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Following are examples of some of the ways our donors have benefited the University while at the same time ensured their own fiscal future. For detailed hypothetical examples of various types of giving, visit our Types of Giving page.
Planting Financial Seeds for the University and State
Gifts in the form of Bonds and Bequest Anyone who has spent much time on campus or in the state of Georgia will recognize the names Dawson and Terrell. These two families, for which two of the finest buildings at UGA are named, are part of the proud history of our state and school. Their influence and support are still recognized today at the University of Georgia because of generous bequests from two members of these families. At the end of his life in 1854, Dr. William Terrell, a prosperous planter from Hancock County, gave the University $20,000 in bonds to establish an endowed fund, interest from which would pay the salary of a new professor of "Agriculture as a Science." This gift is acknowledged as the genesis of what is today our College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. Seventy-two years later Dr. Terrell's grandson, William Terrell Dawson, died leaving the remainder of his estate as a bequest—in memory of his father Edgar Gilmer Dawson, an 1849 graduate—to support agricultural education at the University. Today, the Edgar Gilmer Dawson Fund stands at more than three-quarters of a million dollars, providing scholarships for outstanding students of agriculture and for other CAES activities on campus and around the state. 19th Century Mathematics Professor Knew That Planned Giving Counts Charles F. McCay
In 1879, Professor McCay created a trust for the University with $7,000 in railroad bonds. Knowing how important an endowment is to an institution of higher education, McCay directed that the corpus must be allowed to remain intact and grow until twenty-one years after the death of the last of twenty-five persons he named in his trust. The fund had grown to over a half million dollars by that time in 1972 when the University was able to begin using it. Through careful stewardship it now stands at nearly one million dollars! The Charles F. McCay Fund, created by McCay because of his "affection and interest" for the University of Georgia, will now forever be part of the financial undergirding of the university. According to his wishes expressed in his trust, it is used to support the salaries of professors thereby allowing us to continue seeking the very best teachers for our students. Thank you, Professor McCay! Journalist Couple Writes the Future with Planned and Present Gifts Carolyn and Don Carter
Their first thought was to create a chair in journalism dedicated to the teaching of these values through a planned gift. After much discussion with Gift Planning staff at UGA and with their own advisors, they decided to make a gift of appreciated stock toward a charitable gift annuity. This would provide them an income for the remainder of their lives (while diminishing the effects of capital gains taxes) and then create an endowed fund which would support the chair in perpetuity. On further reflection, Carolyn and Don came to believe they wanted to see this teaching position "up and running" now while they could actually see the direction it was taking and the good it could accomplish. They went the extra mile as alumni and as donors by making a substantial present gift which immediately created the Carolyn McKenzie and Don E. Carter Professorship of Excellence in Journalism. Eventually, the planned gift will pour into this existing fund and the position will become a full academic chair. The Carters understand that building a strong endowment is the only way to assure the excellence we have all come to expect of the University of Georgia and its constituent units like the Grady College. Wise business people that they are, they know that this must be done through a combination of gifts in the here-and-now and through planned gifts. June and Bill Flatt
The life income gift mechanisms June and Bill (above, center and right) chose are the pooled income fund and the charitable gift annuity. In fact, they have created the very first charitable gift annuity for the College of Family and Consumer Sciences. Their investments in UGA through these methods will establish both graduate and undergraduate scholarships in the College's Department of Foods and Nutrition. "June and I both received tuition assistance when we were college students," Bill says. "Now that we're in a position to give back, we derive more pleasure from helping others than we ever did as students." South Georgia Couple Establishes UGA Legacy Dwight and Brenda McCollough
It came to Dwight during the tumultuous Georgia-Tennessee game in 2000 that they should create a scholarship for a student athlete on the football team at UGA in Darwin's memory. While still inside Sanford Stadium, he called Brenda at their home in Kingsland, Georgia (where they have a successful timber sales and production business) to say that he thought this was the right thing for them to do. She totally agreed. Beyond honoring the memory of their son, the McColloughs also established this scholarship in memory of Erika Dickey. Additionally, they wanted this scholarship to honor their daughter Ardith (BSED '94), her husband Beau Sweatt (BBA '92), and their children, Carleton and Breann. Finally, the McColloughs wanted this scholarship to honor all of the people in their lives who have extended them a helping hand in times of need. It is their hope that the recipients of this scholarship will gain a burning desire to succeed from their UGA education, just as Dwight did. After talking to representatives of the Athletic Association and Gift Planning Office, they decided to use a deferred charitable gift annuity as the vehicle by which they would establish this endowment. By using appreciated stock to make this gift they:
