The Gift Most People Overlook
Hello. I’m Ford Stanley. I’m a UK graduate, and I serve as Director of Gift and Estate Planning at the University. I’ve been working with UK alumni and friends for several years now, assisting them in making gifts to benefit our many important programs and deserving students.
My experiences have taught me that one of the easiest ways to make a significant gift to the University of Kentucky is through your estate plan. I’ve worked with several individuals who are remembering UK in their wills, and I’ve discovered that this type of gift is often overlooked.
I want to share with you five remarkable things I’ve learned about bequest giving which most people never consider:
- 1) After you’ve taken care of everyone in your life through your will, then you can dream. Good estate planning begins with providing for the needs of loved ones. But it doesn’t have to stop there. Often, after specific bequests are made to family and friends, significant wealth remains. At that point, it becomes exciting to consider what can be done with the residual of a lifetime of accumulated assets. I always enjoy assisting friends and alumni of the University in discovering what “undreamed–of good” they can do via their estate plans, sometimes with what’s leftover.
- 2) Almost anyone can become a major donor to the University through a bequest. In my work, I have learned that most people have no idea as to the total value of their estates. And when they stop to actually tally everything, they are often amazed at their total net worth. The value of real property, retirement funds and other assets adds up! If a portion of a person’s total estate is bequeathed to the University of Kentucky, in most cases, it will amount to a major gift.
- 3) Your will can convey a very strong message about what you value in life. Often, individuals who dedicate much of their energy and income to advancing good causes during their lifetimes make provisions for those same causes in their estate plans. I’m happy to report that many donors who give annually to the University of Kentucky also decide to make a bequest to UK as their ultimate gift.
- 4) Your bequest can make a transformative difference and “move the needle.” Generally speaking, most people can make larger gifts through their estates than they can during their lifetimes. While every gift is helpful to UK, larger gifts can often transform a program or an area of the University to the next level, making a significantly greater impact upon students and the Commonwealth.
- 5) The University of Kentucky is diverse enough to match just about anyone’s donative desire. Throughout the years, I have always been able to connect a donor’s interest to an area of need within the University. UK has a myriad of programs and areas that can be enhanced by private philanthropy.
As you consider your own estate plans, perhaps you’ll have questions to ask, or ideas you’d like to discuss. I invite you to contact me at no obligation. It would be a pleasure for me to learn about your philanthropic dreams…and help you find ways to make them come true at the University of Kentucky.
Ford Stanley, ’91
Director of Gift and Estate Planning
Phone: 800–875–6272 (toll–free) or 859–257–7886
Email: giftandestate@uky.edu