Colleen Stewart has always had strong ties to engineering. Her family has an extensive number of engineering degrees, although they're not all from Florida State University.
"My husband was an electrical engineer. My son received a degree in petroleum engineering. I received a master's degree in electrical engineering. One of my daughters received a degree in electrical engineering, and two of my granddaughters received degrees in civil engineering," she says.
Always avid supporters of student-athletes through Seminole Boosters, she and her late husband, Donald, started down the path toward ultimately making a lasting impact on the lives of students enrolled in the Florida State University College of Engineering.
"Several years ago, my husband saw an article in an FSU publication describing the charitable gift annuity," Colleen says. "When I retired and received my distributions from my company stock purchase, my husband suggested investigating the annuity with FSU."
After contacting the Office of Planned Giving, the Stewarts were provided illustrations showcasing how the annuity works. Once the couple realized that the annuity would provide fixed income and would also allow the Stewarts to lessen the impact of the capital gains taxes on the stock, the decision was clear:
"This seemed a good use for the stock since I would be contributing to FSU and also receiving an income for my lifetime," says the mother of 1993 College of Engineering graduate Kristina Stewart.
"My father believed strongly in the importance of education. While he was president of an international union, he started a scholarship fund for children of members of his union," Colleen says.
"Our entire family has been Florida State fans for more than 25 years," she says. "For many reasons, Florida State is the obvious choice as one of the universities for my financial support." In addition to the charitable gift annuity that the Stewarts established in 2009, Colleen decided to fund an additional annuity in 2011.
By funding both annuities through the FSU Foundation, Colleen made wonderful contributions to Florida State University and received sizeable charitable income tax deductions in the years of both gifts. She can rest assured that she will receive fixed income for her life and that students in the College of Engineering will ultimately benefit from her generosity.
"A charitable gift annuity is a logical way to give to FSU and to receive an income at the same time," Colleen says. "Although the rate of return may be smaller than with some other types of investment, the knowledge that the university has the use of the gift more than makes up the difference."
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.