Alumni couple uses IRA beneficiary designation to support Geneseo

For Jessica '00 and Peter '00 Blair, it wasn't a question of if they should support their alma mater, but how best to do so. They decided to name the Geneseo Foundation as a beneficiary of their retirement account.

"For us, Geneseo is home. We met there, we got great educations without decades of debt, and Jessica received donor-funded scholarships. We chose to leave an IRA to the Geneseo Foundation because it was as easy as filling out a form at our financial institution. No lawyers, wills or codicils necessary!"

Under current tax rules, a retirement account left to heirs can be hit with multiple taxes. This makes an IRA, 401(k) or 403(b) a great gift to leave to charities. "We knew that our nephews and nieces would be subject to those taxes, but Geneseo wouldn't be."

As a Geneseo Foundation board member, Jessica sees at each meeting how important estate gifts are to the financial health of the college. "Students are counting on us. Every gift counts toward building a more equitable and resilient future. In addition to our annual gift, and the scholarship we've endowed along with Peter's parents in honor of his late aunt Margaret, we know that in all likelihood, the biggest gift we can offer Geneseo is through our estate."

While some donors choose to designate their gift to a specific purpose, Jessica and Peter directed their estate gift where need is greatest. "Programs and priorities can shift between the time a donor makes their legacy gift commitment and when the organization actually receives it decades later. To be sure that Geneseo can make the best use of our support at some hazy point in the far-off future, we decided to leave it to tomorrow's stewards of SUNY Geneseo to decide how to spend our gift."

IS A BENEFICIARY DESIGNATION GIFT RIGHT FOR YOU?

If you own a qualified retirement plan, such as an IRA, 401(k) or 403(b) and would like to make a charitable gift, your family or your estate might benefit if you update your beneficiary designation form naming the Geneseo Foundation as a beneficiary. Beneficiary designation gifts may help your heirs avoid paying income tax on certain inherited assets and may help your estate avoid estate taxes.

If you have questions about making a beneficiary designation gift, please contact us. We would be happy to work with you and answer any questions that you have.