Bill and Bonnie Chapman Ensure Future Progress with Their Gift of an IRA

Bill and Bonnie Chapman have made the Sarasota Memorial Healthcare Foundation a secondary beneficiary of one of their IRAs.

Belief in the outstanding service provided by Sarasota Memorial Health Care System and a desire to see it continue inspired Bill and Bonnie Chapman to make Sarasota Memorial Healthcare Foundation part of their estate plan, naming it as the successor beneficiary of one of their IRAs.

Philanthropy plays an important role in helping Sarasota Memorial Hospital maintain its ranking as one of the top 100 hospitals in the country, Bonnie says. While the hospital clearly excels in a multitude of ways, philanthropy “takes it up a rung or two.”

Bill and Bonnie are longtime supporters of the Healthcare Foundation, including Bill’s past service as chair of the board of trustees and his current vice chair role on the Leading with Care cancer campaign—which continues to generate support for the planned expansion of the Brian D. Jellison Cancer Institute.

Naming the Healthcare Foundation as a successor beneficiary of an IRA enables a surviving spouse to have access to the IRA account while assuring that whatever funds not distributed to that spouse will be a tax-free gift to the Healthcare Foundation. This is a simple way both to provide for family security and arrange a future gift.

A member of the Healthcare Foundation’s Legacy Society, Bill knows planned gifts can take many forms—and it may be advisable to work with an expert when choosing your best option. But, whatever your choice, he says, “The idea of supporting an organization you care about, even when you are no longer here, makes a lot of sense to me.”