Giving

 

YOUR GENEROSITY EDUCATES, TRANSFORMS, AND CHANGES LIVES.
MAKE IT LAST.

 

What is an endowment?

Endowments are a powerful way to provide ongoing and permanent funding that supports the needs of students throughout their educational journey at Pacific Oaks.

These funds are unique because the total amount of your contribution is invested and yields annual income on a rolling basis. Each month, these earnings fund the below resources for students while the rest continues to be reinvested and provides financial security and growth for the future:

  • Increased scholarships and tuition assistance
  • Tutoring services
  • Academic programs
  • Technology improvements
  • Mentorship and research opportunities
  • Laptops
  • Workshops and seminars
  • Ongoing college enhancements that allow Pacific Oaks to be responsive to the unique challenges of underrepresented and first-generation students during an economic, financial, or public crisis.

Why should I make an endowed gift?

  • In 2020, Pacific Oaks was awarded a $2.5 million Title V Hispanic Serving Institution (DHSI) grant from the U.S. Department of Education (DOE). As part of this grant, the DOE agreed to provide a generous matching-gift contribution:
  • If PO raises $50,000 each year for the next four years (a total of $200,000), the U.S. Department of Education will match these funds and contribute an additional $200,000 to grow our endowment fund!

The COVID-19 pandemic demonstrates the critical need for endowments to protect the future of Pacific Oaks for students. Ten years from now, we will have more students counting on us; and for too long, Pacific Oaks has relied primarily on tuition fees to cover the cost of their academic programs and support services.

Today, you can help change that.

Our goal of raising $50,000 each year can only be reached with the support and generosity from our devoted alumni and friends standing with us.

Give today to build tomorrow.

Contact

Office of Advancement
45 Eureka Street
Pasadena, CA 91103
626.529.8091
[email protected]

Areas of Support

Pacific Oaks College enjoys a distinguished history of achievements and leadership in early childhood education, human development, and related human services fields. While tuition revenue funds the majority of our institutional resources, our current funding priorities will allow us to continue to develop programs that will help our students reach their greatest potential through the generous support of alumni, families, and friends of Pacific Oaks. Your gift of any amount to Pacific Oaks College will make an impact in the following greatest areas of need:

Scholarships

  • Unendowed Scholarships are awarded to students of Pacific Oaks College across all degree programs and modalities in need of additional financial support to help them complete their degree.
  • First Generation Scholarships are awarded to Pacific Oaks College students who are the first in their family to pursue a degree of higher education.
  • Scholarships for Veterans are awarded to those who have so bravely served in the U.S. Armed Forces and would like to pursue an education at Pacific Oaks College. This scholarship is also applicable to Veterans’ direct dependents.
  • Gretchen Brooke Memorial Scholarship was established in honor of the late Gretchen Brooke, who was a core faculty member of Pacific Oaks College and helped launch our program in Northern California. Funds from this scholarship are awarded to Pacific Oaks College students enrolled in our Northern California programs.

College Unrestricted

funds support the college in a variety of ways as deemed most necessary by the institution’s leadership. In the past they have helped us renovate our campus, enhance our current programs, and provide our faculty and staff with the materials they need to provide a transformative education.

Types of Gifts

How to make a gift?

When you make a gift to Pacific Oaks College and Children’s School, you have tremendous flexibility in determining how the funds will be used, as well as many options for making your gift.

Unrestricted gifts

Unrestricted gifts are among the most valuable to Pacific Oaks College and Children’s School because they allow us to allocate funds wherever the need is greatest, and to take advantage of unique opportunities as they arise.  Your unrestricted contribution goes to areas of greatest need.

Restricted gifts

Restricted gifts allow you to designate your gift to a specific school or program or a priority area at the College or Children’s School.  When you make a restricted gift to Pacific Oaks College and Children’s School, you enjoy the satisfaction of knowing you are supporting a program that is personally meaningful to you.

Types of gifts

Outright gifts

When you make an outright gift to Pacific Oaks College and Children’s School, your contribution can be put to work immediately.
  • Cash gifts – the simplest and easiest gifts you can make can be made through credit/debit card transactions, outright cash, personal checks, cashier’s checks, or money orders made payable to Pacific Oaks College/Children’s School. Pacific Oaks College and Children’s School also has a wire account; please contact the Office of Advancement for details about making a wire transfer.
  • Gifts of appreciated securities, stocks, and bonds also provide considerable tax advantages when transferred to Pacific Oaks College/Children’s School before they are sold. If you have held your securities for more than one year, you may find that your gift will provide a twofold tax benefit, creating an income-tax deduction as well as helping avoid the capital-gains tax that would have been due on their sale.  If you wish to transfer stocks from a broker’s account or if stocks are to be delivered by DTC to the College’s/Children’s School’s bank, please call the Office of Advancement at 626-529-8091.
You may also may make a gift of mutual funds, non-marketable stock, or closely held stock.  Contact the Pacific Oaks College and Children’s School Office of Advancement about giving these types of securities. Pacific Oaks College and Children’s School Office of Advancement 45 Eureka Street Pasadena, CA 91103 626.529.8091
  • Gifts of personal property, including rare books, works of art, valuable collectibles, and tangible items of demonstrable value may enable you, in some cases, to make a significant gift to support Pacific Oaks College/Children’s School with outstanding tax benefits to you. Likewise, gifts of intangible personal property, such as copyrights, patents, and mineral rights, can generate income for the program of your choice on a continuing basis.

