It has been a great year at MSU and the Jake Jabs College of Business & Entrepreneurship. We have much to be proud of:

  • This past fall, we had our first full semester of classes in Jabs Hall.  The new home of the Jake Jabs College of Business and Entrepreneurship is beautiful and from the moment you walk into the building, you feel a sense of excitement.  It is clearly one of the most open, inviting, and collaboration-friendly buildings on campus.
  • MSU is Montana’s largest university, enrolling 15,688 students last fall.  Our incoming freshman have an average high school grade point average of 3.45.
  • Jabs Hall has been recognized with a top project excellence award from the Montana chapter of the American Council of Engineering Companies.
  • In the spring of 2015, MSU launched an exciting new cross discipline class - DSEL 490: Innovation Ideation, a pioneering design course comprised of business, graphic design, and engineering students.  Other cross discipline classes and programs are being introduced, preparing students by providing opportunities to gain knowledge, expertise and experience beyond their individual disciplines.
  • On September 25th, MSU announced the public phase of a comprehensive campaign to raise $300 million in private support – What It Takes, the Campaign for Montana State University. The campaign will provide support for student scholarships, professorships and chairs, academic programs, classrooms, laboratories, research and other projects.

As another semester comes to a close, so does the year 2015. As you chart your year-end tax planning, know you still have time to make charitable gifts to Montana State University. By considering your University for a year end gift, you may become eligible for credits on your Montana tax bill.

The Montana Qualified Endowment Tax Credit can help you take up to $10,000 (or $20,000 for you and your spouse) off your Montana Taxes! By utilizing a planned gift like a deferred gift annuity to establish an endowment, you can make a big impact at MSU while reducing your Montana state income tax burden. There are options for corporations as well. 

Read more about this at: www.msuaf.org/s/1584/index.aspx?sid=1584&gid=1&pgid=1645

Another great Montana tax credit is the Montana College Contribution Credit. This allows you to take a credit of 10% of your gift to the MSU Foundation, up to $500.

As of December 10th, we do not know yet if the extension of the IRA Charitable Rollover for 2015 well be approved, but it does look promising.  We are advising donors to wait to make a gift from their IRA’s until we know for sure that the provision has been extended. We have the ability to accommodate these rollover gifts very quickly if Congress responds before year-end.

Feel free to give me a call to discuss year end giving options to MSU. I can assist you with your gift or pledge to an area of personal interest or give to the university’s area of greatest need. By giving, you help create new opportunities for our students, enrich our faculty and staff, strengthen our academic programs and enhance our campus community – and perhaps save a bit on the ol’ tax bill as well!

Happy Holidays!

 

Jackie Sather, Senior Director of Development

406.994.6766

jackie.sather@msuaf.org