The DPMA Legacy Society

Since its founding as a 501(c)(3) corporation in 1975, the Foundation for Information Technology Education has benefited from the foresight and generosity of people who have invested in the future by naming the Foundation as a beneficiary in their wills. Over time, many gifts have emerged, and each year these gifts have added to the value of the Foundation's endowment and provided funds for scholarships and other programs to enhance the Foundation’s efforts to provide meaningful and valuable educational program support to both current and future information technology professionals. Those who have made commitments to the Foundation through planned gifts have left significant legacies and have truly become partners in the growth and development of the information technology profession.

 

What Is The DPMA Legacy Society?

The DPMA Legacy Society was announced in 2007. The society recognizes friends of the Foundation who have either funded or planned a deferred gift, such as a bequest or a life income plan. It is named in honor of the Data Processing Management Association (DPMA) which rose to prominence during the pioneering days of the information technology profession and provided many of us with valuable professional growth opportunities, outstanding professional fellowship, and lifelong friendships.

 

Qualifications for Membership

Anyone who has an estate gift planned for the Foundation or who has completed a life income trust, retained life estate gift or other charitable trust plan for the Foundation is eligible for membership in the DPMA Legacy Society. For example, the Foundation for Information Technology Education can be made the beneficiary of donors' estates through specific bequests written in a donor's will or by being named the beneficiary of a life insurance policy or retirement plan. Donors who establish life income plans, retained life estates or other charitable trusts that benefit the Foundation, whether the Foundation manages the plan or not, also qualify.

 

Gift plans that confer membership eligibility include the following:

* Simple bequests
* Life income gifts, including immediate or deferred-payment charitable gift annuities, charitable remainder annuity trusts or unitrusts
* Retained life estate gifts
* Charitable lead trusts that pay income to the Foundation
* Designation of the Foundation as beneficiary of a life insurance policy or retirement plan

Most plans that make donors eligible for membership can be funded with either a lifetime gift or a testamentary gift made through the donor's will. If you have questions about a gift plan you believe might qualify, please contact the President of the Foundation.

 

Why Does the DPMA Legacy Society Want Members?

It is possible that a planned gift might arrive at the Foundation unannounced. In these cases, the Foundation has no advance knowledge about the bequest plans until the bequest is actually received. Such gifts are welcomed, of course, but the Foundation deeply regrets the missed opportunity they represent. We believe it is vitally important to thank properly all those who remember the Foundation and who invest in the future of information technology education with their estate gifts.

Those who create bequests for the Foundation are wonderful role models. Although the Foundation keeps the value and details of each planned gift strictly confidential, every person who becomes a DPMA Legacy Society member provides an example for other friends of the information technology profession who have not yet made similar plans. Further, when the Foundation is aware that friends intend to contribute planned gift support, the Foundation can work with them to ensure that their interests and intentions are clearly understood and can be followed accurately by jointly drafting a memorandum of agreement.

Finally, although the Foundation recognizes that receipt of any individual planned gift is unpredictable, if enough individual plans are known, the Foundation can make valid estimates about future receipts. Thus, financial plans and projections for the future can be made with more confidence and accuracy.

 

What Benefits Do Members Receive?

DPMA Legacy Society members who give their consent are listed in the Foundation for Information Technology Education Annual Report and, from time to time, in other Foundation publications. A certificate, signed by the President of the Foundation, confirms membership. DPMA Legacy Society members are invited to Foundation-sponsored events. Finally, DPMA Legacy Society members enjoy the informed thanks of their colleagues in the information technology profession.

 

How Do I Join?

Anyone interested in joining the DPMA Legacy Society may become a member by completing a deferred gift plan for the Foundation with their estate-planning counsel and then confirming the existence of the plan, in a letter to the Foundation's President. Donors should provide a fully executed copy of the section of their will that pertains to the gift.

Those who qualify by virtue of having completed a life income or other trust gift will automatically be invited to join if the gift plan is administered by the Foundation. Those whose gift plans are managed by outside trustees or fiduciaries should simply confirm the plan's existence in a letter to the Foundation's President. When registering, new members should indicate whether their names should be kept in confidence or whether they may be listed as DPMA Legacy Society members in the Foundation's publications.

 

What Gift Plans Qualify Donors for Membership?

If you already have completed any of the gift plans described below, you may join by indicating your plan in a letter to the Foundation's President. Or, if you are interested in learning more details about creating one of the listed plans to become a member, contact the President of the Foundation.

A bequest through your estate plan:
Bequests can take many forms, and all qualify the donor for membership in the DPMA Legacy Society. Simple bequests can be for a stated portion of your estate, for the residue of your estate remaining after other bequests have been fulfilled, for a specific dollar amount or for a specific set of assets.

A life income gift established during your lifetime or through your will:
You can make a gift to the Foundation during your lifetime that pays income back to you and anyone else you name. Or you can establish similar plans through your will that provide income for your heirs. All these plans represent a tax-advantaged means of providing income to you, your family or friends while aiding the Foundation in its mission to support educational programs and publications for those involved in the information technology profession. The Foundation can administer most life income plans with minimal expense to the donor or income beneficiaries and works with your advisors to provide necessary documents and tax information.

A gift of retirement assets or life insurance benefits:
You can make the Foundation a beneficiary of your IRA, Keogh or any other qualified retirement plan or of a life insurance policy. Such designations of the Foundation for Information Technology Education as a charitable beneficiary save significant estate and income taxes. All these assets also may be used to establish tax-advantaged life income plans for your heirs.

Gifts of residential property with the right to life tenancy:
With a retained life estate gift, you can give the Foundation your primary home, vacation home or farm including a home in exchange for the right to live in and enjoy the property during your lifetime, while earning a present income tax deduction and future estate tax savings.

A gift that pays income to the Foundation and returns principal to you, your children or grandchildren:
A charitable lead trust that pays income to the Foundation for some term of years can be established to yield significant tax savings for the ultimate beneficiaries of the trust. In addition, appreciation earned during the term the Foundation receives income may go to your heirs at sharply reduced gift/estate tax rates.

 

For More Information

For more information on any of these giving plans, we encourage you to contact the President of the Foundation or your own attorney and advisors. The Foundation for Information Technology Education will gladly provide sample documents your advisors can review and adapt, which will illustrate the potential income, gift and estate tax results of any gift you contemplate. Assistance from the Foundation’s Board of Regents is offered in total confidence at no cost.

 

Please Consider Becoming a Member

Members of the DPMA Legacy Society are long-term investors; their gifts not only preserve our profession’s past but also guarantee that everything the Foundation and the information technology profession represents will become even more valuable in the future. DPMA Legacy Society members truly create permanent legacies with their gifts. If you have not yet done so, we hope you will review the options, think about how you want to be remembered in our profession and consider completing a gift plan that will qualify you for membership. If you already qualify for membership, please contact us with any additional documentation you are willing to provide.