Meet Our Donors
For decades, St. Stephen's and St. Agnes School has been the beneficiary of loyal annual gifts as well as estate gifts; these have made an incredible impact on our endowment and the reputation and strength of our school.
Each estate gift has a story rich in legacy and history. Many times this story is not discovered until much later. The Development staff meets with donors who have established planned gifts with our school as a beneficiary. We have enjoyed hearing the dreams they have for their gifts and the future impact they wish to make on a school they hold dear.
We would like to share the experiences of a few of the Saints who have decided to put the school in their estate plans. After reading their stories, we hope you might consider joining them in making a planned gift, and share your dreams of how you might impact future generations of Saints.
Carrie Garland
Current Parent
Jim and I decided to include the school in our estate plans several years ago, when we did an overhaul of our estate planning. We felt this was an important step because we are grateful to the different schools, churches and communities that have been part of our family's life, and it feels good to know that we can give back to those places. In every case, those places have made an impact on us. The process of estate planning is similar to tax planning—necessary, but not necessarily easy (or fun!) I think once the process is started, it becomes easier and easier because you get to have conversations about people and places that you have the most affection for and that mean the most to you and your family. When you have carefully gone through the process, it is very satisfying to know that others will truly benefit when you are gone. Geoff Johnson and I have met more than once to discuss our estate plans and he has been extremely helpful. Jim and I underestimated the level of care the Development Office takes with those who include SSSAS in estate planning. Geoff and others in the Development Office are of course pleased to know who has included our school in this way, but they are also devoted to helping us think ahead about how we would like our monies directed. There are many different possibilities and options and the Development Office shows a deep concern to assure that we select the best plan for our family. We would encourage all Saints families who have gone through the estate planning process, or who are about to go through it, to include SSSAS in their plan. The better plans you make now, ahead of the moment your family's life changes, the more useful your money can be to a school that certainly improves lives in our community.
John Repetti '81
Current Parent and Alumnus
Marnie and I recently sat down to do what most of us would rather avoid, estate planning. As we did, I started to think about how SSSAS has been a part of my life for over 40 years. I started as a fourth grader in 1972, graduated in 1981 and became a parent of a student in 2003. Our oldest son, John, graduates this year and our youngest, Mark, will graduate in 2019, which is the 75th anniversary of the founding of St. Stephen's and just a few years shy of the 100th anniversary of the founding of St. Agnes. I wondered: will our school reach the kind of longevity that many of the strongest independent schools in the nation have enjoyed? I would like to think it will, that the school will be here for at least 100 more years…but that depends on us, the first couple of generations that walked the halls. For me, the school has been such a big part of my life that I wanted to help ensure that this special place will continue for generations to come. Incorporating the school into our estate planning decisions was one of the easiest and best ways to do that.
Margaret Teague
Faculty/Staff Member and Parent of Alumnus
Our family has been a part of St. Stephen's and St. Agnes School for over 25 years. As a faculty member, this school community has been my second home. It has supported me in times of grief and celebration and it has provided me with lifetime friends. It is where I work, learn, play, and go to church. Our son, Sam Teague, attended SSSAS from the time he was three months old (thanks to the faculty/staff nursery) until he graduated in 2011. The school generously gave me, as a faculty member, financial support for the exceptional education Sam received. Without this support, the gifts of academic excellence, Christian values, sportsmanship, and commitment to service Sam received at SSSAS would have been out of our reach. This community has given so much to our family, that it was an easy decision to want to give something back. In 2007 Wes and I redid our wills and put St. Stephen's and St. Agnes in our estate plans. Family takes care of family. It was and always will be our desire to help SSSAS continue the exceptional work it does every day and to ensure future families will have the same opportunities we have had.
Alumna Belinda Lowenhaupt Collins '64
As my husband Tony and I sat down to think about estate planning, we knew that the schools we had attended had made such a difference in our lives. We decided that we wanted to honor our parents who had made a real sacrifice in my case for me to attend St. Agnes. It wasn't easy to send two children to private school on a single federal salary, but my dad and mother made that possible. Both my brother and I attended St. Stephen's and St. Agnes from kindergarten through 12th grade. Attending St. Agnes made such a difference in my life; I learned to write; to think; and to give back to others. So, the decision to honor Henry and Sara Lowenhaupt with a gift to the school in our estate was an easy one. Tony and I felt this was a gift that would live on long after we are gone and would help other students get the high quality education we had received.
Jane McKee Ingram, St. Agnes Class of 1945
Jane McKee Ingram and her husband, Jack, feel strongly about giving to secondary education. This is an important time, they believe, because it sets the foundation for the rest of an individual’s life. St. Agnes School had a profound effect on Jane; teachers like Mrs. Ross and Mlle Michalot were masters in their fields of Science and French and truly cared about the education of their students. Jane sees the current faculty of St. Stephen’s and St. Agnes School having the same effect on today’s students. The school’s religious tradition is important to the Ingrams, too, as they feel it strengthens the character of each student.
Jane and Jack wanted to make a gift that would honor Jane’s experience and provide for current and future students of the school. They decided that a Charitable Gift Annuity would be the right vehicle for them, allowing them to make a much larger gift than they thought possible during their lifetime. They were reassured that it would pay income for the rest of their lives — in a fixed amount that they can count on, and at a higher yield than CDs or mutual funds can provide. They also benefitted from an income tax deduction for setting up a Gift Annuity and took advantage of the fact that part of the annuity income would be tax-free.
“The St. Stephen’s and St. Agnes School facilities couldn’t be better and the faculty is top-notch. I am so proud of my school today and so impressed by the opportunities available to current students. In addition to academic excellence, the school expands their abilities in so many different ways from arts to athletics, music to technology. Jack and I were pleased to make this gift to support such an important school with such an important mission.â€
Dorothy Wyatt Shields, St. Agnes Class of 1954
As Dorothy “Poogie†Wyatt Shields reflects about her past during retirement, she increasingly feels that her experience at St. Agnes started her on her life path. Her French education at St. Agnes prompted her to take her children to live and learn in France for a year, and her English teachers inspired a delight in writing and drama “for fun.†The school’s Episcopal identity led her to earn a master’s degree in religious studies and provided the starting point for a passionate quest for the meaning of community in diverse situations.
For most of her adult life, she and her family enjoyed a simple lifestyle. Later in life, she was the beneficiary of a bequest which she plans to split between her children and several charities. She says she “wouldn’t think of leaving St. Agnes out.†She has made a gift to the school every year since her graduation in 1954 and believes that every gift, no matter the size, counts. Giving through her estate plan is another way to continue giving and help ensure the future of the school that has meant so much to her. She hopes that her gifts will encourage others to consider adding St. Stephen’s and St. Agnes School to their estate plans as well.
IT'S EASY TO BECOME A MEMBER OF THE SIGNET SOCIETY
While estate planning can be time consuming, the next step in the conversation is a simple one. Visit our Sample Gift Language Page to learn more about specific language to use when setting your intent, or to view the other planned giving options. It can be as simple as one sentence in your will or trust or tailored to fit your more specific plans.
Each member of our community who intends to give our school an estate or planned gift is a member of our Signet Society. In any case, simple or complex, if you have any questions about the Signet Society, please contact us. Thank you for considering us in your plans for the future!