Through charitable gifts, you can help ensure that Berklee will continue to offer the finest contemporary music education in the world. We want to assure you that you are investing in excellence and that we can add value to your gift with careful planning.
At Berklee we recognize that different contributors have different financial concerns, and an outright gift may not be suitable for everyone. Several planned gift arrangements allow you to make a gift that in return pays you a life income and generates significant tax savings for you or your heirs. Planned gifts may also allow for larger gifts to be made for capital support or to name a scholarship, room, or building.
Methods of Giving
To make a credit card gift to support the Annual Fund, Sarah Vaughan Scholarship, Berklee City Music Scholarships, Women in Music or Zildjian Scholarship Funds, use our online form. For all other methods of giving, scroll down this page or use the following links to jump directly to the pertinent information. For more information, contact David McKay.
Outright Gifts
Gifts of Cash
An outright gift is the simplest and most usual form of giving. You pay no gift or estate taxes on an outright charitable gift, and you may deduct up to 50 percent of your adjusted gross income. If your gift totals more than the 50 percent limit, you can carry forward the excess portion for up to five additional tax years until it is used. You may elect to make a major gift in one year or pledge to give a total amount over several years.
Matching Gifts
Most outright gifts from a donor's present or past employment qualify for matching gifts from contributing employers. This is a tremendous benefit that can greatly expand individual contributions to Berklee. Check with the human resources office at your company to determine if they offer a matching gift program. If they do, you may be able to double the value of your gift.
Gifts of Appreciated Property
You can deduct the full fair market value of a gift of capital gain securities or real estate. This means you give away the capital gain (by definition, the difference between your cost basis and its present value). Thus you avoid any penalty capital gains tax and also any sales commission that would be payable upon sale of the asset. The net cost of the gift may be further reduced because of state tax advantages, and a gift of appreciated property is not subject to the alternative minimum tax.
Planned Gifts
Many of us delay making a generous philanthropic gift because it is important to maintain income during our lifetime. But you can make a charitable gift of an asset now, and often attain a higher income from that gift than by keeping it with life income gifts, gifts that pay you back.
The term "planned giving" describes the many ways in which people can support Berklee College of Music beyond that which they are able to give on an outright basis. Planned giving is important to Berklee because it continues to provide for the education we offer, now and in the future.
Bequests
You can promise gifts to Berklee through a bequest in a will by noting a specific amount of money or other asset, or a residual percentage of an estate or as a contingency. The gift may be designated as (a) a percentage of the donor's estate, (b) a specific dollar amount or description of property, (c) a residual of the donor's estate, or (d) contingent upon a certain event. Estate taxes are reduced by the value of the gift.
Charitable Remainder Trust
Establishing a charitable remainder trust is one of the most common ways to help your institution and your family. When you establish a charitable remainder unitrust, you transfer cash or property to the trust. You then decide what percentage of the trust assets' fair market value you wish to receive as income.
A trust funded with cash or gifts of appreciated property, such as stocks, real estate, or any property with appreciated value, provides you or your beneficiary with a lifetime income based upon the full fair market value of the asset. Further, your gift provides you with an immediate tax deduction, helps you to avoid the capital gains tax, and reduces the estate tax on your assets. In addition to the example of the charitable remainder trust, there are several types of trusts described here that may be better suited to individual needs.
Charitable Gift Annuities
Charitable Gift Annuities allow donors to contribute smaller donations than are made to a Charitable Remainder Trust. A charitable gift annuity is a contract between the donor and Berklee College of Music. The donor makes a gift in exchange for a guaranteed fixed payment for the life of the donor set at the time of the gift. Checks can be issued either annually or biannually at the discretion of the donor.
When the donor dies, his or her share becomes the property of Berklee College of Music. The income tax deduction is based on the current value of the remainder interest going to the nonprofit. No separate trust is required, and often a simple one-page agreement is all that is needed.
Life Insurance Policies
You can make Berklee the owner and beneficiary of a new policy. The policy premium payments are tax deductible, and the policy's value is removed from your taxable estate.
Or you may make Berklee the owner of an existing policy. Your deduction equals the policy replacement value unless it exceeds the cost basis. You may also continue to pay the remaining premiums yourself, qualifying you for an additional charitable contribution deduction. You may not simply make Berklee the beneficiary of the policy and receive an immediate tax deduction as this is not an irrevocable decision.
Gifts of Personal Property
You can make gifts of personal property, such as instruments, music recordings, art, or other items. You gain a charitable deduction on the full fair market value if the object is a long-term gain property and its use is related to our tax-exempt mission. This deduction allows you to avoid the penalty capital gains tax on the appreciation and may be up to 30 percent of your adjusted gross income with a five-year carryover. If your gift is valued at $5,000 or more, you must provide the Internal Revenue Service with a written appraisal. Berklee, as the recipient, is not allowed to value the gift for you.
