Creating a Georgetown Legacy Winter 2024 Issue

from the office of pl a nned giv ing

Creating A Georgetown Legacy georgetow n univ ersity | w inter 2024 giving.georgetown.edu/planned-giving greetings from georgetown’s office of planned giving! We hope that you had a safe and joyous holiday season and start to the new year.

It is an exciting time for our campus community as students returned to campus for another prosperous semester. We also look forward to welcoming back our wonderful alumni to Washington, DC, as we celebrate the Class of 1974’s 50th Reunion, the Class of 1969’s 55th Reunion, and all of our Magis alumni community.

Mary Roney (B’76) with Dr. Fernando Pagan, director of the Movement Disorders Program at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital, one of only 31 U.S. “Centers for Excellence,” as designed by the Parkinson’s Foundation.

Leading by Example

As a student and an alumna, Mary Roney (B’76) has found Georgetown to be a perfect fit in more than one way. When she transferred to the McDonough School of Business (MSB), she was seeking a smallish school with a wellrespected undergraduate business program located in a not-too-isolated, but not-too-urban environment. And when she was considering her future legacy, she found the perfect match in the Fund a Fellow for Parkinson’s Program at Georgetown University Medical Center (GUMC).

For Mary, the inherent value of a Jesuit education and the reputation of the business program made Georgetown a perfect fit and formed the foundation for a successful career in banking. The Jesuit core values influenced every part of her Georgetown experience, especially a desire for excellence and the expectation of doing one’s best work while also remembering the importance of ethics, thoughtfulness, and cura personalis (care of the whole person). Mary’s time on the Hilltop helped set her standards and approach to the world, especially important at a time when leadership roles in her industry were rarely held by women. (continued on next page)

The beginning of the new year offers an opportune moment to start or review your estate plan. For many members of the Georgetown community, having their estate plan in place is a way to ensure their loved ones are well-taken care of and that they are able to leave a lasting impact on charitable institutions. In this newsletter, we provide insights into tax-efficient strategies that allow you to incorporate Georgetown into your legacy, all while maintaining a thoughtful approach to the care of your family and friends.

We would also like to take this opportunity to express our gratitude for our Georgetown community and for your continued support in strengthening the institution that we all cherish. Across programs and schools, your generosity has bolstered our commitment to being the university that we are Called to Be. With gratitude,

Jason M. Baxendale, MBA, J.D. Assistant Vice President of Planned Giving 202-687-1747, jason.baxendale@georgetown.edu

Mindy Siebenaler Bopp, J.D., LL.M (L’20) Executive Director of Planned Giving & Senior Philanthropic Advisor 202-687-6778, mls300@georgetown.edu

Mary Roney—(continued from page 1)

“Georgetown encourages students to explore their talents while seeking to experience new and different things; it helps people become what they want to be or are destined to be,” says Mary, who served on the MSB Board of Advisors to show gratitude for her experience at the university. She is impressed by the school’s international focus and how much it has grown since she was a student, a time when the now-renowned graduate business programs did not yet exist.

Mary’s other focus came more recently. After her diagnosis nine years ago, she has become a passionate advocate for improving patient education and treatment for Parkinson’s disease (PD).

“When you are diagnosed with Parkinson’s, it is a very overwhelming experience and difficult to find resources to educate yourself on the disease and its treatment. The disease presents itself differently in every person and progresses differently in every patient, so having a trained specialist is important. It is alarming that there are entire states with no movement disorder specialists,” says Mary, who lives in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

She eventually found a specialist 70 miles away in Denver. “I am grateful to have found medical support and feel strongly that all PD patients have access to a movement disorder specialist.”

Parkinson’s is the fastest-growing neurodegenerative disease in the world, affecting more than 8.5 million people. Only about 10% of current patients in the United States see a specialist, putting most at risk for complications. Under the leadership of Dr. Fernando Pagan, GUMC’s Fund a Fellow for Parkinson’s

Program provides funding to train early-career neurologists as movement disorders specialists. After a two-year fellowship focused on movement and memory disorders and conducting clinical trials, they are able to better diagnose patients and provide access to the latest treatments available. The result is better access to care and improved quality of life for patients nationwide.

Mary had been waiting to complete her estate planning because she wasn’t exactly sure what she wanted to do, but upon learning that Georgetown is a leader in training movement disorder specialists, she immediately knew she had found a perfect fit that combined her gratitude for her education and a cause for which she is incredibly passionate. Mary has chosen to include a bequest to the Fund a Fellow for Parkinson’s Disease Program at Georgetown as part of her estate plan.

Mary has always tried to lead by example. “It is important to me to leave a legacy and try to be an example for others on how to deal with Parkinson’s. I firmly believe you need to give back and support the causes that are important to you, and that you, as an individual, are responsible for what you leave in this world. I want to make a positive contribution. I am thrilled Georgetown is a leader in training specialists to support Parkinson’s patients and cannot say enough about the amazing work Dr. Pagan is doing.”

