greatest need.
• Scholarship – A gift of $10,000 or more will fund a scholarship. You may wish to have the scholarship in your or a loved one’s name.
• Endowed Chair – A minimum of $1 million would endow a chair in most academic areas. Income from the endowment would supplement the faculty member’s salary.

Endowments can be established through a cash donation or through planned giving programs. For more information please contact Steve Meeker, or call (605) 642-6385.

Matching Gifts

If your place of employment offers a matching gift program, you may be able to double your donation to the foundation. Many companies also match gifts of their retired employees.

Corporate Matching Gifts

Corporate gift matching is a rapidly growing source of aid to higher education. You can double, triple, and sometimes even quadruple the value of your gift to BHSU if you work for a company that matches employee gifts to educational institutions. For more information, contact your human resources professional at your place of employment.

Appreciated Securities

Gifts of stocks, bonds, treasuries and mutual funds, provide a double benefit to you. When you donate appreciated securities, you are entitled to a charitable income tax deduction based on the fair market value of the securities and without capital gains considerations.

Estate Planning

A gift to the BHSU Foundation through your estate plan is a popular option, as it does not reduce your current income, yet provides substantial future support for the university. There are no immediate tax advantages, although your bequest may reduce estate taxes. Visit our Estate Planning page for more information.

Property

Real estate, including homes, commercial buildings and land can be donated to the foundation. Gifts of this nature are also helpful and provide substantial benefits for the donor as well. If the value of your property is more than you wish to give, you may donate a partial interest.  Property deeded with Life Estate retained is an arrangement in which you would donate your personal residence or ranch and continue to live there.

Retirement Plan Assets

Retirement plan assets are one of the most taxed assets at death in larger estates, subject to both income tax and estate tax. While current tax law does not allow you to transfer these assets directly to the BHSU Foundation during your lifetime, naming the foundation as the beneficiary on your account could avoid both income and estate taxes after your lifetime.

Life Insurance

If you give ownership of a life insurance policy to the foundation, you will receive an immediate income tax deduction. If you are still making premium payments, these payments to the university become a charitable gift. And, if you choose to name the foundation as a beneficiary, the face value of the policy will eventually constitute a gift in your name, included in your estate, and is deductible for federal estate tax purposes.

Charitable Remainder Trusts

This type of trust makes an annual payment to one or more individuals for life or a term of years. Upon termination of this charitable remainder trust, the property remaining will be transferred to the foundation and used for the purpose you have specified. There are two types of charitable remainder trusts.

• Unitrust -- Income fluctuates annually with the fixed percentage of the fair market value of the trust.
• Annuity Trust -- Income payments are fixed and determined when the gift is made. This is attractive to individuals who want to avoid risk.

Charitable Gift Annuities

Charitable gift annuities are an easy and popular gift plan. This is an exchange of cash, securities, real estate or other property in return for a contractual agreement for the foundation to pay you and/or your spouse a specified amount of income for your lifetime(s), determined by a rate schedule based on your age.

Charitable Lead Trusts

A charitable lead trust is an agreement in which a donor places assets in a trust that will be managed by a Trustee. During the term of the trust, a percentage of the trust's principal (specified by the agreement) is paid to the foundation each year. At the end of the term, your heirs will receive the trust's principal and any additional income and appreciation that has accrued, with no additional gift or estate taxes due. The trust's income first benefits the charity and then goes to the family members at substantial tax savings.

Still unsure of what type of gift is for you?

Check out some of the goals and benefits that match each type of donation.

BHSU Track & Field maintains “Top Ten” lists for all indoor and outdoor track and field events. It has long been and continues to be a source of pride for our athletes.

All money raised goes directly to the Cross Country/Track & Field programs for athletic scholarships and operating expenses.

We are asking for your help in celebrating our current athletes’ accomplishments as they earn spots on these lists as well as helping to keep our programs at the elite level you have come to expect by participating in our $10 for Ten fundraising event!

Donate Online - Select your preferred donation. You will be taken to our online checkout. Thank you for your donation!

Listed below are the programs and projects we are working on and how you can help us achieve that goal. Be sure to visit our new online donation form or contact Steve Meeker or Shauna Junek if you are interested in helping us with any of the below programs and projects.

Programs and Projects

Academics

• Professorships
  An endowed professorship carries special prestige for both the holder of the position and the individual whose name, through the gift of an endowment, is associated with the position in perpetuity. This endowment can provide financial salary enhancements and or be used for faculty development such as attending conferences.
   
• Academic Scholarship Endowment
  Scholarship endowments will transform lives as well as leave a legacy of investing in human capital in perpetuity. Scholarships will not only attract quality students to BHSU, but will encourage greater academic performance.

Athletics

• Athletic Scholarships Endowment
  Scholarship endowments will transform lives as well as leave a legacy of investing in human capital in perpetuity. Scholarships will not only attract quality students to BHSU, but will encourage greater academic performance.

Arts

• Meier Recital Hall Chair 
  Leave your legacy in the recital hall of Clare & Josef Meier Hall on the campus of Black Hills State University with the purchase of a chair, an attractive brass plate, engraved with your personal message, will be affixed to the chair. This fundraiser for music scholarships is currently underway. Chairs are selling quickly. 

Other Projects 

• Annual Fund
  These gifts strengthen BHSU’s ability to serve students, faculty and staff.  These gifts include scholarship support, programming support, capital support, gift-in-kind support and more.

Do you want to help us strengthen our programs at BHSU or help us with a project? Donate Online or contact Steve Meeker or Shauna Junek today.

Give the gift that will benefit a student for as long as they live. By giving the gift of a scholarship, you are helping a student gain a valuable education.

The South Dakota public university system has six universities. BHSU ranks second to last in the amount of foundation funded scholarships that we are able to provide for our new and continuing students. In the 2012-2013 academic year, BHSU awarded $958,934 out of the combined $17,197,300 that was awarded across the state. While our tuition is quite reasonable, for some students it is still necessary to work long hours and take out loans to meet the cost of getting a degree. 

Success starts with our alumni, donors, and friends like you. By providing valuable support to the university throughout the years, you make it possible for students to have the opportunity to receive an exceptional education. In the 2013-2014 academic year there were 793 academic and 192 athletic scholarships awarded for a total of $1,111,225.

Endowed Scholarships

Endowments combine a donor’s vision with the needs and objectives of Black Hills State University. A gift of $10,000 or more will fund a scholarship. You may wish to have the scholarship in your or a loved one’s name. Endowments can be established through a cash donation or through planned giving programs. For more information please contact Steve Meeker, call 605.642.6385 or visit our contact us page. Learn more about endowments.

Estate Planning 

Making charitable gifts through your estate plan is an easy and tax-wise way to support something you love for generations to come. You may decide to support scholarships through your will or revocable living trust. These charitable gifts are exempt from federal estate tax and we will receive the bequest promptly, allowing the funds to be put to work for the purpose you intend. There are many ways to support causes you care about through estate planning. Please contact Steve Meeker, call 605.642.6385 or visit our contact us page so we can talk more about estate planning.