Bargain Sale
You make a gift of real estate, securities, or other properties, and Berklee pays you your original cost basis. You receive income, a tax charitable deduction, capital gains savings, estate tax savings, and cash, in addition to the satisfaction of helping Berklee.
Buildings at Berklee
150 Massachusetts Avenue
The 150 Massachusetts Avenue building is the nerve center of the Berklee campus. This high-visibility site, seen by thousands traveling on Massachusetts Avenue daily, began life in the jazz age as the elegant Embassy Hotel, built by the old-line Brahmin families, Cabot and Forbes. Today, it is home to the largest residence hall at Berklee; several academic departments, including Music Production and Engineering, Music Synthesis, Film Scoring, Contemporary Writing and Production, Composition, Jazz Composition, and Songwriting; the college's recording studio complex, practice rooms, ensemble rooms, music laboratories, the learning resources center, and the Stan Getz Media Center and Library. More students, faculty, staff, and friends travel through this facility on a daily basis than any other on campus.
Located on the top four floors of 150 Massachusetts Avenue, Berklee's largest dormitory consists of 197 student rooms and four one-bedroom staff apartments. This 93,800-square-foot facility has undergone a $10 million renovation that was just completed this past September. The results include newly constructed, fully air-conditioned, attractive, modern rooms with state-of-the-art fire safety features, and amenities such as wiring for computers as well as new windows, furniture, and lavatory facilities.
The amount required to name the 150 Massachusetts Avenue building: $5,000,000
1140 Boylston Street
When Berklee founder Lawrence Berk moved the college from a small brownstone building at 284 Newbury Street to 1140 Boylston Street, the site of the former Bostonian Hotel, a new era for the college was born. Originally, the building was split in half vertically. Half was used as a residence hall and hotel while the remainder was transformed into the educational and administrative offices of the college. Today, the 66,920-square-foot building houses the Office of the President and most of the college vice presidents as well as administrative operations and many academic department chairs. The exterior of the building has been attractively renovated and features interesting architectural details. Significant internal renovations are planned for the 1140 Boylston Street building over the next two years.
The amount required to name the 1140 Boylston Street building: $3,000,000
25-39 Fordham Road, Allston
In order to respond to student requests for additional practice space, Berklee plans to acquire and renovate 25-39 Fordham Road, in Boston's Allston neighborhood, where many Berklee students live. This structure will significantly improve the ability of Berklee students and ensembles to practice in modern and attractive surroundings.
Currently, the site is a rectangular parcel of approximately 22,000 square feet, with a building occupying most of the site. Berklee plans to install a number of professionally designed and constructed sound-isolating practice units in the building in two phases. The majority of the modules will be private practice rooms with a few designated for group practice. Phase I will have about 40 small individual units and 10 larger units of varying sizes. Phase II will add approximately 50 additional units that will be available for student use from 10 a.m. to midnight, seven nights a week.
Significant exterior improvements will transform the current unsightly facility into an architectural asset to the neighborhood. The college will initially lease the property and operate the facility; it will determine by May 31, 2001, whether or not to purchase the space. Once ownership is established, the college will make significant improvements to the property. It is expected to take up to one year to make any needed exterior facility improvements.
The amount required to name the Fordham Road building: $2,000,000
Technology-related Facilities
Film Scoring Department
Film Scoring is one of Berklee's most popular majors with 350 students enrolled. The new Film Scoring facilities, completed in 1996, provide students with up-to-date equipment and instruction, enabling
them to gain the skills and knowledge to function as composers, orchestrators, music supervisors and music editors, or technical production workers. Students study the techniques of film music and progress to challenges that mirror the professional process in the television and motion picture industries: composing original music, recruiting and recording musical groups, editing and mixing, and synching the recording to the moving image. This combination of technology, creativity, and practical experience provides Berklee Film Scoring students a seamless transition to the film scoring industry.
Six Film Scoring labs offer students the opportunity for individual hands-on study in the areas of film music composition, editing, sequencing, and computer applications, including digital audio. Students also take advantage of two labs equipped with 16mm six-plate flatbed Moviola editing machines; a complete 35mm editing lab containing two upright 35mm Moviolas and editing bench, with rewinds, synchronizers, sound readers, and splicers; two PCs fitted with Auricle film scoring software; three video screening rooms with keyboards and video playback; and a dedicated video/scoring/sequencing lab that includes a Power Macintosh computer, a MIDI/SMPTE interface, and an array of contemporary music synthesizers. There is also a larger, central classroom/lab facility that supports the music editing and computer applications courses. Another major addition is the 42-seat screening theater with multiple data projection and wide-screen video projection featuring Dolby Surround Sound.
The Film Scoring program, complex of rooms, and individual facilities are available for naming.
