George H'10 and Dorothy H'10 Hennings

After teaching for many years as members of Kean's faculty, both George and Dorothy retired. While they had saved enough money for retirement, they were concerned about the impact that a drop in the stock market and inflation might have on their savings.

When asked what has inspired Dorothy to give back to Kean, she shared the following: "We wanted to clean up our portfolio and get rid of some stocks that were not paying very well in terms of dividends. We were looking for something that could perform better."

Many years ago, Dorothy spoke with the Vice President of Institutional Advancement at Kean University about establishing a charitable gift annuity. Based upon that conversation, Dorothy learned that she and George would receive a good payout based upon their respective ages. They would also receive a charitable income tax deduction and part of the annual interest payment would be tax free.

George had added, "Not only is the rate that we got on our gift annuity better than what certificates of deposit can bring, but it was even outpacing inflation; thus, our money was really working for us and, of equal importance, upon our passing, the residual from our gift annuities will go toward our endowed scholarship."