Emory and Margaret Carl
recently designated a planned gift
on behalf of M. D. Anderson
Legendary philanthropist Albert B. Alkek, who donated $30 million to
M. D. Anderson for construction of a new hospital facility in 1993, lightly
pointed out some years ago to the Houston Chronicle how simple sharing
wealth can be: "You can't wear but one suit, and you can't eat but
three meals a day. What are you going to do with your money except help
others?"
The late Alkek's sentiments are echoed by many, and his generous gift
and those of many others have allowed the institution to make magnificent
strides in patient care, research, education and prevention.
Today, a different kind of donor shares that same desire to leave a
legacy of hope for cancer patients. These individuals have unselfishly
named M. D. Anderson as a beneficiary for a planned gift, often times a
donation that comes to the institution only after they pass away.
"Planned giving takes a forward thinking individual who doesn't
necessarily have the funds to commit an enormous donation or be in his
retirement years to consider a gift," explains Michael Frick, director
of institutional gifts for the Development Office.
In fact, many individuals of varying age and economic status seek to
establish planned gifts in hopes of making a difference in others' lives.
"Planned giving allows individuals to provide a larger legacy
than often is possible through philanthropic gifts made during their lifetime,"
says Frick. "It's really a selfless type of philanthropy in that these
donors may never see the advances their gifts make possible."
Across the country, this aspect of charitable giving has been increasing.
Bequests - the most common form of planned giving - increased by 11.4 percent
in 1995 for a total of about $9.77 billion, according to Giving USA, a
publication that chronicles trends in philanthropic giving.
At M. D. Anderson, planned giving currently makes up about 12.5 percent
of overall cash gifts received, with bequests and charitable remainder
trusts being the most popular planned gifts. A bequest is a simple gift
of cash, or specific personal or real estate property. A charitable remainder
trust is an established fund that provides income to the designated beneficiaries
until they pass away, at which time funds from the trust are forwarded
to the cancer center.
With the increase in this type of philanthropic giving, the institution
is hoping to double that percentage over the next four years to average
$15 million to $20 million in cash gifts per year. According to Frick,
a program should be able to realize about 40 percent of its philanthropic
cash income each year from planned gifts.
How the monetary gifts come to the institution depends on the type
of plan a person chooses. In addition to bequests and charitable remainder
trusts, there are more than a half dozen other types of planned giving,
including gift annuities, pooled income funds, charitable lead trusts,
life insurance policies, limited family partnerships and select gifts of
real estate.
"Making a planned gift can be as simple as listing M. D. Anderson
as the beneficiary of a secondary life insurance policy," Frick says.
At a national level, planned giving is not a new concept per se, as
it has been growing in giving circles since the 1950s. In the Southwest,
however, the concept has only become popular in the last 10 to 15 years.
Having depended so much on the fruits of the oil boom and the philanthropic
contributions that bubbled in by the millions from that source, non-profit
institutions previously had not had the need to cultivate these types of
innovative gifts.
"Now we try to be as proactive as we can and really take people's
interest to heart," Frick says.
Most charitable institutions that have an active development program
accept or encourage planned gifts. For M. D. Anderson, donors usually have
a special connection - either they have been touched by cancer or a close
family member has been treated at the cancer center.
The Carl family was touched by cancer when Emory Carl's sister became
a patient at M. D. Anderson. Although her initial prognosis was poor, she
lived almost a dozen more years, just short of her 91st birthday.
"Thanks to M. D. Anderson, she lived an active life," Carl
says. "She lived fully. When we decided to give this gift, we thought
about the advantage of doing something and doing it now.
"We knew that we could make a large gift to M. D. Anderson through
a trust," adds Carl, who along with his wife, Margaret, has set up
a charitable remainder trust. "We looked at it from various angles
and this seemed like the responsible thing do."
For former M. D. Anderson Board of Visitors member M. D. Matthews,
ties to the cancer center came through his long-time involvement with the
institution, volunteering his time as well as making various contributions.
He and his father also received treatment for cancer.
"I'm not getting any younger," Matthews says. "I was
updating my will and decided I wanted to give something in the area of
health care. Both my father and I received excellent cancer care elsewhere.
But in the area of research, M. D. Anderson has no equal. It's there that
you expect to find results in treatment."
For Joyce Jordan, choosing M. D. Anderson for a planned gift grew out
of her experience of caring for her father who had asbestosis (a chronic
lung disease caused by the inhalation of asbestos fibers). Remembering
her father's pain and endless suffering, Jordan decided to designate her
gift to the Pain and Symptom Management Program.
Although her father wasn't treated at M. D. Anderson, Jordan felt the
hospital could best use the money. "If this money can help just one
person have less pain and assure them that they wouldn't have to go through
the pain my father did, that would be meaningful to me," Jordan says.
"I hope we can get others to do the same thing," says Jordan,
who at 52 considered a planned gift a wise investment, albeit it one taking
place many years from now. "It's a really good feeling to know you
could do something that spectacular."