Planned Gifts

To learn about deferred or planned gifts, including bequests, life-income plans, and other options for your estate – and for information about increasing your income, earning valuable income-tax deductions, and reducing your estate taxes – please visit the Pacific Oaks College and Children’s School Planned Giving site.

Matching Gift Programs

An easy way to double or even triple your donation to Pacific Oaks College/Children’s School is to find out if your company has a matching gift program.  Such programs typically match all or a percentage of employee contributions to a charitable organization, making the employer a partner in an employees’ personal philanthropy.  Simply obtain a matching gift form from your employer’s personnel office, fill it out, and provide it to Pacific Oaks College/Children’s School with your contribution. Please visit the Matching Gifts website to find out if your company offers a matching gift program.

Gift Pledges

Pacific Oaks College and Children’s School welcomes your gift through a pledge – a formal statement of intention to make a gift to the College/Children’s School.  With a pledge, you may complete your gift by making regular payments over time, allowing you to give more generously than you originally may have considered.  What is more, each payment on your pledge is eligible for an income-tax charitable deduction.

Become an Advocate

Pacific Oaks College & Children’s School Advocates

A tradition of generosity since 1945

While tuition revenue provides the bulk of institutional resources, the excellence of our diverse and growing programs is in large part the result of the generous support of friends, families, and alumni of Pacific Oaks. Contributions at all levels provide immediate support to operations, scholarships, program development, teacher development, campus renovations, and much more. We recognize that some individuals and families provide exemplary leadership and support to advance our mission. To honor the generous commitment of those who sustain our mission, Pacific Oaks has established the Pacific Oaks College & Children’s School Advocates, formerly known as the Associates.

Qualifications for Membership

Annual membership is conferred upon individuals, couples, families, foundations, and companies who donate a cumulative amount of $1,000 or more within one fiscal year (June 1 to May 31) to Pacific Oaks. Donations can be made to the College, Children’s School, or other institutional initiatives.

Benefits

-Invitation to our Annual Advocates Appreciation Reception -Commemorative gift -VIP Seating at the Evangeline Burgess Memorial Lecture Series event -Exclusive luncheon with Pacific Oaks College & Children’s School leadership -The most meaningful benefit is the immediate impact that your generosity has brought to individuals, families, and various communities. Become a member today by donating to Pacific Oaks!

Leave a Legacy

Evangeline Burgess Legacy Society

Leave a Legacy, Make a Difference for Children and Families

About Evangeline Burgess

As a driving force behind the creation of Pacific Oaks College in 1958, Evangeline Burgess embodied the spirit that still defines us today: a commitment to service and academic excellence that brings out the potential in everyone. An accomplished teacher and author, she pioneered new early childhood education programs as Pacific Oaks College’s first president.

The Evangeline Burgess Legacy Society

The Evangeline Burgess Legacy Society offers an array of gift planning options designed to meet your needs, from providing a steady source of income now to reducing estate taxes later. If you have included a gift for Pacific Oaks College/Children’s School in your estate plans or through a planned gift, you qualify for membership in the Evangeline Burgess Legacy Society!

What is Planned Giving?

We are honored when people think to include Pacific Oaks as a beneficiary in their will or trust, insurance policies, or qualified retirement plans. Families may designate a gift to a particular program; contribute to our annual fund to help us continue to provide a transformative education or allow us to use their gift for the greatest need. Past planned gifts have helped provide hundreds of scholarships to students and families which would not otherwise be able to experience our education, they have enhanced the campus and expanded the programs we offer.

Planned giving:

  • Provides funding for current and future needs of the school, thus impacting generations of Pacific Oaks students in leading lives of learning, leadership, and service.
  • Can be adapted to each donor’s needs, including the opportunity for donors to make gifts that provide a lifetime source of income to the donor, while benefiting Pacific Oaks.

Planned giving opportunities

Appreciated Property

Earn a significant income tax deduction while avoiding capital gains taxes with a gift of appreciated securities or real property. A gift of appreciated property—either real estate or securities such as stocks and bonds—reduces your tax burden while supporting Pacific Oaks.

