Scott Donahue ’66—Living Up to My End of the Bargain

When I was a student at Choate, I didn't fully appreciate my education. I took it for granted. Only much later in life did I realize how my four years at Choate provided the foundation for my professional and personal successes. Someone once asked me where I'd learned to write so well, and I immediately thought of Choate—more precisely John Lincoln's writing class.

In my senior year, I had the privilege of sitting next to Abraham Heschel at the "Head Table" during Rabbi Heschel's visit to the school; and I've always remembered how he turned to me at one point during dinner and counseled me that "mankind will never die for lack of information but for lack of appreciation." These are words to live by.

I eventually started a community-based law firm. As my business prospered, more success meant more revenue—but it also meant greater overhead: more salaries, larger offices, costly benefits, and a more expensive marketing budget. My profits were largely eaten up by costs … and I often neglected to send Choate more than a token (and in some years, nothing at all).

In choosing to create a gift annuity, I wanted to make up for all those missed years. When I was a student, Choate had never let me down. But as an adult, I felt I had let down the School. In some ways, I felt there was an implicit agreement between the School and me to do what we could for each other; and I hadn't lived up to my end of the bargain. It was time for me to show my appreciation for all I'd gotten from my Choate education.

I've arranged my retirement so I can live on a fixed income. Choate's gift annuity rates represent a significant increase over market rates, translating to a more secure monthly income for me. So, by establishing a gift annuity, I increase my guaranteed monthly income, claim a generous charitable tax deduction, and make a gift to Choate that I would have made anyway as part of my estate plan. I hope my gift will spark some of my classmates to make the same decision.