Meet Our Donors
We thank all our planned-gift donors for their generous support. Here are some of their stories.
Bill & Sharon
Our initial investigation into planned giving led us to think we would donate a portion of our estate to the University I had graduated from, and whose athletic teams we have supported for many years. However, Sharon was never that comfortable with this approach. She felt strongly that we should be focusing our efforts on an organization that met three criteria:
- It should provide support to causes we strongly believe in,
- It should be large enough to make a meaningful difference, but not so large that our contribution gets lost, and
- It would be nice if our planned giving was associated with an activity that we enjoy.
As soon as we decided that the University was not likely to rename the football stadium in our honor, we began to look for other options. We very quickly narrowed down our choice to The Jeff Gordon Foundation. It is the perfect fit for our needs. We fully support Jeff's commitment to funding programs that focus on improving treatment and conducting research in the fight against pediatric cancer. Once we saw how involved Jeff is in fulfilling the mission of his Foundation, we were hooked. By participating in both annual and planned giving activities we feel like we are making a difference. The icing on the cake is that we also love NASCAR.
Working closely with Trish Kriger at the Foundation, we were able to get a feel for the long-term needs of the Foundation. We then structured our planned giving program in a way that provides maximum benefit to the Foundation while addressing our short-term tax planning and longer-term retirement income requirements. With the advice of our legal counsel, accountant, and investment advisor we decided to set up a Charitable Remainder Unitrust. We also decided to name the Foundation as the beneficiary of undesignated assets in our will.
The more involved we have become in the activities of the Foundation, the more excited we are in our choices. As we have both begun to contemplate life after work, we now find ourselves more motivated than ever to extend our careers, increasing the likelihood that we will be very comfortable once we actually do retire and at the same time increasing the value of our gifts to Jeff's Foundation.