Donations of grain fuel K-State’s future
What’s more Kansas than grain?
In 2012, Rich Porter contacted the KSU Foundation with an idea to creatively give back to Kansas State University and fuel research by gifting grain. As a two-time K-State graduate (chemical engineering, 1972; masters of agribusiness, 2004) and long-time university supporter, Porter had learned from friends and accountants how gifts of grain maximize donations and reduce producer taxes.
Through his research, Porter discovered gifting grain to K-State is incredibly easy and fit his giving philosophy: find a great project with a solid track record and forward momentum, ensure good people are leading the program, and donate where money will make a difference. He called the foundation with a proposal to gift soybeans and later corn. “I returned to the farm in 1979, just prior to the ag crisis of the 1980s,” Porter said. “With two college degrees, I had never taken a single class in agriculture. (Porter’s second degree was a Juris Doctorate from Southern Methodist University in 1975.) Knowing I knew nothing about farming made me more dependent upon the specialists at K-State. I learned from them and have returned to help others learn.”
Why gifts of grain?
Farmers work hard to produce generous harvests and want their donations to realize similar gains. In gifting grain, producers easily maximize their impact by transferring the grain directly to the beneficiary and excluding the crop sale from their income while still deducting the production costs, which can have very beneficial tax advantages to the producer. As Porter says, “It’s very tax efficient and almost too good to be true!”
How to grow your gifts to K-State
As always, first consult your tax professional, then call the KSU Foundation and arrange for the university to take receipt of your unsold crop. Once the arrangement is set, deliver the grain to your local elevator and transfer a quantity to the foundation’s account at the elevator. Your next step is to notify the foundation the grain has been delivered. The foundation then calls to direct the sale. That’s it.
“I know the gifts will be well-utilized,” Porter said. “There are great people at the university doing great things with the resources available.”
To learn more about gifting commodities, contact Ben Kearns at 785-775-2121 or benk@ksufoundation.org.
