Written by Kathy Wertheim, CFRE
Anne said that once the contents of the will hit the newspapers, Ventura College was the subject of numerous computer hack attacks! I’d never thought of that before, that “bad actors,” as Anne says, would use cyber attacks to try and get the bequest. Anne was told by college security not to use her cell phone and to only use the secured business line at work to discuss the gift, that there would be scanners looking for words like “million dollars.” Her work email was attacked, and three donors and vendors received bills from what looked like her email, with specific, exact amounts that were due. The college IT security team told her that they could tell they were under measurably more attacks because of the publicity around the gift. (This publicity would be avoided with a trust instead of a will, as information from a will is open to the public during probate but a trust isn’t.)
For listing gifts in the IRS 990, Anne said that it’s important to file a significant gift under Part II, Line 1 of the Federal Worksheet as “Unusual Gifts.” Otherwise, in Section A of the 990, no one gift can exceed 2% of income or an organization would be recategorized as a family foundation.