To learn more about the Fund a Fellow for Parkinson’s Disease Program at Georgetown, visit https://neurology.georgetown.edu/ fund-a-fellow.

Request Creating Your Legacy

Georgetown’s informative estate planning guide includes an outline of the key elements of an estate plan, simple steps you can take to get started with the planning process, a checklist to help you gather relevant documents, and ideas on ways to incorporate charitable giving into your planning.

We know this process can sometimes feel overwhelming, so we hope this guide will be a helpful resource. For your complimentary copy, please return the response card, or contact the Office of Planned Giving at 800-347-8067 or plannedgiving@georgetown.edu or visit giving.georgetown.edu/how-to-give/planned-giving.

ge orge t ow n u n i v e r si t y Planned Giving | Winter 2024

Use Your IRA to Make a Tax-Smart Gift in 2024— Including a Charitable Gift Annuity If you are 70½ or older, you can direct up to $105,000 each calendar year to charity from a qualified IRA using a Qualified Charitable Distribution (QCD). These distributions are income tax-free and count toward your Required Minimum Distribution (RMD applicable if you are 73 and older). In addition to avoiding income tax, there is the added benefit of making a gift to support a Georgetown school or program that is important to you. QCDs must be sent directly to Georgetown from your IRA administrator.

Even if you are familiar with the option to make a gift using a IRA QCD, you may not know that if you are 70½ and older,

you are now allowed to use up to $53,000 from an IRA to fund a new charitable gift annuity (CGA) or charitable remainder trust (CRT). CGAs and CRTs pay beneficiaries income for life or a term of years while also making a gift to Georgetown in the future. Rising interest rates have made CGAs even more attractive due to increased payout rates (based on the age of the beneficiary). The current payout rate for an 80-year-old is 8.1% and 7% for a 75-year-old (based on January 2024 rates).

CGAs and CRTs can also be funded with cash or appreciated securities, which can provide added tax benefits like avoiding capital gains tax.

If you are interested in learning more about making a gift using an IRA QCD, or to request a customized CGA or CRT illustration, please contact the Office of Planned Giving at 800-347-8067 or plannedgiving@georgetown.edu.

Simple Planned Gifts that Make an Impact In choosing to include a gift to Georgetown as part of your legacy, you are continuing a tradition that has spanned centuries: a tradition to educate students to act in the service of others. Below are some of the additional ways to make a gift that provides significant tax benefits while still supporting Georgetown. Visit giving.georgetown.edu/planned-giving to learn about other creative ways to make a gift now or include Georgetown in your long-term planning.

Bequests and Beneficiary Designations

When you choose to include a bequest for Georgetown in your will or trust, you join a very special group of Hoyas who have made the University, Medical Center, or Law Center part of their philanthropic legacy. Creating this simple, revocable gift helps ensure the future of Georgetown while providing flexibility in case your future circumstances change. Bequests can be designated to a school or program at Georgetown you feel passionately about, or can be left unrestricted and put to use where needed most.

Another easy way to make Georgetown part of your legacy is to name it as a beneficiary of a retirement account. Leaving retirement assets to an individual may decrease the gift by as much as 70% after state and federal taxes are deducted. Due to Georgetown’s nonprofit status, we are able to realize the full value of gifts from retirement accounts, allowing you to leave other assets to loved ones while avoiding tax and maximizing your impact to a school or program that is meaningful to you.

v isi t giving.georgetown.edu/planned-giving

Make a Gift to Georgetown Using Appreciated Securities Using appreciated stock or mutual funds that you have owned for at least one year is an efficient way to realize a charitable tax deduction for the full fair market value of the shares while also avoiding capital gains tax on any appreciation and making a gift to Georgetown. A sample comparison of savings is listed in the chart. For more information or to make a gift of appreciated securities, please contact stocktransfer@georgetown.edu.

cash gift

stock gift

amount

$10,000

$10,000*

charitable tax savings capital gain tax savings net “cost” of your gift

$3,700

$3,700

$0

$1,904

$6,300

$4,396

For more information on charitable giving or estate planning options, contact the Office of Planned Giving at 800-347-8067 or plannedgiving@georgetown.edu.

*Stock with a $2,000 basis and $8,000 in capital gain.

2024 Dates to Remember April 18–21

John Carroll Weekend in Dublin, Ireland

May 31–June 2

Class of 1969, 1974, 1979, 1984, and Magis Undergraduate Reunion

June 1

Undergraduate Reunion Estate Planning Seminar

Office of Planned Giving | 2115 Wisconsin Ave. NW, Suite 500 | Washington, DC 20007 800-347-8067 | plannedgiving@georgetown.edu | giving.georgetown.edu/planned-giving