The Gift That Gives Back

Nearly 20 years ago, Bill Jones received a phone call with some heart-wrenching news about his only niece. At 21 years old, Emily had been diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

“It was devastating,” Jones remembered. “This was the first illness in our family like this, and we were all very concerned. It was a scary time.”

Emily's diagnosis left him feeling both worried and helpless. Thankfully, her care team at VCU Massey Comprehensive Cancer Center successfully treated her cancer, and today her biggest challenges involve navigating life in her forties and raising a rambunctious, not-so-little-anymore son.

“Massey was instrumental in caring for Emily and for us as a family,” Jones said. “They saved her, and that inspired me to want to support their work.”

Jones retired young after a remarkable career in investment banking, and he’s been intentional in supporting several charities who provide health care or educational opportunities to young people. 

“The neat thing about a charitable gift annuity is you get quarterly payments,” Jones said. “And that made sense to me given my career. I do like the return aspect of a CGA as opposed to giving money away and it all being gone forever.”

Jones receives quarterly payments from his CGA, and the balance of the funds he donated will ultimately transfer to benefit Massey. He encourages people who want to give back in support of Massey to consider whether a charitable gift annuity may be right for them, especially given current historically high annuity rates.

“I've been very blessed,” Jones said. “I wanted to give back, and the charitable gift annuity has been a great tool for me. Setting it up was very easy, and I thought it was great that I could give to charity and benefit through the annuity.”

If you would like to learn more about how to support the MCV Campus through a charitable gift annuity, please contact Jason Chestnutt, CFP®, assistant vice president of planned giving, at 804-828-1671 or chestnuttjr@vcu.edu.