Beyond the Classroom
“Youth are the future. You’re investing in the future of everything,” says Kathy Rice. Rice and her husband, Greg Loek, wanted to plan for and help meet the financial needs of UMN Morris students. Inspiration for their planned giving came partly from the opportunities and positive experiences their daughter, Ellen Titus ’15, had at UMN Morris. “Morris is kind of a unique place (with its) small campus and the availability of the professors,” says Rice.
While they understand the importance of scholarships and also support them, they recognize an occasional lack of funding for things beyond what scholarships cover—things like attending conferences, carrying out research or studying abroad. Their planning and investment in UMN Morris to establish funds for this cause beyond the classroom will cover a broad range of student opportunities. “These kids who are in college now are hopefully going to go out and change the world in ways we can’t imagine,” says Rice.
As preparation for their giving, they created a mission statement to ensure that the end result would achieve the ultimate goal of what they wanted for their own children—for them to be happy, well-adjusted, contributing members of society. “And if we want that for our children, why would we not want that for everyone else’s?” Rice says.
Their Beyond the Classroom mission will be carried out through an endowment established as part of their giving plan. “When we looked into it, we were surprised to find that the minimum investment was not as high as we thought, with ways to start small and build it up over time that worked better with our financial situation. We would encourage interested people to check out the options available.”
Information contained herein was accurate at the time of posting. The information on this website is not intended as legal or tax advice. For such advice, please consult an attorney or tax advisor. Figures cited in any examples are for illustrative purposes only. References to tax rates include federal taxes only and are subject to change. State law may further impact your individual results. California residents: Annuities are subject to regulation by the State of California. Payments under such agreements, however, are not protected or otherwise guaranteed by any government agency or the California Life and Health Insurance Guarantee Association. Oklahoma residents: A charitable gift annuity is not regulated by the Oklahoma Insurance Department and is not protected by a guaranty association affiliated with the Oklahoma Insurance Department. South Dakota residents: Charitable gift annuities are not regulated by and are not under the jurisdiction of the South Dakota Division of Insurance.