Bargers support sustainability through estate planning, contribute first charitable gift annuity

Bargers support sustainability through estate planning, contribute first charitable gift annuity

A WVSOM Class of 1983 alumnus and his wife have included WVSOM in their estate planning to help advance the institution’s sustainability efforts. Additionally, they contributed $150,000 to improve campus sustainability and fund student scholarships.

In providing the appropriate estate planning documents to the WVSOM Foundation, the Bargers became the inaugural member of WVSOM Foundation’s newly established Society 1972, which recognizes donors who make provisions through their estate planning to support WVSOM. The society honors WVSOM’s founding and celebrates its members whose legacy donations will secure the institution’s future.

The Bargers’ donation is the first-ever charitable gift annuity (CGA) provided through the WVSOM Foundation. David Barger said this form of giving benefits the recipient as well as the donor.

“Charitable gift annuities are a win-win,” he said. “WVSOM wins because the donations, while delayed, support the foundation’s mission in providing crucial funding to the school. Donors win because they receive income for life from their CGA.”

The family’s $50,000 gift helped the WVSOM Foundation meet the conditions of the Maier Challenge Grant, through which the Maier Foundation provided $300,000 in matching contributions in 2023. If the WVSOM Foundation can raise an additional $400,000 for student scholarships by Sept. 30, 2024, the challenge grant will provide a matching donation to the Dr. Olen E. Jones Jr. Scholarship Fund, part of the West Virginia Emulation Endowment Trust to benefit WVSOM students. As part of a previous challenge, the Maier Foundation matched $200,000 the Foundation raised in 2021-22.

Charitable gift annuities are made possible by the Enhancing American Retirement Now (EARN) Act, enacted by the U.S. government to encourage retirement planning and including provisions relating to charitable giving via IRAs. Under prior law, donors could make qualified charitable distributions by directing part of their annual required minimum distribution amount directly to a public charity and were not required to report that amount as income. The EARN Act indexes the qualified charitable distribution for inflation and allows for a donation of IRA funds up to $50,000 via a special charitable trust or annuity.

But the Bargers’ CGA represents only a portion of the couple’s generosity toward WVSOM. The couple also provided a $100,000 donation that will be used for multiple sustainability purposes, including the Drs. David and Bonita Barger Campus Preservation and Green Initiative Scholarship, awarded to a student who has voiced an interest in the environment and who has research or volunteer experience demonstrating an interest in sustainability or decreasing the global ecological footprint.

Dewayne Duncan, president of the WVSOM Foundation’s Board of Directors, acknowledged the Bargers for the scholarship fund.

“Words cannot express my gratitude to the Bargers for their generous donation,” Duncan said. “The foundation will work diligently to make sure medical students receiving this scholarship share a vision and passion for sustainability and green initiatives.”

James W. Nemitz, Ph.D., WVSOM’s president, said the Bargers’ gift will help ease the financial burden of scholarship recipients.

“Like Drs. David and Bonita Barger, WVSOM is mindful of environmental concerns, and their endowment will be invaluable to our students who have an interest in sustainability. We appreciate their support, and we hope other donors will make use of charitable gift annuities when considering planned giving,” Nemitz said.

The donation has already made an impact on WVSOM’s campus. Through the Barger Campus Preservation and Green Initiative Endowment, it provides partial funding for the school’s sustainability consultant, who has implemented a campus-wide recycling program and will ensure the continued coordination of projects resulting from the fund. Additionally, it has funded sustainability-themed student projects such as solar-powered charging station umbrellas for campus picnic tables.

The Bargers’ gift also funds an investment account and promotional materials encouraging others to donate to sustainability efforts through the WVSOM Foundation. David Barger said their gift allows them to combine their passion for sustainability and love for WVSOM.

“We believe in the future of WVSOM and the viability of a greenfriendly and sustainable campus environment,” Barger said. “In order to launch this initiative, leadership, commitment and program implementation are fundamental. Solar-powered charging stations for students, an electric car charging station, dog waste containers, a recycling program and an employee-student education campaign are the first steps to bring this vision to life.”

Those who wish to make gifts, including charitable annuities, to the WVSOM Foundation can do so at wvsomfoundation.org or by calling 304-793-6852.