ND Endowment Credit Is a Way To Give a Student a Chance

For MSU alum Nick Storhaug ('74) and his wife Lavonne, also an MSU alum, creating a permanent endowment fund using the ND Endowment Credit was the perfect way to give back to a school that gave them so much. Nick, now a CPA , feels attending Mayville State was the best decision he ever made. "If you want to talk return on investment, I can't think of a better return than going to MSU, meeting the woman of my dreams, getting a chance at an education when I didn't think I could make it in college, and then having a career as a teacher, coach and now a CPA."

"Nick first noticed me at the cafeteria when he was working as a student. It was one of his many jobs he worked to earn his way through college." Said Lavonne, who attended MSU in the fall of 1970 and the spring of 1971. "I'm glad he noticed me." The two were married after Nick graduated in 1974.

Nick worked hard at studies and he was thankful that his parents also gave him financial help. "Mom and Dad would sell a cow or steer and that would take care of a quarter. Nick was the first one in his family to get through college. "I wasn't college material or at least so I thought. But I had great teachers like Al Meyer who took me under their wing and helped me get accustomed to college. I had Al for two Phy Ed classes. I didn't realize at the time what a great mentor he was for me. I was a kid that was lucky to graduate high school and lucky that Mayville gave me a chance."

That chance is what Nick and Lavonne gave their kids and now they want to start an endowment to give other kids a chance through a permanent endowment they have set up to help a student who might have financial need. The Storhaug's used the ND Endowment Tax Credit to help them establish the endowment. The ND Endowment Tax Credit allows an individual or business to make a gift (minimum of $5,000 in one year) to a qualified endowment. The gift qualifies them for a 40% tax credit. "It was like icing on the cake," said Nick. "Here we are creating a legacy and getting a big tax credit back so the cost of the gift is reduced greatly. That will allow us to reach the minimum funding level sooner."

For every $5,000 the Storhaug's give they qualify for a federal tax deduction, saving them out of pocket tax payment and they also receive a 40% tax credit which is a dollar for dollar credit. For the average tax payer in say the 28% tax bracket, a $5,000 gift would have a net cost of just $1600.

"You have to commend ND Lawmakers for finding a great way to incent private support for higher education. It is such a worthwhile goal.

As a successful CPA, entrepreneur and citizen of Lisbon, ND, the same town where Nick coached wrestling for 20 years, Nick wants to remind business owners that the ND Endowment Tax Credit is not just for individuals, but for business owners as well. "I think it needs to be publicized that corporations can also get this same tax credit too while providing scholarship dollars. It's a great idea.

"We are pleased that so many individuals and businesses are using the ND Endowment Tax Credit, said Klocke. "The future success of MSU can be greatly strengthened through the power of endowment"

Said Nick, " We want our lives and the good things we've done to continue on. We don't want people to forget us. We believe in endowment giving because it will be here long after we are gone."


To receive a ND Endowment Tax Credit Information Kit. Call John Klocke at 701-788-4787 or click here to see more information.