Legacy Giving Program

When estate planning leads to a gift

Create a lifesaving or life-changing legacy at the Upstate Foundation for healthier, happier and longer lives for the people of Central New York.

By creating a lifesaving or life-changing legacy at the Upstate Foundation, you will have a meaningful impact on the health and well-being of our community for decades to come, continuing well beyond your lifetime. The important work carried out at Upstate Medical University – we care for patients in our hospitals and outpatient clinics, we educate future health care professionals at our four colleges, and conduct groundbreaking biomedical research – should give you the satisfaction of knowing that your legacy gift will truly save lives or significantly impact the lives of others.

You may be familiar with some of the patient care entities that comprise Upstate Medical University, the largest employer in Central New York: Upstate University Hospital including our Community campus, Upstate Golisano Children’s Hospital, Upstate Cancer Center and Joslin Diabetes Center. You may not be aware that we also have four colleges that confer advanced degrees in Medicine, Nursing, Health Professions and Graduate Studies. Our vibrant research initiatives focus on diseases that affect our local community, such as diabetes and cancer, as well as global health challenges.

Unlike some other organizations, you can be assured that 100 percent of your legacy gift will be used locally to support patient care, education, research, and community health and well-being.

Key information

If you are naming the Upstate Foundation as a recipient of a legacy gift, here is useful information:

Legal name: The Upstate Foundation, Inc.
Address: Upstate Foundation, 750 East Adams Street, Syracuse, New York 13210
Phone:  315-464-4416
Fax: 315-464-7873
Tax ID: 16-1068101

Legacy donor stories  click here

Legacy giving options* at the Upstate Foundation

Gift in your will

You can create a legacy gift by simply remembering the Upstate Foundation in your will or estate plans. Remember to make certain that your executor, professional advisor and the Upstate Foundation are aware of your wishes so that questions can be answered now in order to avoid confusion later.

Retirement plans

Retirement plans are often the most attractive legacy giving option for donors because you can easily make a gift simply by filling out a beneficiary form designating the Upstate Foundation as your beneficiary or a partial beneficiary. Loved ones, as beneficiaries, may have to pay income taxes on the proceeds from your retirement plan. As a public charity, the Upstate Foundation will not.

Gifts of stock

You can give a gift of stock directly to the Upstate Foundation and receive a tax deduction for the current market value. Additionally, if the stock is worth more than you paid for it, you will avoid the capital gains tax on the net appreciation.

Gift through your IRA

As of December 2022, federal legislation allows for anyone 70-1/2 or older with an IRA to make a qualified charitable distribution (QCD) up to $50,000 from an IRA to open an immediate charitable gift annuity. This can be a single- or two-life annuity with a spouse, creating guaranteed/fixed rate income for life. For a personalized charitable gift annuity illustration, please contact Carolyn Hendrickson at 315-464-6490, hendricc@upstate.edu or scroll down to Please Contact Me.

Real estate

You can transform a parcel of real estate into a legacy gift by transferring your property into a life income plan and receive an income for the rest of your life and/or the lives of loved ones. Provided that the property meets our gift acceptance policies, you can make an outright gift of real estate to the Upstate Foundation.

Life income plans

A charitable gift annuity is an agreement between you and the Upstate Foundation whereby you transfer cash or assets to the Upstate Foundation with the understanding that you and/or a loved one will receive fixed income payments for the rest of your lives. The amount never changes. There is a tax deduction for the charitable portion of the gift. Upon the death of the last annuitant, the remaining funds are used to create a legacy gift in your name. 

As of December 2022, federal legislation allows for anyone 70-1/2 or older with an IRA to make a qualified charitable distribution (QCD) up to $50,000 from an IRA to open an immediate charitable gift annuity. This can be a single- or two-life annuity with a spouse, creating guaranteed/fixed rate income for life. For a personalized charitable gift annuity illustration, please contact Carolyn Hendrickson at 315-464-6490, hendricc@upstate.edu or scroll down to Please Contact Me.

 

*As always, you should consult your financial and personal advisors before making a legacy gift. You should contact, or your advisor should contact, the Upstate Foundation prior to making a gift decision in order to assure that your wishes are clearly understood. Our legal name is The Upstate Foundation. 

Please contact the Upstate Foundation if you intend to include or already have included, Upstate in your estate plan. Call 315-464-4416 or complete the form below and our Director of Legacy Giving, Carolyn Hendrickson will give you a call.

 

Please contact me

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Professional Advisory Council for Legacy Giving 

The Upstate Foundation’s Professional Advisory Council – representing trust attorneys, financial planners, certified public accountants and estate planners – continues to grow, helping to ensure that donors wishing to create a meaningful legacy receive the highest quality of support possible.