The amount required to name the Film Scoring program: $1,000,000
The amount required to name the Film Scoring Complex: $200,000
The amount required to name one of the six Film Scoring labs: $75,000
The amount required to name the Film Scoring large theater: $100,000
Learning Resources Center
Berklee is the home of the largest music technology learning center in the world. The Learning Resources Center is staffed and structured to enhance the learning experience by utilizing an array of tools to improve ear training, composition skills, and reading ability. The Learning Resources Center features 40 computer-based MIDI workstations, nine cassette stations, four tutoring/private study rooms, and a technology-based classroom. Many of the center's instructional materials are designed and developed by Berklee faculty. The center provides the link between technology and the ability to create music. Staff are trained to assist students at all levels of technological skill.
The amount required to name the Learning Resources Center: $200,000
Music Production and Engineering Program and Recording Studios
Admission to the college's Music Production and Engineering major is extremely competitive, reflecting its popularity, the rigorous course work involved, and the enviable industry reputation earned by the program's graduates. Using Berklee's state-of-the-art facilities, Music Production and Engineering students learn how to successfully complete recording projects using both musical and technical criteria typical of those found in contemporary professional recording and production environments. Berklee prepares Music Production and Engineering graduates to enter the contemporary music production field as effective professionals, with both the musical and technical skills necessary to succeed.
The Berklee recording studio complex is the East Coast's largest outside of New York City. It consists of 10 facilities that include 8-, 16-, and 24-track digital and analog recording capability, automated mix down, digital editing, video postproduction, and comprehensive signal-processing equipment.
There are four 24-track control rooms, two 8-track mix down control rooms, one digital audio/video postproduction editing suite, two project studios, and one 24-track and two 8-track teaching rooms, all of which double as production rooms for student projects. Berklee's facilities enable students to master the art of production and engineering through extensive hands-on training that includes automated mixing, CD mastering, digital recording, and editing and video postproduction.
The Music Production and Engineering program, the recording studio complex, and individual facilities are available for naming.
The amount required to name the Music Production and Engineering program: $1,000,000
The amount required to name the recording studio complex: $250,000
The amount required to name the four 24-track control rooms: $100,000
The amount required to name the two 8-track mix down control rooms: $50,000
The amount required to name the digital audio/video production editing suite: $25,000
The amount required to name the two project studios: $50,000
The amount required to name the two 8-track teaching rooms: $50,000
The amount required to name the 24-track teaching room: $25,000
Music Therapy Department
Berklee's newest major, Music Therapy, has generated tremendous enthusiasm among the Berklee student body and in the music therapy community. Berklee's emphasis on musical improvisation and its leadership in the use of technology allows Berklee to make unique, significant contributions to this fast-growing field.
Its location in Boston—a world-renowned medical center—affords the Berklee Music Therapy program opportunities that will benefit its graduates and the field in general.
Music Therapy uses music-making to stimulate social, educational, and behavioral development among the physically and emotionally challenged. Music is often the most effective means of reaching vulnerable populations who have not responded to other interventions or therapies.
The Music Therapy program and the office space, located at 22 The Fenway are available for naming.
The amount required to name the Music Therapy program: $500,000
The amount required to name the Music Therapy program area: $200,000
Career, Community, Student Resources
Counseling Center
Berklee's Counseling Center, located in the new Uchida building, provides academic advising services to assist with educational planning; personal counseling for issues affecting the performance, growth, and overall well-being of Berklee students; international student advising, and special services to students with physical and/or learning disabilities. The Counseling Center provides a wide range of support services to Berklee students in their personal, academic, and career growth.
The amount required to name the Counseling Center: $150,000
Career Development Center
The Career Development Center functions as a career counseling service, library, job bank, and a personal career resource network for students. Video and audio recordings and printed career materials are available to provide valuable information on the many career options in contemporary music. Of special interest is the collection of videos and audiotapes of Berklee's Career Workshop Series, featuring successful professionals from many areas of the music industry sharing their career insights with Berklee students. The Career Development Center provides reference materials, computers, and personal assistance for students and maintains a bulletin board listing available positions and gigs.
The amount required to name the Career Development Center: $150,000
Education and Community Partnerships Office
For many years, Berklee has made a commitment to support K-12 music education in Boston. To meet this commitment, the Education and Community Partnerships Office builds and cultivates neighborhood, cultural, educational, and many other relationships in the schools and in the community-at-large. This office also works to ensure that Berklee is a responsible neighbor in the city of Boston. This office undertakes several noteworthy projects, including offering the Berklee City Music program to disadvantaged urban youth, providing musical instruments and equipment to public schools, awarding scholarships to short-term educational programs for Boston music educators, and conducting clinics, performances, and other outreach in the area.
The amount required to name the Education and Community Partnerships Office: $150,000 |
