Ben Cummings ’67 ’70L

Ben Cummings ’67, ’70L is honoring his 50th reunion with a generous gift benefiting the Class of 1967 Scholarship. Recently Ben spoke with W&L about his gift and why using a charitable gift annuity was a good choice for him

Ben Cummings on the advantages of using the charitable gift annuity:
The charitable gift annuity option was attractive to me in particular because I had a number of stocks that I had accumulated over the years. They had appreciated quite a bit in value, so the annuity was a mechanism by which I could save some taxes and make the tax savings part of the gift, to make the gift a little larger. Secondly, I like the idea of having some income come back. It brings back good memories to see a little check come in four times a year with the name W&L on it.

On philanthropy to W&L:
This is the largest single philanthropic gift I’ve made so far. I think philanthropy is important, and I’m fortunate now to be able to do this in my retirement years. I don’t need everything I’ve accumulated over all these years. The annuity approach was effective for me right now, but for others it might be cash or another strategy. But, at this stage in our lives, whether it’s cash or something else, I think my contemporaries should be thinking about giving something meaningful back, particularly when so many of us from W&L have been successful in life. Think back to what got us to where we are now. For most of us, W&L was where it began.

Charitable Gift Annuities Defined
A charitable gift annuity is a gift vehicle that falls in the category of planned giving. It is a contract between a donor and a non-profit organization, whereby the donor transfers cash or property to the organization in exchange for a partial tax deduction and a lifetime stream of annual income from the charity. When the donor passes away, the charity retains the gift. Importantly, no capital gains taxes are due at transfer of appreciated assets to the nonprofit organization.

The charitable gift annuity is just one option within a menu of gift vehicles that can provide a donor with lifetime income while reducing tax liability. To learn more about charitable gift annuities or other life-income gift vehicles, contact W&L’s office of gift planning today or call 540-458-8902.

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