online website help:
 

Class Pages : Class of 1959

Spring Letter

April 17, 2008

Dear Classmates:

A major milestone in our lives will soon be upon us - in just over one year, we will be celebrating the 50th anniversary of our graduation from Northfield School for Girls. How incredible that seems!

Your diligent reunion committee is planning a reunion that will do justice to The Great Class of 1959. If you haven’t done so already, be sure to set aside the dates of June 4 to June 7, 2009, for a trip back to the NMH campus for lots of fun, frolic and friendship.   Do work on your yearbook page, too, so we can all have a glimpse of where life has led you post Northfield. For me, one of the most interesting aspects of past reunions has been getting to know classmates as they are today and hearing about the adventures that have brought them to the present time. Your yearbook contribution will let us all share in the twists and turns your life has taken.

An important aspect of reunions, especially momentous ones like the 50th, is the gift our class will present to the school in recognition of the contribution NMH has made to our lives. The total value of the class gift is calculated by adding up the following types of gifts made to the school:

1. contributions to the Annual Fund for the 5 years preceding the 50th reunion;
2. contributions to the special Class of 1959 Reunion Scholarship Fund;
3. contributions to specially designated funds such as the Carillon Fund and the Raymond Concert Hall Fund for the Rhodes Center for the Arts;
4. contributions designated for purposes that are of particular interest to you;
5. contributions to the planned giving program.

Our reunion gift will be combined with that of our Mount Hermon colleagues. That, as well as the broad definition of a 50th reunion gift outlined above, gives us an opportunity to significantly contribute to the needs of NMH. It is not inconceivable that The Great Class of 1959 can top the previous record of $3.2 million.

Northfield’s ’59 Class Gift Chair, Karen Forslund Falb, is leading an enthusiastic team of our classmates (Susie Brown Dana, Connie Carey Smith, Lee Cooper Silverman, Abbie Fryer Houghton, Nancy Goode Treadwell, Cynthia Hill Maran, Sue Hay Kapsalis, Louise Klinck Ferrebee, Linda Knight Shane and others to join later) who will focus on raising money for the first four types of contributions listed above. Their role, however, is broader than fund raising:  they will be contacting you soon to reconnect with you, talk about reunion and reminisce about our Northfield days.

My role in helping achieve a record-setting class gift is that of Planned Gift Chair. In this letter, I’d like to focus on planned giving and encourage you to consider a planned gift as part of your reunion giving. Because all of us are either retired or facing retirement, planned gifts can be a less burdensome way to benefit the school, as most (or all) of their impact takes place upon our demise. There also can be very attractive tax benefits.

Basically, there are two categories of planned gifts:

First are gifts that are irrevocable in nature: that is, assets, usually cash or appreciated securities that are transferred to underwrite an income stream to you for the rest of your life (and often for a second person for life, typically a spouse). The income can be a fixed annuity or variable    payments based on the ups and downs of the market value of the assets underwriting your cash flow. In addition to the income stream, you may claim a charitable deduction for tax purposes at roughly half the value of the assets transferred. Examples include charitable remainder trusts,    charitable gift annuities and pooled income funds.

Second are gifts that are revocable arrangements. You might include NMH in your will or living trust, designate NMH as the beneficiary of an IRA or other qualified retirement plan, or designate NMH as beneficiary of a life insurance policy. You can change revocable arrangements at any time. All of these options can be accomplished very easily. Add a codicil to your will or amend your living trust, neither of which should cost more than a few hundred dollars, if that. To designate NMH as beneficiary of some or all of an IRA or life insurance policy, complete a new beneficiary designation form at no cost.

Enclosed is an excellent and concise booklet describing in greater detail most of what is listed above. I am also enclosing a response form so you can indicate your interest in this portion of our 50th reunion gift. Perhaps some of you already have a planned giving arrangement in place with NMH included. If so, be sure to return the response form, noting this so your gift can be counted toward our 50th reunion gift. (Years ago, I added a line to my will remembering NMH, but it never occurred to me to notify the school. I’m only doing so now.)

If you have any questions about planned giving, you may contact Marv Kelley ’60, NMH’s Senior Gift Planning Advisor, at 413- 498-3691 or mkelley@nmhschool.org  for good advice and expert assistance with any of the planned gift options. Also, please feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns. I would love to talk with you.

Thank you for considering a planned gift to NMH.

Sincerely,

Nancy Holbrook Ayers
Northfield ’59 Planned Gift Chair
nhayers@starpower.net
703-477-9005            

Class Volunteers
To view your Class Volunteers, click here

 

 

Class AF Goals & Giving
NMH Annual Fund : Class Progress July 1, 2007 - June 30, 2008

Class and School	Giving to Date	Pledges to Date	Goal	Donors to Date	Pledges to Date	Donors Goal
1959MH	$44238	$3725	$100000	36	8	60
1959N	$28796	$6562	$35000	55	8	70

Last Update: June 27, 2008

 

Class of 1959 Photos
School Daze Alumni Events Photos



Questions or Comments about this class page?
email webmaster@nmhschool.org