Posted on 06/08/2022 6:53:09 AM PDT by karpov
When persons of means contemplate death, the question of where to leave their financial assets becomes acute. If they are higher education graduates, their former campuses have “advancement teams” ready to answer questions, provide forms, and urge investments in their institutions. Sometimes they will appeal to altruism, sometimes ideology, and sometimes ego. Would you like to have your name on this activity or building? Such administrators believe that “where there is a Will, there is a way.”
Many endowment gifts have strengthened institutions and brought about profound public benefits, but there are sometimes disappointments and controversy. Savvy donors need to think carefully before entering into endowment agreements, which are difficult to change before death and virtually impossible after death. Several questions need to be answered. First, since money is fungible, will the donor’s gift simply replace a routine institutional expenditure, creating no net gain for the program being supported? Second, is the activity likely to be preserved in the long term as programs, student interest, and curricula constantly change? Third, and most important, will the institutional values once known and cherished endure?
(Excerpt) Read more at jamesgmartin.center ...
Waiting for my college to become ‘unwoke’ before donating a dime to them. So, never a penny, and almost certainly will never send them a penny in the future. Saved me a ton of money!
Yes, no and no.
One of the things I've noticed is that donors are very hesitant to contribute to an endowment for this program. Instead, what they do is make a commitment for an annual contribution that has a "sunset" provision. Every 5-7 years they review the program and their financial position and goals, and they either renew the contribution or terminate it.
As much as it makes life difficult when it comes to managing the program, I can certainly see the wisdom of this from the donor's perspective.
Ditto that.
Agreed. These colleges have become so liberal, as to be foreign entities to many of us.
And for those colleges and universities with endowments, it begs many questions as to why is there a need to give them donations. Between their endowments, and the high tuition charged nowadays, I doubt many universities actually need alumni donations to carry on with their programs.
Calculated that the university I attended has an approximately 19% annual inflation rate. With the amount of money they get from tuition it is doubtful anything I could donate would be worth spit.
A month ago I went back to my college for the first time since I graduated in 1980. I was shocked to learn that all the men’s bathrooms on campus contained tampon dispensers.
One of the begging letters I received from a "bright young thing" in the alum relations dept exhorted me to "give back" to the university. Knowing it was a waste of time I wrote back to her asking how I could give something "back" that was never given to me in the first place. I further went on to say that my parents were the only people who had ever given me anything and in fact they had paid my college tuition in full without any assistance from the university and that my college education was not a gift from the university, but rather a commercial transaction for which services were rendered and billed and that said services were fully paid for. I said that the only way I could give something "back" would be to give stuff to my parents, but since they were both dead it was an impossibility.
I did say that if she wanted to discuss giving rather than giving back she could send another letter. Needless to say I never heard anything more from her.
I’ve gone to over a dozen universities and I donate nothing to them and never have. Each received plenty in tuition and have billionaire donors. No need to make myself any poorer as they get far richer. Universities are nothing but money machines, and they provide very little in the way of education.
In recent years, mine has gone from conservative Christian to all out fruity. If I have anything left, it’ll go to a no kill animal shelter. Four legged creatures are more trustworthy than the two leggers.
And paid for in advance I would add.
I got a phone call from someone who seemed to know all about me and my college friends. I never knew the chit chatty caller from Adam. Of course, he could have gotten whatever info from the year book but it was most disconcerting. I kept him on the phone a good while making stuff up just to see how far he’d go. He was definitely with the school as the donation contact was legit but that’s a slimy way to go about it.
As mine is sponsored by my tax dollar, that’s enough giving. BTW, I wasn’t asked if I wanted those tax dollars to go to free rides for illegals and Ukrainians or deserving US citizens.
True
As a further chapter in the ongoing war against my assets, my kid got an MD 20 years ago from the medical school attached to the undergraduate school that I attended back in the late Cretaceous, and now I find that my wife been adopted as a medical school alumna and gets regular donation requests from the medical school.
(Would you like to have your name on this activity or building?)
In all fairness to Mr. Mellon, it was a really big check.
It fills my heart with a warm and cheery glow when I toss them into the trash can at the post office.
I never donate to my alma maters. It took me 12 years to pay off my student loans, so I already “donated” enough money to them, thank you.
Nice to see people waking up to the truth - - that supporting WOKE crap is the same as supporting cancer and death.
I paid my way and paid for 2 kids to go through school.
So, no more for them.
LOL
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