Ways to Give
Choose the gift that's right for you!Mines Advancement Fund
Gifts to the Mines Advancement Fund allow us to increase the number of scholarships, add new equipment and technology to labs, expand and renovate our facilities, and more. Your support makes a difference to Hardrocker students now and in the future.
Consider designating your gift to the Mines Advancement Fund to maximize your impact at South Dakota Mines.
Giving Priorities
From scholarships to campus initiatives, each giving priority helps move Mines forward. Learn more about where your support can shine.
Scholarships
Scholarships provide support to students across campus, helping ensure financial barriers never stand in the way of talent, persistence, or success.
Raising for Rockers
Be part of a campuswide movement that empowers students through collective giving. Raising for Rockers unites our community in support of the next generation of Hardrockers.
Crowdfunding
Join fellow Hardrockers in powering small projects with big impact. Crowdfunding connects your generosity to immediate needs and meaningful student initiatives.
Matching Gifts
Double—or even triple—your impact through your employer’s matching gift program. It’s an easy way to amplify your support for South Dakota Mines.
Faculty & Staff Giving
When Mines employees give, it sends a powerful message of belief in our mission. Join your colleagues in supporting students and strengthening our community from within.
Corporate Support
Partner with South Dakota Mines to support events, programs, and opportunities that benefit students and elevate your organization’s visibility. Together, we create value that lasts.
Gifts of Cash
Cash gifts are the simplest and most direct way to support South Dakota Mines. You can make a one-time donation or set up recurring monthly contributions. Gifts can be made by check, credit card, or online. These contributions are immediately available to support scholarships, faculty, research, and other areas of need.
Checks payable to SD Mines CARA can be mailed to SD Mines CARA
330 East Kansas City St.
Rapid City, SD 57701
Charitable Trusts
Charitable Remainder Trusts allow you to support South Dakota Mines while also achieving estate and financial planning goals. These trusts can provide income to you or your beneficiaries for a set period of time, with the remaining assets going to the university. They offer valuable tax advantages and flexibility.
Find out more here.
Gifts in Kind
Each year a wide variety of gifts-in-kind are received, including computer and lab equipment, software, and real estate.
If you donate these gifts during your lifetime, you may be entitled to a charitable income tax deduction of either your cost basis or the property’s current fair market value. Gifts of personal property are subject to certain conditions that do not apply to gifts of cash, securities or real estate. Gifts valued at more than $5,000 must have a qualified appraisal in order for the donor to obtain a tax deduction. Therefore, before making such a gift, contact us at cara@sdsmt.edu to discuss details of use, valuation, and deductibility.
Gifts of Stock
Gifts of stock, bonds, treasuries and mutual funds that have long-term appreciation provide an immediate benefit to South Dakota Mines and tax savings for you. An individual can gift stock to the South Dakota Mines CARA, take a charitable deduction for the fair market value, and not pay taxes on the capital gains portion of the gift value. The gift value is established by the mean between the stock high and low price on the date of transfer. Contact us at cara@sdsmt.edu to discuss setting up at stock transfer
If the stock certificate is mailed to us, the postmark determines the date of transfer. If the stock is wire transferred from your broker to the CARA brokerage account, the transfer is not complete until the shares are received at South Dakota Mines CARA.
For wire transfers, please contact Audrey Boehm, Chief Financial Officer, South Dakota Mines CARA, 800.211.7591.
IRAs
If you are 70½ or older, you can make a tax-free gift directly from your IRA to South Dakota Mines. These Qualified Charitable Distributions (QCDs) count toward your required minimum distribution and can reduce your taxable income—while making a meaningful difference for our students.
Find out more here.
Donor Advised Funds
A Donor-Advised Fund is a convenient and flexible way to support South Dakota Mines. You can recommend grants to the university from your DAF at any time, allowing you to take advantage of tax benefits while strategically planning your charitable giving. To recommend a gift, talk with you Donor Advised Fund Holder about making a grant available to South Dakota Mines Center for Alumni Relations & Advancement EIN: 46-6011771. You can also utilize our online giving platform (link here) and on payment screen choose DAF Pay.
Charitable Gift Annuities
A Charitable Gift Annuity (CGA) allows you to make a gift to South Dakota Mines while receiving fixed income payments for life. After your lifetime, the remaining balance supports the university. This option offers tax benefits and is a smart way to support Mines while ensuring your own financial security. To recommend a grant, simply contact your fund administrator and provide them with our legal name (SDSM&T Center for Alumni Relations & Advancement) and tax ID (46-6011771).
Find out more here.
Endowments
Endowments form a long-term foundation for student, faculty, and institutional growth and development. Endowment principal is maintained and yearly allocations are used to fund the purpose you choose. You can designate your gift to benefit one or more areas of your choosing, or make an unrestricted gift, meaning funds will be used where the need is greatest at South Dakota Mines. Your final choice depends upon your personal priorities, financial status and charitable goals. Gifts of endowments, more than any other form of support, enable wise and flexible use of resources to meet ongoing needs while providing for new initiatives.
Learn more about the types of endowments available here.
Life Insurance and Wealth Replacement
A common “hidden asset” for gifting is a life insurance policy that is no longer needed for its original purpose. To make a life insurance gift, contact your insurance agent for forms that will change the beneficiary and ownership designations to the South Dakota Mines Center for Alumni Relations and Advancement.
When used together with a life income gift, a wealth replacement trust may help you transfer your estate to your heirs without estate tax. Donors who wish to replace contributed assets in their estates can purchase life insurance payable to family members, funded partly by tax savings from their charitable deductions. The life insurance replaces the assets that we receive, and if you employ a so-called irrevocable life insurance trust, your family can receive the insurance proceeds free of gift or estate tax.
For more information on a gift of life insurance or wealth replacement, please contact Leah Mahoney, Director of Planned Giving, 800.2117591.
Gifts of Real Estate
Gifts of real estate offer great flexibility in financial planning. All proposed gifts of real estate are reviewed by the CARA before the gift is accepted. Real estate includes homes, cabins, commercial buildings, farmland, and other property. To discuss making a real estate gift, contact us at cara@sdsmt.edu.
Wills and Bequests
One of the easiest and most popular ways to leave a legacy is by including South Dakota Mines in your will or trust. A bequest costs nothing now and allows you to retain full control of your assets during your lifetime. You can designate a specific amount, a percentage of your estate, or a particular asset.
Find out more here.
Renew Your Support
Renew your commitment to South Dakota Mines and continue fueling opportunities that shape the Hardrocker experience. Your ongoing support makes a lasting difference for students, alumni, and our community.
