Free advice for financial advisors on how to make sure their clients/ gifts to colleges and universities go to their intended causes is now available through a program of the American Council of Trustees and Alumni, the association announced.
The program is designed to help donors make sure their gifts go to the purposes they support, and not into a general fund for the expenses of the institutions, ACTA says.
ACTA is a nonprofit organization that advocates for academic freedom, academic excellence, and accountability in higher education, the organizations says. The new program is an expansion of its Fund for Academic Renewal program.
The program is designed for financial planners, wealth advisors, trust and estate attorneys, and family offices that represent individuals and families interested in making contributions to higher education that go to specific purposes or programs.
U.S. colleges and universities received more than $172 billion in private gifts between 2011 and 2015, according to surveys of annual giving from the Council for Aid to Education. Many gifts go directly to annual funds, over which donors and financial advisors often have no control. Even major donations are sometimes repurposed in ways that fail to respect the donor’s original vision, ACTA says.
ACTA also announced that Jacqueline Pfeffer Merrill, who most recently served as ACTA’s vice president of development, will become the fund’s executive director. Before joining ACTA, Merrill was a member of the faculty of St. John's College in Annapolis, Md.