Bequest

A bequest is a transfer of cash, property, or securities through a will or living trust. Retain full control and use of your property during your lifetime and reduce your taxable estate by remembering Pacific Oaks in your will or living trust. Bequests cost nothing now, but leave a legacy for future generations. Your heirs may save on estate taxes, while your generosity supports Pacific Oaks.

Charitable Remainder Trust

Consider an irrevocable gift of an asset you want to keep in the family long term while the current income is paid to Pacific Oaks. When the term ends, your children receive the property without added gift or estate tax cost.

Retained Life Estate

A retained life estate allows you to donate your personal residence to Pacific Oaks while continuing to live there. Lower your taxable estate and enjoy a current income tax deduction by giving Pacific Oaks full or partial interest in your home while residing in it for as long as you choose. You have the option of giving your primary residence, a vacation home, or a farm. This gift also allows you to save on estate taxes while supporting Pacific Oaks’ important programs. When you create a retained life estate, you do not have to continue to reside in your home. You may rent out your home and receive the rental benefits. You may also be eligible to receive a gift annuity with your donation.

Retirement Plan

Name Pacific Oaks as the beneficiary of your retirement account, such as a 401(k) or IRA, and reduce your taxable estate. Retirement accounts, such as an IRA or 401(k), can be donated tax free, guaranteeing that 100 percent of the proceeds you have saved go to Pacific Oaks. Typically, loved ones who receive retirement plans must pay a significant amount of deferred income taxes—a tax that can significantly reduce the amount that passes to heirs. However, retirement plans left directly to Pacific Oaks are entirely free of deferred income taxes and make your estate eligible for a charitable deduction.

Life Insurance

A relatively small commitment can translate to a significant gift. A donor transfers ownership of an existing policy and makes Pacific Oaks the owner and irrevocable beneficiary. You receive an immediate tax deduction for the surrender value of the policy, or the annual premiums you continue to pay on the policy. Upon death, all proceeds will pass directly to Pacific Oaks. A donor may include all or a percentage gift in a new or existing policy to Pacific Oaks. Alternatively, you keep the policy and name Pacific Oaks as a beneficiary.

Direct Gifts of Cash

A direct gift of cash can be accepted and can generate an immediate tax deduction. A planned gift may be designated to support a program of your choice, or may be placed in the Pacific Oaks Endowment Fund to share your legacy with generations to come.

The information listed is for educational purposes only. Please consult your financial advisors for options best suited to meet your needs and goals

. Pacific Oaks College and Children’s School federal tax I.D. number is 95-1716809

Contact:

Pacific Oaks College and Children’s School Office of Advancement 45 Eureka Street Pasadena, CA 91103 626.529.8091

Employee Giving

Gifts In Action

Learn more about some of the ways your funds support Pacific Oaks College and Children’s School

News
Voices Magazine
PO Alumni Spotlight

The U.S. Department of Education awarded Pacific Oaks College (PO) a five-year, $2.5 million grant in October 2020. The funds will support the development of academic services, mentoring, faculty, curriculum, and other resources for Latinx+ and underrepresented students.

A huge component of the grant includes an endowment to build the future sustainability of the institution through a $200,000 match if the institution raises $200,000 from donors over four years.

PO was one of 40 universities and a handful of private colleges in California to receive the Developing Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI) Title V competitive grant, which assists colleges in the development of academic services, mentoring, faculty, curriculum, and other resources. PO's project, known as the Latinx+ Student Success Initiative, will support Latinx and underrepresented student populations.

An HSI is defined as an institution of higher education that has at least 25% Hispanic full-time equivalent undergraduate enrollment. As of fall 2020, more than 55% of PO's undergraduate student body self-identify as Hispanic, making Latinx students the largest demographic at the College.

As a small nonprofit social justice college, PO now has an opportunity with the Title V grant, to prepare more Latinx and underrepresented students to graduate and bring the core values of diversity, inclusion, and social justice to a workforce and communities that desperately needs these qualities. The Title V grant is critical to assist students to close achievement gaps as well as strengthen the overall institution.

Major components of the grant include the development of a student success center, higher education outreach programs informed by the needs of a growing Latinx population, enhanced professional development opportunities and diversity of faculty, and building an endowment fund that will support future program development and support.

Integral to the Title V grant are goals to increase retention and graduation rates of Latinx+ and underrepresented undergraduate students. In addition to the undergraduate success center, new and sustainable programs will be essential, such as a media lending library, a Latinx+ Speaker Series, and bilingual academic advisors, tutors, and mentors.

The grant began October 1, 2020 and ends September 30, 2025.