Solo SAIC student painting, over a table in studio space
Support SAIC

Major & Planned Giving

Private donations, in any amount, help sustain, nurture, and grow the standard of excellence at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC). Meaningful investments in our students, faculty, programs, and staff from our community of supporters give the School important resources to ensure we can offer a world-class art and design education for students, the city of Chicago, and the global art community for decades to come.

Major Giving

Making a major gift to SAIC allows individuals, families, foundations, and businesses to be our partner as we seek to remove barriers, amplify impact, or accelerate progress. It is also an opportunity for the donor to celebrate, honor, or memorialize significant people or ideas by naming the fund their gift establishes.

Some donors choose to establish or support an existing endowed fund at SAIC. Endowed gifts are permanently invested to supply a steady, annual source of funds for a purpose specified by the donor. Because these gifts continue to generate income in perpetuity, they provide essential resources to ensure the School’s long-term strength and support future generations.

Major gifts are an opportunity to diversify your philanthropy and can be structured in a variety of ways. If you are interested in discussing a major gift, please contact givetosaic@saic.edu. We welcome the opportunity to work with you on a giving plan that meets your needs.

Planned Giving

Making a planned gift to the School of the Art Institute (SAIC) is a wonderful way to support the next generation of artists, designers, and scholars while accommodating your own personal, financial, estate-planning, and philanthropic goals. To make a gift through your estate plan, you can use a will, revocable living trust or charitable remainder trust. You may also designate SAIC as a charitable beneficiary of your life insurance policy or your qualified retirement plan. The following information offers details about how you can formalize an enduring legacy through a meaningful contribution to SAIC.

How to Give

  • One of the easiest ways to make a planned gift is to include SAIC in your will or trust. You can arrange for the School to receive a specific dollar amount or a percentage of the remainder of your estate (a residuary bequest). Scroll down to find recommended language to share with your financial planner or attorney.

    Legal Name: The School of the Art Institute of Chicago 
    Incorporated in: Chicago, IL 
    Address: 37 S. Wabash Ave., Chicago IL 60603 
    Tax ID: 36-2167725

    Suggested Language to Designate a Bequest to SAIC

    The following language is suggested for use in making an unrestricted bequest: "I give (the sum of _____ dollars) OR (all or ____percent of the residuary of my estate) to The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, 37 S. Wabash Ave., Chicago, IL 60603, tax ID number 36-2167725.”

    The following language is suggested for use in establishing a named endowment for a specific purpose: "I give (the sum of _____ dollars) OR (all or ____percent of the residuary of my estate) to the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, 37 South Wabash Avenue, Chicago, Illinois 60603, tax ID number 36-2167725, to create an endowed fund, the earnings from which, subject to the Institute's then current spending policy, are to be used for the following purpose: (state purpose).*

    *Please contact SAIC before finalizing your will to discuss restriction and endowment threshold options.

    Inclusion of the following language will assure that your endowment bequest will always remain productive:

    "If at any time in the judgment of the Trustees of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago the designated use of this bequest is no longer practicable or appropriate, then the trustees shall use the bequest to further the general purposes of SAIC, giving consideration, where possible, to my special interest as described above."

     

  • When you name your children or anyone other than your spouse as a beneficiary of your IRA, 401(k), or other retirement plan, they receive only a fraction of the plan’s face value, since inherited assets of retirement plans are subject to both estate and income taxes. You may consider naming or designating SAIC as a beneficiary of your retirement plan; as a tax-exempt organization, the School will generally receive the full amount of the plan’s value.

    To name the School as a beneficiary of your retirement plan, contact your plan administrator to obtain a beneficiary form.
     

  • As with a retirement plan, you can name SAIC as a charitable beneficiary of your donor advised fund (DAF). Simply complete a beneficiary designation form from your DAF advisor.

The material presented above is not offered as legal, tax or financial advice. 

Be in Touch

To invest in SAIC today, please contact givetosaic@saic.edu or call 312.499.4190.