Gift Planning

Madelyn (Rhoades) Hines Endows Scholarship for Brown County, Ohio, Students

During her senior year of high school in Brown County, Ohio, Madelyn (Rhoades) Hines ’66 was one of 42 students in her graduating class. Mattie’s science teacher saw her potential and accompanied her and a male classmate to Miami University for a tour. While her classmate chose to go elsewhere for his education, Mattie chose Miami.

After graduating with a degree in business, Mattie began her career working at a racetrack and writing a horse-racing odds column carried in local Cincinnati newspapers. She met her late husband, Jim, through her experience at the racetrack. In the late ’60s, they moved to Arizona, where Mattie has been ever since.

Mattie and Jim owned and operated several successful businesses, including motels and antique shops, a doll company, and several other entrepreneurial ventures. Mattie never forgot her Ohio roots, however, and she watched from afar over the years as her hometown and its surroundings began to face increasingly tougher economic times.

She long felt she was fortunate in her life, from having a teacher mentor her and help her gain admission to Miami to the success she and Jim enjoyed in business. Now Mattie is pleased to give back to her alma mater by creating a scholarship that will support students with financial need from her native Brown County, Ohio.

“No one ever does anything for the smaller counties,” Mattie says. “The only way for a state to get anything back is to have educated people in the citizenry. If you help [those in] the poorer counties, they can go on and do big things with their lives. Change their trajectory.”

Mattie chose to endow a scholarship with an immediate cash commitment. The first student recipient will receive support starting in the 2021–22 academic year. She has also made a $1 million commitment to her endowment through a bequest, ensuring that students from Ohio will benefit from her generosity in perpetuity.

“Everybody makes an impact in this world; sometimes it takes time for it to be recognized,” Mattie says. “It feels like more people who can do more need to do more. Sometimes when you pass it on to family, they don’t appreciate what it takes to hang on to wealth. Prioritizing your community and your institutions can be very rewarding.”

Mattie takes a great deal of satisfaction in knowing that students who otherwise might have no incentive to leave a small town in southern Ohio could well break out and experience something bigger—just like she did.

If you would like to discuss how you can impact students with a gift from your will or trust to Miami University Foundation, please contact Miami's Office of Gift Planning at 513-529-1286 or GiftPlanning@MiamiOH.edu.

A charitable bequest is one or two sentences in your will or living trust that leave to Miami University 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 Miami University, a nonprofit corporation currently located at 725 E. Chestnut Street, Oxford, OH 45056, 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 Miami 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 our 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 Miami 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 Miami 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 Miami where you agree to make a gift to Miami 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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