Fiftieth Reunion Giving

The Mount Holyoke Fund

Your gift to The Mount Holyoke Fund has the greatest immediate impact on the Mount Holyoke experience for each student. Your gift will be used immediately for the purpose of your choice and will directly support College operations.

What area of college life matters most to you? You can find a list of gift destinations to direct your gift within The Mount Holyoke Fund.

Planned Gifts

Planned giving can be a creative and advantageous way to support Mount Holyoke and enhance your Fiftieth Reunion gift. Whether you are looking for gifts that provide income or gifts that cost nothing now, the gift planning team is here to help.

Bequests and beneficiary designations

Making Mount Holyoke College a beneficiary of your estate plan is simple to implement and easy to change at any time. Name the College as a beneficiary of your retirement or life insurance policy or include a gift to the College in your will or trust. Complete a bequest intention form and share a copy of your beneficiary form or the description of your provision. We will include the present value of your future bequest in the comprehensive total for your class.

Gifts that provide income

Life income gifts allow you to create current or future income for yourself and/or your loved ones, enable you to support any area of the College that you wish and entitle you to a current income tax deduction for a portion of the assets given to fund the gift.

Charitable gift annuities provide fixed income for up to two people and may be funded with cash or appreciated securities. (Minimum gift: $10,000. Age minimums apply.)

Charitable remainder unitrusts offer variable income with the potential for growth over time. Trusts may be funded with cash or appreciated assets — including stocks, real estate and business interests. (Minimum gift: $100,000. Age minimums apply.)

Endowment and restricted gifts

Endowed gifts generate a perpetual source of income for Mount Holyoke and are critical for the College’s long-term financial stability and success. You can establish an endowed fund with a minimum gift of $100,000. A gift officer will discuss your philanthropic goals and the needs of the College with you.

Some classmates also make gifts to other restricted funds, such as the Art Museum or Athletics.

Cash or pledge

Make your gift online. You can choose to make a one-time gift or automatic monthly gifts (with a scheduled end date or as an ongoing sustaining gift).

Send a check, payable to Mount Holyoke College, to our secure post office box: Office of Development, Mount Holyoke College, PO Box 889, South Hadley, MA 01075-0889.

Make a one-time or multiyear pledge online or contact Perrin Bernard (see the last page for contact information). Multiyear pledges can help you stretch your giving by spreading your gift over a maximum of five years.

For example, you can make a $5,000 Fiftieth Reunion Class Gift by pledging to give $1,000 annually for five years. You can make multiyear pledges any time before your Fiftieth Reunion celebration and can extend them to your 54th Reunion year. Regardless of the timeline, the entire amount of your multiyear pledge will count toward your Fiftieth Reunion Class Gift.

Gifts of securities

Gifts of appreciated securities are tax deductible at full fair market value if the donor has owned the asset for at least one year. To avoid capital gains taxes, you must provide the securities rather than the proceeds of their sale. You may deduct these gifts at fair market value on the date of transfer to the College.

IRA qualified charitable distributions (QCDs)

Making a charitable contribution from your IRA (or a spouse’s IRA) may reduce your federal income taxes — whether or not you itemize your deductions.

In 2025, individuals aged 70½ or older can contribute any amount of up to $108,000 to a charity, tax-free, directly from their traditional and inherited IRA accounts. Please note that 401(k), 403(b), most SEP IRA accounts and other retirement accounts do not qualify.

If you do not itemize deductions, a QCD provides the tax benefits of an itemized income tax charitable deduction.

If you are 73 or older and must take your RMD, a QCD can satisfy your RMD without increasing your income tax.

Contact your advisor, IRA administrator or plan fiduciary company for assistance. Checks must be made out to Mount Holyoke College (Tax ID number: 04-2103578/The Trustees of Mount Holyoke College).

For more information, please visit giftplanning.mtholyoke.edu/ira-charitable-rollover.

Donor advised funds

A donor advised fund (DAF) is a type of giving program sponsored and administered by many community foundations and investment companies. It combines favorable tax benefits with the flexibility to conveniently support Mount Holyoke.