• Welcome to the Office of Development

    Gifts to the Maxwell School allow us to continue the legacy of educating tomorrow's leading thinkers through the school's commitment to interdisciplinary collaboration and research.

    The reasons for giving are as diverse as our students: alumni donate to give back to a beloved institution; many donate in honor of a beloved professor or loved one; others want to be a part of the cutting edge research Maxwell is a part of; and some donate to invest in our outstanding students through scholarship.

  • Planned Giving: How It Works

    Planned giving mechanisms empower donors who always wanted to do something special.

    Graduates with fond memories of Maxwell give regularly to the Annual Fund and other priorities that arise. But when the donor starts to think about his or her ultimate Maxwell legacy, the strategy often involves planned giving.

    “Planned giving provides a way to make a signature gift to an institution you believe in,” says Linda Birnbaum, assistant dean for advancement, “leveraging your estate to fund a gift greater than you probably ever imagined.” 

    And, while creating a legacy at Maxwell, planned giving also allows donors to provide for loved ones. Thoughtful estate planning can result in tax savings and may reduce probate expenses.

    Planned giving most typically takes the form of bequests — “It’s similar to deciding who gets a family heirloom,” says Birnbaum — but life insurance and charitable gift annuities are also popular.

    Bequest
    In this case, donors include a provision in their will or revocable trust that leaves a portion of their assets to Maxwell. “The same way people put children in their wills, you can name Maxwell a beneficiary,” Birnbaum says.

    Charitable Remainder Trust
    This arrangement pays income to named beneficiaries during their lifetimes; the remaining trust assets are ultimately transferred to Maxwell. With this option, donors ensure their beneficiaries are cared for first.

    Life Insurance
    A donor may purchase or transfer ownership of a life insurance policy to Maxwell. The donor pays the annual premium, which is usually tax deductible.

    Charitable Gift Annuity
    This device commits a donation to Maxwell while providing the donor quarterly annuity payments. “It’s a way to confirm a gift that generates income, while still conveying your loyalty to and trust in Maxwell,” Birnbaum says.

    “There are many ways you can create a legacy, no matter your career, your age, or your income,” Birnbaum says. “The important thing is, if you had a good experience at Maxwell, you want to give someone else a similar chance. Planned giving offers options to make a truly impressive contribution.”

    Make an Impact with Gift Planning
    Visit Syracuse University's planned giving website, ForeverSyracuse.syr.edu, for more information on how to add SU to your gift planning.

  • Support Maxwell

  • Make your gift using our online form.

  • Honor Roll of Donors

  • Our 2018-19 Donor Report lists Maxwell alumni and friends, as well as corporations and foundations, that supported the School between July 1, 2018 and June 30, 2019.

    In addition, we recognize lifetime and consecutive annual giving in our Dean's Circle and Sustainers groups.

    > View Maxwell's Honor Roll of Donors for fiscal year 2019.

  • Giving Stories

    Scruggs Scholarship will benefit current undergrads

    A new scholarship fund, honoring former history professor Otey Scruggs and his widow, Barbara, will reward current undergraduates for their accomplishments and promise at Syracuse University and the Maxwell School. The Otey and Barbara Scruggs Maxwell School Scholarship is being created with a $280,000 gift commitment from Otey and Barbara Scruggs’s son, Jeffrey M. Scruggs, and his wife, Robbin E. Mitchell.

     

    Scholarship fund honors policy studies professor Bill Coplin

    A campaign intended to raise as much as $1 million in new scholarship funds was launched earlier this semester in the name of legendary policy studies professor Bill Coplin. Creation of the Bill Coplin Policy Studies Scholarship was prompted by alumna Elysa B. Wolfe, a 1993 Maxwell graduate who herself majored in policy studies (as well as political science).

     

    Maxwell's first-ever Huxley scholar has found her intellectual home

    From the moment Brielle Valenza stepped foot in the Maxwell Auditorium as a first-year student, she knew she had come to the right place. "The sense of history in that room is palpable."