RReflections eflections
The Planned Giving Society of the USI Foundation
Linda Willis Travels the World but Always Comes Home to USI Hiking a few feet from a silverback gorilla in Rwanda, sleeping under the stars on the African Sahara, watching a baby polar bear frolic on an ice cap − these are just a few adventures Linda Willis has encountered during her many travels around the world. Linda says, “You only live once, so you should live that life fully.” She has been to six of the seven continents and in the last year visited Iceland, Greenland and Easter Island. Linda plans to visit Antarctica in 2017. Linda’s love of travel came from her father, a Mount Vernon, Indiana farmer, whose allergies and asthma would cause the family to frequently travel west. Even though she travels the world, her heart remains in southern Indiana. Linda is heavily involved in the local community and USI. She is a member of the Varsity Club Board of Directors and the Historic New Harmony Advisory Board. Linda takes a hands-on approach to her involvement. You can find her interacting with 3,000 school-aged visitors at Heritage Artisans Days in New Harmony, Indiana, or serving up a famous steak sandwich in the Varsity Club Fall Festival booth. In addition to her time and efforts, Linda provides generous funding to several University programs.
Linda Willis with renowned violinist Joshua Bell
Linda’s dedication to USI began around the time she started her teaching career. She states, “In the 1970s, Dr. John Emhuff was assistant superintendent of the Metropolitan School District of Mount Vernon, and he suggested I get involved with the University of Southern Indiana. He said this institution is what the southern region of continued
Spring 2017
IRA Charitable Rollover Now Permanent Indiana needed for growth and I decided to become more engaged in University activities. Hasn’t our growth been amazing?” Since that push from Dr. Emhuff, Linda has been an ardent cheerleader for all aspects of the University. She attends home and away games for USI basketball and also made the trip twice to Carey, North Carolina to support the USI men’s baseball team in the national championship game. Although she recently retired from a 40-year career as a teacher in the Metropolitan School District of Mount Vernon, Linda stays actively involved as a member of the Indiana Retired Teachers Association, Posey County Retired Teachers, Delta Kappa Gamma and Phi Delta Kappa. This year, she was made an honorary alumna by the USI Alumni Association, honoring her for years of service and generosity to the University. Linda also was honored in 2006 with the Frank and Judy O’Bannon Heritage Enrichment Award, given to individuals who have become exemplary models of community education in the Historic Southern Indiana region. Director of Development, Andrea Gentry, a friend of Linda’s for the past 10 years, remarked, “I think Linda wakes up every morning thinking, ‘Who can I help today and how can I help them?’ She has such a giving spirit.” Linda is passionate about education and has devoted her life to learning and scholarship. She is a charter member of the Reflections Planned Giving Society and made an additional planned gift to benefit Historic New Harmony’s Living Learning Classroom, a component of Campaign USI: Elevating Excellence.
See the Benefits Available to You In December 2015, Congress reinstated a law that allows you to make a tax-free gift from your individual retirement account (IRA). Known as the IRA “charitable rollover,” this law no longer has an expiration date, so you are free to make annual gifts to the USI Foundation from your IRA any year well into the future. The law allows individuals who have reached the age of 70 and older the ability to transfer any amount up to $100,000 from their individual retirement accounts directly to a qualified charitable organization without being subject to income taxes on the distribution.
Here’s how the plan works: • You are age 70 or older at the time of the gift. • You transfer any amount up to $100,000 directly from your IRA. This opportunity applies only to IRAs and not other types of retirement plans. • You transfer the funds outright to one or more qualified charities. The legislation does not permit direct transfers to charitable trusts, donor advised funds, charitable gift annuities or supporting organizations.
For more information or other gift-planning ideas, contact the USI Foundation.
L E AV E A L E G A C Y ®
In E va nsvill e an d th e Tr i -S tat e A r e a
Ma ke a Differ en ce i n the L i ves tha t Fo l l o w
Leave A Legacy ® is a community-based effort that encourages people from all walks of life and all income levels to make gifts from their estates to the nonprofit organizations of their choice. This program is sponsored in Evansville by the Partnership for Philanthropic Planning through the Evansville Area Fundraising Council.
This newsletter is for information only. For specific legal and tax-planning guidance, please consult your professional advisors.
David A. Bower, CFRE President, USI Foundation 8600 University Boulevard Evansville, Indiana 47712 812-464-1918 USI.edu/giving usi.foundation@usi.edu
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