Life insurance is a vehicle through which financial risk is managed. Through financial growth, and changing circumstances, a particular life insurance policy may no longer be needed, and can make an excellent charitable gift. A gift can be made in three ways:
- CUA can be named as the beneficiary of a policy
- CUA can be named as the owner of a policy you already hold
- CUA can be named as the owner of a policy you are now purchasing
Where the university is named as owner, you will typically receive an income tax deduction for the cash value at the time of the gift. Going forward, you may also receive deductions for additional gifts made to pay periodic premiums. In any case, you will be simplifying your own financial situation and gaining tax benefits while redirecting a valuable asset to support our mission.
 Frankie Frankincense, a consistent donor to CUA's Annual Fund,  fondly recalls the early morning trek, occasionally in the snow, from his Gibbons Hall dorm room to his engineering classes. Part of that fondness is gratitude for the fact that he was able to attend CUA on a John K. Mullen Memorial Scholarship. Following the recent sale of his consulting business, Frankie saw the need to reassess his financial plan. In doing so, he recognized that with his children grown and financially independent, he and his wife, Frannie, no longer needed some of the life insurance they had bought previously. In particular was a paid up whole life policy, underwritten by Leviticus Life, Inc., that had been purchased years ago in part to jump start the sales career of Freddie Fishfry, Frankie's brother-in-law. In light of the windfall from the business sale, Frankie also thought he could benefit from an additional income tax deduction in the current year. After conferring with his financial advisor, Frankie decided to gift the policy to CUA, and capture a tax deduction for the cash value. Discussions with the university's development office revealed that he could also, in conjunction with his gift, establish terms for an endowed scholarship fund in his name, a vehicle which would eventually be funded with the insurance proceeds. Through this gift arrangement, Frankie not only gets a current year income tax benefit, but also reduces the size of his estate for estate tax purposes. Perhaps most importantly, his annual giving will now be made perpetual, and he will be assisting generations of CUA students long beyond his lifetime.
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