Gift Acknowledges Importance of UGA Experience Warren and Mary Mitchell
A Macon native, Mary attended Wesleyan College her freshman year, where her grandfather, Bishop William N. Ainsworth, was a former president. After arriving in Athens, Mary was a Phi Mu and was a member of the Pandora Beauty Court. She graduated from Georgia with a BFA degree in 1947. Warren "Coach" Mitchell attended Greenville (SC) High School and became interested in UGA during his youth. Warren served for two years in the U.S. Marine Corps in the Pacific in World War II. In 1946, he returned to Athens where he was an active member of the Kappa Alpha Order and graduated with a BBA degree in 1948. After they married in 1950, Warren began a long and distinguished career in the insurance field. He founded an insurance agency writing commercial and personal fire and casualty insurance, as well as group and individual life and health insurance. While the Mitchell's actively support their athletic teams, they also make investments, through their generous gifts, in all of the programs of the University which mean so much to them. They are charter member of the Bulldog Club, the UGA Partners, and Georgia Alumni Association, and are members of the Heritage Society. Warren and Mary have made gifts to benefit the University of Georgia a significant part of their estate plans. They also created a charitable gift annuity through the transfer of appreciated stock. Warren says, "In current market conditions, I highly recommend the charitable gift annuity as a means of a guaranteed fixed income which is providing an excellent rate of return. The charitable gift annuity was a good decision for Mary and me, as it provided a charitable gift deduction, it removed the appreciated stock from our estate, provided fixed income for both of our lives, and will benefit a most worthy cause, the University of Georgia." New York Alumnus Supports Graduate Education Emmit Noland
As a reflection of his devotion for his alma mater, he has created two funds which support Grady College graduate students' research. One of these funds is maintained each year through an annual gift and the other will be permanently endowed by a planned gift made by Mr. Noland through his Individual Retirement Account (IRA). The purpose of these funds is the same—to support graduate student dissertation/thesis research and travel to present research findings. To qualify for this support, the students must submit dissertation/thesis proposals to a faculty committee for consideration. Proposals judged most significant in potential contributions to the field of journalism and mass communication are awarded funding. When he first contacted us, Mr. Noland was simply trying to find a good way to make a significant contribution to the college through a planned gift. Initially, he was thinking in terms of a traditional scholarship fund, but when we explained to him that the graduate program was in need of research support and that graduate students are ineligible for the HOPE Scholarship, he began to talk about this sort of fund as a real possibility for his gift. When we added the fact that we cannot provide state support for student travel, Mr. Noland was convinced this was the right place to put his gift. Mr. Noland chose to make his planned gift by having his retirement plan go to benefit the University of Georgia as the remainder beneficiary of his traditional IRA. By leaving these IRA funds directly to benefit the University of Georgia (as opposed to his estate), his estate will avoid income tax on the IRA distribution, thereby leaving more to the University of Georgia and to his estate. Emmit Noland has done a marvelous thing for the university that has meant so much to him. By thinking a bit "out-of-the-box" philanthropically, he has made an immediate impact on graduate education at UGA's Grady College that will continue into the future. All of us here could not be more grateful to this loyal alumnus and benefactor. Announcing . . . A Bulldog First! Tom Pendergrast, Sr.
After serving in World War II, Tom represented firms which assisted in the issuance of municipal bonds. "Everywhere I went in Georgia—and I was in every county in the state at one time or another—I found fellow Bulldogs in decision-making positions," says Mr. Pendergrast. "They always treated me as part of a big family—the Red and Black family. That sure made my life—and my job—a lot easier!" Tom sent two of his children to UGA and continued his intense involvement in Bulldog athletics. He is a founding member of the Presidents Club and was always one of the leaders of the Atlanta Bulldog Club. Tom credits his UGA education for much of his success and wanted to do something special for the University he loves. He decided that a charitable gift annuity would be a perfect vehicle, and became the first person to create a charitable gift annuity agreement to benefit the University of Georgia. With a simple planned gift document only one page long, he accomplished so much! By transferring appreciated stock to benefit the University of Georgia, he has established a fund which will pay him income for the remainder of his life, removed these assets from his estate, deferred capital gains on their sale and received a significant income tax deduction. Ultimately, these funds will be directed into a new fund that will benefit both academics and athletics at UGA. Tom Pendergrast is a loyal Bulldog who has made an extremely generous gift to his alma mater. We hope it will be an inspiration to all who love the University of Georgia. |
