Gift to ensure campus beauty for years to come

In the 1990s, as a longtime fundraising professional and Saint Martin's advancement staff member, Carleen Jackson knew about the income tax and lifetime income benefits that donors receive from charitable gift annuities, but the University didn't offer them. So when Saint Martin's began to offer gift annuities in 2003, she and her husband, Willie, became the first University constituents to make this type of "deferred" contribution.

Still years away from retirement, the Jacksons decided to defer their first payment for 13 years until Willie turns 70 in 2016. Thereafter, they will receive an annual payout rate of 12.2 percent for the rest of their lives.

Proceeds improve campus
But there's more to this story. The gift annuity was their first step toward the creation of an endowment fund that's close to Carleen's heart—one that will be a perpetual source of funding for campus improvement. Throughout her years at Saint Martin's, she was involved with campus beautification and new facilities in a variety of ways, including directing capital project campaigns and coordinating volunteer campus clean-up days. She and Willie now have an agreement with the University that stipulates that proceeds from the gift annuity, as well as bequests in their wills, are to fund the William and Carleen Jackson Campus Improvement Endowment.

"Saint Martin's is a special place for many reasons, but one of them is the beauty of its large, wooded campus," Carleen says. "I know from personal experience how difficult it is to find the budget dollars necessary to maintain the campus and make new improvements, so Willie and I have decided that creating a fund that will permanently assist this need is what we want to do. That beautiful campus is one of Saint Martin's greatest assets."

Longtime supporters
While the Jacksons are staunch Washington State University Cougars, they are just as much a part of the Saint Martin's community. They regularly make gifts for various needs and attend special events. From 1993 until 2006, Carleen held a variety of senior administrative positions with the University, including director of development and director of enrollment management and marketing. She is now with the Washington Secretary of State's Office, fundraising for and coordinating state heritage projects. Willie is a longtime adjunct professor of political science for the University, teaching at its Fort Lewis and McChord Air Force Base military extension centers. For many years, he was also the University's veterans affairs coordinator. He and Carleen live in nearby DuPont with their golden retrievers, Macy and Abby.

...And more to come
Carleen and Willie Jackson's planned giving goes beyond their charitable gift annuity. In their wills, they have made bequests for the campus improvement endowment that will carry their names. Year to year, funds spent from the endowment will be governed by an agreement now on file with the University.