PLANNED GIVING

Personal Donor Stories

William Weeks '57

In recognition of my 50th Reunion and with the desire to make a significant gift to Taft to acknowledge the School's contribution to my life, I contemplated the options available—other than an outright gift of cash. Having recently retired and now reliant on personal assets to generate income, the alternatives seemed limited. Then the idea of the gift annuity was raised and the fit appeared to be perfect.

My father graduated from Taft in 1920. Had it not been for him, I would not have had the great benefits afforded to me by the School. Thus, I wanted to acknowledge his contribution to my life. I was fortunate enough to have inherited Alcoa stock at the time of Dad's passing—the company for which he had worked his entire career. The cost basis was quite low and I had been reluctant to sell it due to the tax consequences. The dividend yield on the position was less than 3% and, now retired; I was interested in the possibility of increasing that yield.

The gift annuity issued in my wife's name would return income for her lifetime at a rate almost double the yield of the Alcoa stock. Thus, by gifting the stock to Taft, I postponed the capital gain tax, received a charitable deduction for the current tax year, increased our retirement income, and felt that my father was participating in the gift as well. It was a win-win for everyone involved—most importantly, for Taft, receiving the principal of the annuity upon my wife's death.

For more information about Planned Giving opportunities, please call Chris Latham , Director of Development, or Chip Spencer '56, Planned Giving Consultant at 1-800-959-TAFT (8238).

Christopher R. Latham
Director of Development
ChrisLatham@TaftSchool.org

Chip Spencer ‘56
Planned Giving Consultant
ChipSpencer@TaftSchool.org

The Taft School
110 Woodbury Road
Watertown, CT 06795-2100
(860) 945-5923 | Fax: (860) 945-7756

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