NORTHWESTERN MATTERS
Dedication to Northwestern inspires planned gifts
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
Charitable remainder trusts
Charitable gift annuities
Stretching your IRA payments
Rogers Society luncheon celebrates the past and future of Northwestern
Sandi Lynn Riggs ’65 creates charitable remainder trusts to support The Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University Libraries, and the School of Communication
Since her time as a student at Northwestern, Sandi Lynn Riggs ’65 has developed a deep connection to several areas of the University.
“The Block Museum of Art and University Libraries contribute to the intellectual vibrancy of Northwestern and are accessible to the entire student body,” Riggs says. “I have continued to enjoy them as an alumna as well, attending exhibits at The Block and lectures at Deering Library. I am also a proud graduate of the School of Communication.”
Her appreciation for these areas inspired Riggs to establish several planned gifts at Northwestern University, including charitable remainder unitrusts (CRUTs) and a bequest in her estate plan.
Through her planned gifts, Riggs will support The Block, Northwestern’s academic art museum, which is free and open to the public. Her generosity will enhance multiple areas of The Block’s work—including its exhibition publications—through the Sandra L. Riggs Publications Fund, which she established in 2018.
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Students explore The Block Museum of Art. Credit: Sean Su Photography
Dedication to Northwestern inspires planned gifts
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“We are honored that Sandi has chosen to entrust us with her legacy at Northwestern,” says Lisa Graziose Corrin, the Ellen Philips Katz Executive Director of The Block. “Her gifts recognize the important role of art within Northwestern scholarship and allow us to deepen the impact of the museum on students across disciplines. Block publications enable us to disseminate scholarship, and our art acquisitions support teaching and learning at Northwestern.”
Riggs’s gifts also will provide funding for the School of Communication as well as Northwestern University Libraries’ renovation of the Charles Deering Memorial Library.
Riggs’s Northwestern story began in 1961, when she left her hometown of Des Moines, Iowa, and moved into Allison Hall on the Evanston campus. She studied speech and language disorders in what was then known as the School of Speech (now School of Communication) and became an active member of Zeta Phi Eta, a professional fraternity dedicated to communication arts and sciences.
After graduating, Riggs worked as a speech pathologist in the Waukegan Public Schools. Living in the Chicago area, she stayed connected to Northwestern and began serving on the School of Speech Alumni Board in the 1990s. Since then, Riggs has remained an active volunteer with several groups at the University, including
The Block Board of Advisors, the Northwestern Libraries Board of Governors, The Alumnae of Northwestern University, and the Women’s Board of Northwestern University. She also served as a co-chair of the gift planning committee during We Will. The Campaign for Northwestern.
Philanthropic roots are deep
Over the years, Riggs came to appreciate the impact philanthropy makes at Northwestern. In addition to providing for Northwestern in her will, Riggs chose to establish several CRUTs with the University because they allowed her to make a gift, receive an income stream, and enjoy tax benefits. At the end of the trust terms, the funds remaining in Riggs’ CRUTs will pass to Northwestern.
“My CRUTs have provided an advantageous way to support the future of Northwestern,” Riggs says. “Although the principal amount varies each year—and, therefore, the amount of income I receive fluctuates— they have performed well overall, affording me additional income for travel and extras over time.”
Riggs traces her philanthropic interest back to her father Lyle A. Lynn (’65 P), whom she calls her “role model for charitable giving,” and says she is honored to carry on his tradition at the University. In 1999, Lynn established a CRUT at Northwestern and named Riggs as the beneficiary. In 2003, Riggs’ father was in attendance when she received the Northwestern Alumni Service Award. “I feel, as he did, incredibly fortunate to be in a position where I can make significant contributions to Northwestern,” she says.
Leave your mark at Northwestern
You, too, can create a legacy of support at Northwestern while establishing an income stream for yourself. Contact Northwestern Gift Planning at giftplanning@ northwestern.edu or 800-826-6709 to learn more about life income gifts.
Sandi Lynn Riggs ’65