In all cases, it is important to state that one’s gift is being made to Wagner College on Staten Island, New York. Wagner College’s federal tax identification number is 13- 5604699.
In its simplest form, a bequest would state, “I give to Wagner College on Staten Island, New York, $___ or ___ % of my estate or ___ % of the remainder of my estate to be used for an important purpose determined by the Wagner College Board of Trustees.” This wording would establish what is known as an unrestricted gift.
Often, donors wish to restrict their gifts to certain purposes. Language to make this type of gift would read, “I give to Wagner College on Staten Island, New York, $___ or ___ % of my estate or ___ % of the remainder of my estate to be used for …” Here, one would state the purpose for the gift, e.g., to purchase books for the library.
Many donors are interested in permanently endowing a fund. This means that the income generated by the endowment is to be used in perpetuity, for purposes determined either by the board (unrestricted) or by the donor (restricted). This type of gift could be made with the following language: “I give to Wagner College on Staten Island, New York, $___ to be used to endow permanently a fund, income from which is to be used for a purpose determined by the Board of Trustees,” or “income from which is to be used for …” Here, one would state the purpose, e.g., to endow a named scholarship fund.
Please note that gifts to permanently endowed funds are co-mingled with the Wagner Endowment for investment purposes, but tracked separately. A portion (percentage determined by the Wagner College Board of Trustees) is used for either unrestricted purposes or, in the case of a restricted fund, for the purpose stated by the donor. Interest not used accrues to the corpus of the endowed fund.
We welcome inquiries from those wishing to include Wagner in their estate plans. This is especially true if you are thinking of permanently endowing a fund for a specific purpose, as funding levels have been established by the Wagner College Board of Trustees (e.g., $100,000 to endow permanently a named scholarship fund).