The Office of Gift Planning can suggest various ways to prepare for your future and support Princeton’s as well. Depending on personal circumstances, donors can choose from a menu of options that will provide them or their families with financial benefits while fulfilling their philanthropic goals.
W. Benson Harer Jr. ’52 and David R. Loevner ’76 have taken creative approaches to helping their families and friends —and Princeton. Their gifts, inspired by their strong bonds to the University, are managed by some of the same firms selected to manage Princeton’s endowment.
Gifts That Provide Income: Charitable Remainder Unitrusts
Charitable remainder unitrusts (CRUTs) can be excellent sources of income in retirement for donors or their friends and families. A CRUT makes quarterly payments for life or a term of years; afterwards the funds in the trust are used by Princeton. W. Benson Harer Jr. ’52 and his wife, Pamela K. Harer, established a CRUT that will benefit wrestling, the varsity sport in which Harer earned a letter while an undergraduate. Harer’s avocation as a dedicated Egyptologist has led to some 30 visits to that country, often on excavations sponsored by the Brooklyn Museum. While her husband hunts for Egyptian artifacts, Pamela, a retired attorney, scours shops for vintage children’s books. Princeton has benefitted from her interest—she has donated more than 100 titles to the Cotsen Children’s Library.
Gifts that Transfer Wealth to Family: Charitable Lead Trusts
Timing is everything, the saying goes, and the right timing spurred professional money manager David R. Loevner ’76 to create a charitable lead trust (CLT).
“My charitable motivation started when my class, to which I feel very connected, created a living legacy by naming 1976 Hall in Butler College,” Loevner said. “And from a practical perspective, the current unprecedented low interest rates enable me to pass assets to my children with less gift tax.”
CLTs differ from CRUTs in that the funds support the University now, and the donor’s designees—usually children or grandchildren—benefit later. A CLT makes fixed annual payments to Princeton for a specified term, generally 10 to 20 years. Afterwards the trust principal is transferred to the donor’s beneficiaries, often with no tax cost.
A former adviser to the Princeton University Investment Company (PRINCO), Loevner co-founded Harding Loevner Management in 1989. He previously helped the Rockefeller family’s investments expand into European and Asian markets and served as an economist with the World Bank.
A recipient of a Daniel M. Sachs Class of 1960 Scholarship, Loevner chairs the scholarship committee now. His wife, Catherine Parks Loevner, is a Princeton University Art Museum docent and honorary member of his class.
A portion of the Loevner CLT funds supported his class’s effort to name 1976 Hall. Some of it will help non-Princeton charities the Loevners favor, to be designated in the future. Eventually, the trust’s assets will go to Jonathan Loevner, Caroline R. Loevner ’08, and Henry A. Loevner ’11.