|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Estate Planning Can Enhance a GiftBy Todd Copeland
Bob Barkley '78, JD '80, has been deeply involved with Baylor
University and the Baylor Alumni Association (BAA) for much of his
life. As an undergraduate, he served as a yell leader from 1975 to
1977, including head yell leader for one of those years, and was a
member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon. At Baylor Law School, he was a member of
the Student Bar Association.
 And
in the years since graduating with his law degree, Barkley has made
gifts to a variety of athletic programs, including membership in the
Bear Foundation's Championship Club, and served on Baylor's Development
Council. He's also been president of the Baylor Law School Alumni
Association, and he recently joined the Baylor Alumni Association as a
life member.
He's all Baylor, you could say.
Recently, Barkley has also made plans to remain involved in the life of
the alumni association long after his own life has ended. That's
because he has included the BAA as one of the designated beneficiaries
in his will, committing a significant percentage of his estate to the
alumni association.
Barkley acknowledges that it may seem strange to some to consider
making a gift through estate planning if, like him, you're relatively
young or middle-aged. But it also makes a lot of sense, he says, to
ensure that your charitable inclinations are reflected in your
long-term financial planning.
"It was clear that I wasn't taking any money with me, so I began
thinking about how I want to pass on the financial blessings that I've
had in my life," Barkley says. "When I thought about where I wanted to
give, the Baylor Alumni Association was an easy choice, along with a
few ministries I have had a relationship with. I know the money will be
used appropriately to support the alumni association’s service to
Baylor, especially in the area of preserving traditions. It's a secure
organization with a lot of integrity."
Barkley notes that there's a tremendous upside to giving by way of
estate planning—in a word, magnitude. "I have made gifts to Baylor ever
since I graduated, but my capability—and most people's capability—to
make a truly significant gift will only come as part of my estate, just
because of the necessities of financing your lifestyle and saving for
retirement," Barkley says. "Because of that, planned giving is
something everyone ought to consider."
As those who lived through World War II pass away, and as the baby-boom
generation's members enter their senior years, experts predict a
record-setting generational transfer of wealth will occur—$41 trillion
over the next fifty years, by one estimate.
While individuals will certainly want to provide for their families,
they also have an opportunity to engage in transformational
philanthropy, says Allen Holt, director of development for the BAA.
"Charities and non-profit groups, like the Baylor Alumni Association,
are organizations that can put an individual's wealth to work for good
causes for decades to come," he says. "For those with ties to Baylor,
an estate gift will touch the lives of other members of the Baylor
family in future generations. We're able to facilitate this process for
those who, like Bob, are interested in making such a gift."
For his part, Barkley says he felt an obligation to give back to the
Baylor community. "My confidence and self-esteem were established at
Baylor, and those qualities enabled me to have success in my career,"
he says. Barkley began his career with Goldman Sachs right out of law
school, becoming the first Baylor grad that Goldman Sachs hired, he
notes. He now lives in Dallas and is a partner with Barrow, Hanley,
Mewhinney & Strauss, one of the larger value-oriented investment
firms in the U.S.
"It seemed only right that I would return some of what I have been
blessed with," Barkley says. "I looked at the Baylor Alumni Association
and said, 'Here's a wide cross-section of alumni and friends who are
involved in the life of Baylor University, and the only agenda they
have is to protect and nurture the mission and traditions of Baylor.'
For me, Homecoming is at the top of the list of those traditions. The
fondest memories I have in my life involved Homecoming."
Barkley says that each alum can probably identify a particular program
or individual that had the biggest influence on him or her at Baylor.
And a gift made out of gratitude, he notes, is something that can
itself have a large impact. "I would encourage alumni to consider the
difference they can make by designating a gift to the Baylor Alumni
Association in their estate planning," he says.
|
|
|
|
|
.jpg)
