Plan Your Legacy

If you're looking for the most popular ways to give back, look no further. Below are the top two most popular and easy ways you can give back to Grand View University.

Wills and Living Trusts

A will is a written document—signed and witnessed—that indicates how your property will be distributed at the time of your death. It is revocable and subject to amendment at any time during your lifetime. It also allows you to appoint a guardian for your minor children.

A living trust provides lifetime and after-death property management. If you are serving as your own trustee, the trust instrument will provide for a successor upon your death or incapacity. Court intervention is not required. Livings trusts also are used to manage property. If a person is disabled by accident or illness, the successor trustee can manage the trust property. As a result, the expense, publicity, and inconvenience of court-supervised distribution of your estate can be avoided. Learn More

Beneficiary Designations

A beneficiary designation is the person selected by an owner of a retirement account to inherit the retirement account balance. The beneficiary must be a person or a trust of individuals and should not be an estate or a charity.

Beneficiary designations are common with life insurance, pensions, IRAs and 401(k) plans. When you name a beneficiary on these accounts, upon your passing the accounts are distributed directly to your beneficiary without going through probate. Your will does not determine who will receive these benefits. Learn More

If you're looking for gifts that provide you with payments for life, we have two great options for you below.

Charitable Gift Annuities

A charitable gift annuity (CGA) is a contract between a donor and a qualified charity in which the donor makes a gift to the charity and, in exchange the charity provides the donor (or other annuitant(s)) with a lifetime fixed income stream. 

In return for a transfer of cash, marketable securities or other assets, the qualified charity, such as Grand View University, agrees to pay a fixed amount of money (payment) to one or two individuals (beneficiaries or annuitants), for their lifetime. The donor may be an annuitant, or other individual. The maximum number of annuitants is two, and the income payments can be made concurrently or consecutively. Learn More

Charitable Remainder Trusts

A charitable remainder trust (CRT) is a "split interest" giving vehicle that allows you to make contributions to the trust and be eligible for a partial tax deduction, based on the CRT’s assets that will pass to charitable beneficiaries.

You can name yourself or someone else to receive a potential income stream for a term of years, no more than 20, or for the life of one or more non-charitable beneficiaries, and then name one or more charities to receive the remainder of the donated assets. Learn More

IRA Charitable Rollover

The charitable IRA rollover, or qualified charitable distribution (QCD), is a special provision allowing certain donors to exclude from taxable income -- and count toward their required minimum distribution -- certain transfers of Individual Retirement Account (IRA) assets that are made directly to public charities, including Grand View University.

On Dec. 18, 2015, the president signed legislation indefinitely extending the charitable IRA rollover, making it retroactive to Jan. 1, 2015, with no expiration date. Learn More

Charitable Lead Trusts

A charitable lead trust, the inverse of a charitable remainder trust, is an irrevocable trust that provides a fixed amount or a percentage of the trust assets paid to a charity, which can sometimes include a private foundation, for a term of years or for the life of an individual or individuals. The remainder interest is either retained by the donor or given to a non-charitable beneficiary, usually a family member.

A CLT is often created for lifetime giving and for estate planning purposes. Generally, the income tax benefits of a CLT may not be as significant as the estate and gift tax benefits. Learn More

Real Estate

Real estate consists of land, additional property on that land (such as buildings or machinery), and the property rights associated with that land. Learn More

Memorial and Tribute Gifts

Pay tribute to the special people in your life with a memorial or tribute gift to Grand View University. It’s a great way to honor your loved one and support Grand View students at the same time.

Memorial gifts are a lasting remembrance of a special person, such as a parent, grandparent, teacher, neighbor, pastor, etc. whom you wish to honor. Learn More

Endowed Gifts

Although the specific use may vary greatly, endowment funds have a common objective: to provide support not just for one year, or even one generation, but in perpetuity. An endowment fund is a permanent fund in which the spendable amounts are available for the designated purpose.

Creating an endowment allows you to fulfill your own personal philanthropic goals while helping support the needs and mission of Grand View University. Learn More

Donor Advised Funds

A donor-advised fund, or DAF, is a philanthropic vehicle established at a public charity, such as Grand View University. It allows donors to make a charitable contribution, receive an immediate tax benefit and then recommend grants from the fund over time.

An easy way to think about a donor-advised fund is like a charitable savings account: a donor contributes to the fund as frequently as they like and then recommends grants to their favorite charity when they are ready. Learn More

The Heritage Society was established in 1987 to recognize those who, with vision and generosity, have made a provision for Grand View through a will, trust, annuity, life insurance policy or some other form of planned gift.

For many Heritage Society members, a planned gift is an extension of a donor's generosity and support of Grand View during their lifetime. Heritage Society members are partners in Grand View today and help ensure the quality of Grand View's faculty and programs well into the future.

Our History

Grand View has a rich heritage. In 1896, the Danish founders of this institution were deeply committed to aiding the development of young people by providing a quality educational experience. Growing from its early "folk school" roots, Grand View has become a strong, vibrant university offering both undergraduate and graduate programs.

Today, Grand View continues to position itself to meet the changing times and the ever increasing demands of its current students. An institution of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Grand View opens its doors and hearts to students of all faiths, offering them a quality, affordable education.

Contributions and sacrifices of those from the past have made it possible for students today to enjoy a vibrant learning environment and life experience. Grand View has been blessed with literally thousands of alumni and friends throughout the country who hold their Grand View experiences dear and whose lives have been positively affected by their studies at Grand View. Many of these individuals have stepped forward to demonstrate their loyalty by becoming members of the Grand View University Heritage Society through a planned gift.

Why Join the Heritage Society?

If you answer "yes" to any of the following, consider making a legacy gift to Grand View University:

• Have you been touched in some way by the Grand View experience?
• Do you have a desire to see your support of the school continue after your passing?
• Do you see the need for a strong endowment for the future of Grand View and its students?
• Have you already remembered Grand View with a planned gift?

Check Out These Benefits

• A special invitation and recognition at the 1896 Club Dinner during Homecoming weekend.
• The gift of an oak-framed watercolor print of the Humphrey Center (Old Main).
• Members names are added to the Heritage Society Recognition Wall, located on the second floor of the Humphrey Center (Old Main).

How to Join

1. Notify the Advancement Office that you have remembered Grand View in your estate plan.
2. Contact the Advancement Department at (515) 263-2996 and let us know of your intention to include Grand View as part of your legacy.

Preparing students to succeed in their chosen careers, contribute to their communities and build satisfying lives is what Grand View is about.

The success of the university's graduates is unparalleled. Every year for a decade and a half, nearly 100% of the most recent graduating class was placed within six months of graduation - employed or enrolled in graduate school. Much of that success is due to the challenging classroom environment.

In the most recent National Survey of Student Engagement, Grand View achieved higher scores than all of its comparison groups for presenting students with an academic challenge. But the rest can be chalked up to the frequent and intensive practical workplace experiences nearly all Grand View students gain - internships, clinicals, and practicums. In fact, nearly 90% of students graduate with at least one such experience.

We Need Your Help

In order to maintain this level of success, we count on your support. With your help, we can:

• Continually expose students to current theories, practices and technology in their chosen fields
• Provide faculty with development opportunities and state-of-the-art classrooms and equipment
• Expand employer and community relationships to further strengthen experiential learning
• Offer breadth and depth in our athletic programs, cultural opportunities and campus activities

Make a Gift & Join the 1896 Club

As a member of the 1896 Club, you are key to creating a complete and compelling Grand View experience. The 1896 Club requires a minimum $1,896 annual gift to Grand View University.