Jim '71 and Betsy Leonard '74 Snedeker and their son Peter '06

Raising Children -
Be a Philanthropic Role Model for Your Children

You teach your children how to walk, how to stay healthy, how to make the right choices. Are you teaching them all they need to know? Do you model good charitable giving practices so they may become informed and effective philanthropists? Will they appreciate how others have prepared the way for them in higher education, and the need for us to ensure an education for future generations?

Planning deferred gifts and raising children are not mutually exclusive. For Jim '71 and Betsy Leonard '74 Snedeker, this is the perfect time to make a statement about the importance of St. Lawrence in their lives, and involve their children in their philanthropy.

At this stage, your prime consideration is caring for your children, so a planned gift to St. Lawrence may be modest, but the statement it makes about the importance of higher education and its place in your extended family becomes a priceless teachable moment:

The simple example - A bequest to St. Lawrence for a specific amount, a percentage, a remainder or a contingency can still provide for your children first and make a statement of your charitable priorities.

Use an asset creatively - Name St. Lawrence as a percentage or contingent beneficiary on your retirement plan. Your immediate family priorities remain in order, and you have added St. Lawrence as an important member of your extended family.

Show some flexibility - Naming St. Lawrence as a partial or contingent beneficiary on a life insurance policy keeps your plans flexible yet makes a statement of your philanthropic priorities.

Provide income for parents - Creating a gift annuity to provide income for a parent or parents not only provides a gift to charity and generates an immediate income tax deduction, but it also illustrates a way to combine family and philanthropy.

Would you like help organizing and defining your philanthropy? Request our Philanthropic Planner.

Is it time to update your will? Need help getting organized before meeting with your attorney? Request our Estate Planning Organizer.

Your plan for St. Lawrence's future may make you a member of the G. Atwood Manley Society.



This web page does not provide legal or financial advice, nor is it intended as a comprehensive review of the topic. You should consult your attorney, tax advisor and St. Lawrence before making or planning your gift.