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Professor Pays It Forward to Support Students and Educators

Esther Devall

Esther Devall (left) is creating a robust legacy at NMSU to ensure that students and faculty have everything they need to succeed.

Esther Devall was the first in her family to go to college. Her grandparents were farmers with limited education, and both of her parents had just a high school education. Because she understood the value of an education and how challenging it can be for someone like her to obtain one, Esther feels a planned gift to New Mexico State University is an important and deeply personal way to give back for all the scholarship support she received as a student.

"I never would have been able to make it to college without it, and that made a big difference in my life," she says.

Esther, now a New Mexico State University professor and former head of the Department of Family and Consumer Sciences in the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences, has decided to make scholarship support for NMSU students part of her legacy—to ensure that other students have the opportunity to succeed.

Esther also gives to the NMSU Teaching Academy and to the Family and Consumer Sciences Department, through payroll deduction. And she supports the Family Resource Center that provides free counseling and other programs and services benefitting families and children.

"That's particularly important to me because I think the key to student success is having a good family life," she says. "If you're having a problem at home, how can you focus on your studies?"

In her estate plan, Esther has also provided for student groups to travel for conferences and networking opportunities. "When I was department head here, I always tried to find the funds for our students to travel, but there never was enough to provide all my students with the opportunities they could take advantage of," she says. "So, I wanted to provide a fund for student travel."

Other important priorities for Esther in her planned gift include a discretionary fund for future department use and support for the NMSU Teaching Academy. To read more about the Teaching Academy, see Teaching Academy Gives Educators Tools for Succes, inside this newsletter.

"As I've worked my way up through the ranks as a professor, I've gone to so many trainings and workshops at the Teaching Academy and found it to be so helpful," she says. "With budgets tightening all over campus, I wanted the Teaching Academy to have an endowment that would provide a permanent source of funds—something they could count on."

Create a Brighter Future

Your future gift can help Aggies achieve their dreams. Contact Steven Covington at plannedgiving@nmsufoundation.org or (575) 646-3190 or (800) 342-6678 to learn more.

A charitable bequest is one or two sentences in your will or living trust that leave to the New Mexico State University Foundation a specific item, an amount of money, a gift contingent upon certain events or a percentage of your estate.

an individual or organization designated to receive benefits or funds under a will or other contract, such as an insurance policy, trust or retirement plan

"I give to the New Mexico State University Foundation, a nonprofit corporation currently located at P.O. Box 3590, Las Cruces, NM 88003, or its successor thereto, ______________ [written amount or percentage of the estate or description of property] for its unrestricted use and purpose."

able to be changed or cancelled

A revocable living trust is set up during your lifetime and can be revoked at any time before death. They allow assets held in the trust to pass directly to beneficiaries without probate court proceedings and can also reduce federal estate taxes.

cannot be changed or cancelled

tax on gifts generally paid by the person making the gift rather than the recipient

the original value of an asset, such as stock, before its appreciation or depreciation

the growth in value of an asset like stock or real estate since the original purchase

the price a willing buyer and willing seller can agree on

The person receiving the gift annuity payments.

the part of an estate left after debts, taxes and specific bequests have been paid

a written and properly witnessed legal change to a will

the person named in a will to manage the estate, collect the property, pay any debt, and distribute property according to the will

A donor advised fund is an account that you set up but which is managed by a nonprofit organization. You contribute to the account, which grows tax-free. You can recommend how much (and how often) you want to distribute money from that fund to the NMSU Foundation or other charities. You cannot direct the gifts.

An endowed gift can create a new endowment or add to an existing endowment. The principal of the endowment is invested and a portion of the principal’s earnings are used each year to support NMSU's mission.

Tax on the growth in value of an asset—such as real estate or stock—since its original purchase.

Securities, real estate or any other property having a fair market value greater than its original purchase price.

Real estate can be a personal residence, vacation home, timeshare property, farm, commercial property or undeveloped land.

A charitable remainder trust provides you or other named individuals income each year for life or a period not exceeding 20 years from assets you give to the trust you create.

You give assets to a trust that pays our organization set payments for a number of years, which you choose. The longer the length of time, the better the potential tax savings to you. When the term is up, the remaining trust assets go to you, your family or other beneficiaries you select. This is an excellent way to transfer property to family members at a minimal cost.

You fund this type of trust with cash or appreciated assets—and may qualify for a federal income tax charitable deduction when you itemize. You can also make additional gifts; each one also qualifies for a tax deduction. The trust pays you, each year, a variable amount based on a fixed percentage of the fair market value of the trust assets. When the trust terminates, the remaining principal goes to the NMSU Foundation as a lump sum.

You fund this trust with cash or appreciated assets—and may qualify for a federal income tax charitable deduction when you itemize. Each year the trust pays you or another named individual the same dollar amount you choose at the start. When the trust terminates, the remaining principal goes to the NMSU Foundation as a lump sum.

A beneficiary designation clearly identifies how specific assets will be distributed after your death.

A charitable gift annuity involves a simple contract between you and the NMSU Foundation where you agree to make a gift to the NMSU Foundation and we, in return, agree to pay you (and someone else, if you choose) a fixed amount each year for the rest of your life.

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