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Blazina's Beneficiary Designation Supports a GREAT, Local Cause: St. Pat's
John E. Blazina '74, a CPA and Certified Financial Planner, has been a generous supporter of St. Pat's and a consistent proponent of its mission. Not only has he been generous to the school on an annual giving basis, he has also included St. Pat's as a beneficiary of his rollover IRA-a planned gift which automatically qualifies him for membership in our Anam Cara Heritage Society. We recently caught up with John and asked him a few questions about his willingness to support St. Pat's, both on an annual basis and with a planned gift. Those questions, and John's answers, follow.
What inspired you to make a planned gift and to engage in consistent annual giving to St. Pat's?
I named St. Pat's as a beneficiary of a Rollover IRA back in 2004. After re-connecting with St. Pat's in 2013, it became apparent to me that St. Pat's not only needed consistency and growth in annual giving from both current and new benefactors, but also an increase in planned gifts and endowments in order to sustain its educational mission.
What steps did you take and what were your goals in making that planned gift and to engage in consistent annual giving to St. Pat's?
My wife and I recently developed, over time, a strategic plan to address charitable giving in a more comprehensive manner. We vetted St. Pat's from a charitable standpoint, the outcome of which was to not only retain our planned gift to the school to benefit it in the future, but also to engage in consistent annual giving at an increased level in order to step up and do our part currently as benefactors. Our decision to engage in charitable giving, both currently and in planning for retirement, has resulted not only in current and future tax saving opportunities, but more importantly, has given us both a rewarding feeling of personal satisfaction that we are using our financial resources, on loan from God, to support GREAT causes like St. Pat's on a local and grass roots level right here in Chicago.
Why does the mission of St. Pat's matter to you?
St. Pat's admirable mission of providing an outstanding faith-based/private educational opportunity to so many young men in their formative years leading up to adulthood is indeed a mission to which both my wife and I are firmly committed. Private high school educational costs are more than 30 times higher (and rising) than when I attended St. Pat's back in the early 70's. The passion to the mission of St. Pat's, which so many administrators, teachers, staff, benefactors, and a host of others demonstrate in so many ways, is truly remarkable. We hope and pray that we can continue to be a small part of the shared mission ensuring St. Pat's is a viable institution for many decades to come.
