I am a proud and passionate pharmacist who has been fortunate to have a great career. While I am not ready to retire, or near death, I have always known I would create an estate plan which includes a charitable giving plan. As with many things in life, my husband and I put this off along with our other estate plans. Of the many lessons the COVID-19 pandemic taught us was that plans are important. We saw friends die due to COVID or chronic diseases complicated by the pandemic and other family members come close to that. So, after years of procrastination, we set to work creating our estate and giving plans. But even after getting over that first layer of procrastination, I was overcome and almost paralyzed by making decisions about the areas I, and we, wanted to support. There are so many needs, like the need to:
- support PharmD and graduate students (e.g., recruiting the most talented and diverse student group; those in financial need; professional development through offering unique student experiences)
- support diversity and inclusion efforts, whether that be community engagement, health equity, social justice, education or other initiatives
- fuel creativity and innovation that will shape the future (e.g., education, research or clinical practice)
- accelerate research as faculty often need funds for high-risk projects in order to be innovative
- ensure we can recruit and retain the best faculty
- provide leadership development opportunities to our students, faculty and staff
What we realized in this process was, for us, it was not about our name or our legacy, but rather about putting our finances to good use to make a difference in the future. We also recognized that while we were not what would be considered financially wealthy, we could still make a difference even with a small or modest charitable gift. We realize our passion and our gift intention may broaden or shift over time, but at present, the important piece for us was to make the commitment. The commitment to the future of pharmacy was one of the most rewarding things I have done. It felt good to overcome my procrastination and know I can help now and in the future to support the future of our wonderful profession and the College. I encourage others who might be delaying this kind of planning to consider reaching out and learning more about planned giving. It’s not as hard as one might think!
To discuss estate planning and planned giving options, please connect with Amy Polski Larson, chief development officer, by email or by phone at 612-626-8975.