 Philanthropy impacts lives
Benefactors have the power to change lives physically, intellectually, emotionally, and spiritually because philanthropy impacts lives. According to a recent study by Boston College scholars, John J. Havens and Paul G. Schervish, that power could add up to $41 trillion. That is the amount of intergenerational wealth that Havens and Schervish project will be transferred through from 1998 to 2052.
No matter what your financial situation, how do you make sure your money goes to the people and charities that are important to you and your family? In planned giving, individuals have the privilege of stating exactly how they wish to “leave a legacy” — benefiting the individuals and causes they feel strongly about.
A growing trend in planned giving involves donors who wish to make their charitable contributions in life rather than at death, allowing them to increase the effectiveness and significance of their giving. This trend allows donors to enjoy the impact of their contributions while still alive. It also provides new approaches to financial planning that have both practical and personal benefits.
The practical benefit of a planned gift is that giving voluntarily to charity may be a better option than being forced to give to the government in the form of taxes. The personal benefit is the ability to leave a “spiritual inheritance . . . enabling a fruitful life,” according to a 1929 essay by economist John Maynard Keynes.
 Two donors to the Midland College Foundation are excellent examples of how planned giving enables “a fruitful life.” The contributions of the late Dorothy and Todd Aaron to the Midland College Foundation total more than $4.6 million. Before Mr. Aaron’s death, he gave more than $1.5 million — $1 million of which helped building the Dorothy and Todd Aaron Medical Science Building. Then, the more than $3 million he left the Midland College Foundation in his estate made him the perfect donor.
 “Through his 10 years of giving to the Midland College Foundation, Todd Aaron enjoyed the fruits of his gifts and saw the return on his investment, meeting many of the people who benefited from his generosity,” according to Dr. Eileen Piwetz, Midland College Foundation Executive Director. “I want to give back where I made my money,” Mr. Aaron always said.
Another planned gift from the estate of longtime Midlander Ella Mae Dalious (who died Nov. 13, 2005 at the age of 89) doubled the size of the Dr. Gregory Bartha Health Science Scholarship at Midland College, which already had an endowment of more than $340,000. As Mrs. Dalious wished, the donation to the Midland College Foundation gave money to the Bartha Scholarship (to which Mr. Aaron also contributed) and established the Jack A. Dalious Memorial Scholarship that honors her husband, Jack Dalious, who died in 1996.
Both the Aaron and Dalious gifts support the philosophy of “leaving something better than the way they found it,” and planned giving was their method of accomplishing this philosophy.
 Mrs. Dalious’ gift leaves a living legacy. The beneficiaries of the “spiritual inheritance” are the Midland College Health Sciences students who, in large numbers, will provide health care in the Permian Basin. And, Dr. Gregory Bartha and the medical community will continue to be reminded of the gratitude of Bartha’s patients — more than 270 people had already contributed to the scholarship by as of November 2006.
Charitable planned giving, which incorporates powerful traditions of giving in the United States, is the process of cultivating, designing, facilitating, and stewarding gifts to charitable organizations. Charitable planned giving uses a variety of financial tools and techniques for giving, covering the full spectrum of generosity by individuals and institutions. Additionally, the Pension Protection Act of 2006 allowed individual ages 70½ to give $100,000 from their pensions in 2006 and 2007.
The tools of charitable planned giving include all types of real and personal property (real estate, jewelry, art, etc.) and tangible and intangible assets. Restricted gifts are those such as the one Mrs. Dalious made to the Bartha Scholarship Fund and to establish the Jack A. Dalious Memorial Scholarship. The gift from Mr. Aaron’s estate to the Midland College Foundation is an example of an unrestricted gift. Unrestricted gifts and restricted gifts given to benefit Midland College are administered by the Midland College Foundation.
For more information about creating a planned gift and investing in the future of Midland College, please contact:
Eileen Piwetz, Executive Director
Midland College Foundation, Inc.
Midland, Texas 79705
Phone: 432.685.4526, Fax: 432.685.4714
E-mail: foundation@midland.edu
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