Planned Giving
You can make a gift in support of our mission while also ensuring you meet your needs for your lifetime and those of your loved ones? These giving techniques are known as "planned gifts" because through a bit of easy planning, you, your family and Suffolk County Community College’s students all benefit. Either through a bequest in your will, by naming the college as an additional beneficiary on your life insurance policy or your retirement fund, or through a variety of comprehensive planned giving arrangements, you can ensure access to higher education as a key aspect of your legacy.
Planned Giving @ Suffolk
Discover the Benefits of Giving Wisely
We sincerely appreciate your interest in supporting Suffolk County Community College. Founded on the premise that higher education can and should be accessible to everyone, community leaders showed great vision when establishing the College in 1959. With a pioneering spirit, a focus on community needs, and a strong commitment to student success, SCCC has earned a much deserved reputation as an asset for the community while improving the lives of more than 100,000 alumni and other individuals.
Did you know that is possible for you to make a gift in support of our mission while also ensuring you meet your needs for your lifetime and those of your loved ones? These giving techniques are called "planned gifts" because through a bit of easy planning, you, your family and Suffolk County Community College’s students all benefit.
Please take your time and explore our site. Learn about:
Gifts that cost you nothing out of pocket today
Donors who have invested in our long-term mission
The benefits of joining our legacy society
Gifts You Can Make to Suffolk
Some gifts do not have to cost you anything today but support our mission in the future.
These gifts include:
- Name the Suffolk Community College Foundation as a beneficiary of your will or living trust
- Name the Suffolk Community College Foundation as a beneficiary of your qualified retirement plan (IRA, 403(b), 401(k), etc.) (View sample language here)
- Name the Suffolk Community College Foundation as a beneficiary of your life insurance policy (View sample language here)
- Name the Suffolk Community College Foundation as a beneficiary of your donor-advised fund (View sample language here)
How it Works
- Name the Suffolk Community College Foundation in your will, codicil to your will, living trust or as a beneficiary of your retirement plan, life insurance policy or donor-advised fund
- Designate your gift for a particular purpose that is important to you, or allow us to use the gift where the need is greatest at the time it matures
- Indicate a set amount, a percentage or the remaining balance to benefit our mission
Benefits
- Your assets remain in your control during your lifetime
- You can modify your gift at any time to address changing circumstances
- You can direct your gift to a particular purpose (be sure to check with us to make sure your gift can be used as intended)
- Under current federal tax law there is no upper limit on the estate tax deduction for your charitable gifts.
The 1959 Society
Since our founding, individuals dedicated to our long-term success have set up planned gifts for our benefit. Some donors included us as a beneficiary of their will, retirement plan (401(k), 403(b), IRA, etc.) or life insurance policy while others added to our endowment to continue their annual support after they were gone. Each of these individuals believed in our mission and wanted to be sure we could continue to thrive and grow into the future. For this special group, we created The 1959 Society. The 1959 Society is open to all individuals who have named us in their long-term plans or created an endowment for our benefit.
In 1959, the new Suffolk County Community College accepted its first class of credit students, and too new to have a campus, held classes in Sachem High School, eventually moving to the grounds of a vacant county hospital in nearby Selden. Many remarkably talented and committed people worked together to make Suffolk County Community College what it is today: an institution where education brings transformation and economic empowerment.
The 1959 Society honors the spirit of those early days and the vision of the very special people who had a hand in creating and sustaining the College we know today. The people who founded SCCC – community members, faculty, staff, administrators and students – took a chance. They believed that a new kind of college, one dedicated to access and opportunity, would flourish in Suffolk County – and they were right! Today, Suffolk County Community College is the largest and most comprehensive two-year institution of higher education in New York State.
The first Sharks were risk-takers, and their entrepreneurial spirit and determination remains central to our College's identity. It still inspires us today. Your membership in The 1959 Society shows that you, too, are inspired by the impact of the College on the people, community and economy of Long Island. It is an opportunity to stand among many who honor the College's history and become part of its legacy.
Members of the Society receive updates on the College's achievements, have the opportunity to meet and talk with other leading supporters at special events, and receive recognition in donor reports and other publications. Members also receive preferred seating at SCCC concerts and plays as well as invitations to exhibit openings at our art galleries and other events, including an annual 1959 Society celebration. The 1959 Society members receive special recognition at the Suffolk Community College Foundation’s Annual Gala and Annual Golf Classic and serve as model campus citizens inspiring others to support the College through this special legacy society.
How To/Next Steps
Sample language for use in documents
Residual Bequest Language
A residual bequest comes to us after your estate expenses and specific bequests are paid: I bequeath to the Suffolk Community College Foundation Inc., a nonprofit educational corporation located in Selden, NY, the rest, remainder and residue of my estate (____________%), both real and personal, to be used for general purposes (or for the support of a specific program, fund or scholarship)
Specific Gift Language
Naming us as a beneficiary of a specific amount from your estate is easy: I bequeath to the Suffolk Community College Foundation Inc., a nonprofit educational corporation located in Selden, NY, the sum of $___________ to be used where it determines the need is greatest (or for the support of a specific fund or program).
Retirement Plan Beneficiary Language
Naming us as the beneficiary of a qualified retirement plan asset such as a 401(k), 403(b), IRA, Keogh or profit-sharing pension plan will accomplish your charitable goals while realizing significant tax savings. It can be costly to pass such assets on to heirs because of heavy tax consequences. By naming the Suffolk Community College Foundation Inc. as a beneficiary of all or a percentage of your retirement plan, you maintain complete control over the assets while living, but at your passing the remaining assets pass to Suffolk Community College Foundation Inc., free of both estate and income taxes.
Making a charitable gift from your retirement plan is easy. Simply fill out a change of beneficiary form from your plan administrator and notify us. We can also assist you with the proper language for your beneficiary designation to the Suffolk Community College Foundation Inc.
Life Insurance Policy and Donor Advised Fund (DAF) Beneficiary Language
As with retirement plans, naming Suffolk Community College Foundation Inc. as the beneficiary of a life insurance policy or your donor-advised fund is as simple as filling in a change of beneficiary form from your plan/fund administrator. Be sure to let us know you have named us as the beneficiary so we can contact the insurance company or fund at the appropriate time and put your gift to work as you intend.