Repaying Kindness with a Charitable Gift Annuity

During my second week at the Foundation, I got a poignant reminder of the importance of what we do.  Mr. Addison Askew was visiting the office to execute a Charitable Gift Annuity agreement he and his wife Rose had previously discussed with Tommy Herndon and Courtney Howell.  In exchange for their gift of appreciated stock, the donors would receive a fixed quarterly annuity payment for the rest of their lives, with right of survivorship for either spouse.

In the weeks since the plan was first conceived, our office became aware that Mrs. Askew received a cancer diagnosis.  It was aggressive. She declined chemo treatment, and Hospice was called in. She passed away early the week of the meeting, and Mr. Askew came alone.

He explained to us that he had been raised in the Baptist church, and when he and Rose married she agreed to attend with him.  But she never forgot that after her first husband passed away, she worked at a Methodist church, and through it she was able to obtain scholarships for her son to attend college.  She always hoped that she could repay that kindness somehow.  

Though clearly saddened by her loss, Mr. Askew was joyful that he could honor her wishes by creating an endowment that will eventually provide scholarship support for students at a Methodist college.   

Mr. Askew took a few moments to recall his youth in the rural North Carolina county he and his wife were from.  A place where neighbor helped neighbor, and the Church was a place where people gathered socially. He hoped that his gift might help recapture something of those times.

We, at the Foundation, are pleased to be of help to the Askews.

Author: Bo Bowden, VAUMF President