News item:
“A student-athlete who helped build the foundation of the University of Notre Dame's perennially powerful women's basketball program has joined with her husband, also a former student-athlete at the university, in making a $5 million gift to their alma mater to endow the Fighting Irish program's head coaching position, the first endowed coaching position in Notre Dame's history.”
This extremely nice and generous act made headlines a few weeks ago. It happens to concern a sports team that I started following closely five or six years ago (see blog post of April 5, 2012, “Best in the world”; in sum, women’s college basketball is the embodiment of what college sports should be all about.)
My reaction to this news quickly strayed from its actual impact (and the reverence its benefactors feel for ND Head Coach Muffet McGraw) to the thought, “Wow, what must it be like to have $5 million to donate to something or someone you hold in highest regard?”
There is no chance now, in my retirement/geezer years, that I will ever earn enough to be able to give away multi millions. And even winning your standard lottery amount is not likely to put me (or anyone, really) in such a position.
Any sudden influx of money would need to be gigantic — say in the mid eight figures, like $50 million — before your average person would start thinking of giving away large sums. Winning a relatively modest amount — in the $10-15 million range, say — normally just means shoring up or augmenting one’s personal situation.
In my case, that would include stuff like: a new home in a warm climate near the ocean; new cars for the entire family; college funds for the grandkids; gifts to my closest living relatives to ease their lives; a private plane to eliminate the need to ever go in a commercial jetliner except for overseas trips; a driver for when I reach that age of not wanting to fight traffic or deal with car issues; a caretaker for my home, if I remain stuck in Upstate New York in my old age; front-row tickets to a World Series game.
That might leave some smaller amounts to donate to favorite causes, like public radio, local non-profit organizations, my college or high school alma maters and those of my sons.
But, now, just for fun, let’s take this monetary dream to the next level: What if I did somehow win one of those incredible lottery amounts, like $100 million or more?
Of course, I could still be selfish and simply invest anything I wasn’t going to spend right away. That way, my family could be set for generations.
But I’d like to think that I could find a spare $5 million or so to spend on a special cause or project. Here are some that come to mind:
** As a young boy, I always dreamed of having my very own baseball field. Then, as a young parent of a budding Little Leaguer, the fantasy became: Win the lottery and build a lighted multi-sports field for my town. There would fields for high school baseball and Little League baseball, complete with real dugouts like those found at Major League Baseball parks. Fields for soccer or lacrosse also would be built. I would spend my retirement years as the groundskeeper.
** I also would love to give millions to our local hockey/skating community, which was so important to my sons growing up. The money could go either for a new rink or improvements at our historic old one. One primary goal would be to somehow eliminate those early-morning hockey or figure skating practices that discourage so many youths or parents from taking part.
** In my later years, I have had a devil of a time trying to keep up my swimming routine — a vital part of my geezer fitness regimen — at the few local pools open for public use. So, I dream of putting in a new indoor/outdoor, 10-lane pool, replacing the long-suffering outdoor facility in Clinton. The space is there. The bugaboo would be staffing and yearly maintenance, so some sort of investment would be necessary to generate annual amounts that could augment user fees and fund-raisers by the non-profit operating organization.
** My youngest son’s high school, The Thacher School in Ojai, Calif., was a godsend in his life and, by extension, ours. I would look at ways to establish some sort of lasting program or initiative there. At the same time, my oldest son’s school, Williston Northhampton, was incredibly nice and supportive for him at that difficult teen time and I would like to match any gift to Thacher. I’d also like to help the theater and music departments of the local school my sons attended through the early high school years.
** My own alma maters? Like all high schools, colleges and universities, their need for many millions of dollars seems endless. It’s almost intimidating, like, “What difference does it seem to make?” Tuition costs and other college-related expenses (room and board, computers, supplies) continue to skyrocket. Something needs to be fixed beyond whatever millions I could throw at them. Still . . . I would look at what I could do with a one-time gift from my extraneous funds.
** Likewise, public radio and television can always use more money, and they are institutions that I find personally invaluable. I’d like to find some way to give a gift that keeps on giving, rather than a one-time donation.
I can say definitely none of my new wealth would go to politics or political parties.
For one thing, while I am an avowed liberal (see blog post of March 12, 2014, “Liberal dose”), I am not convinced that any one established party is basically superior to the other, at least to the point that I would throw millions of dollars its way.
They all have their scurrilous elements. They all skew the facts to fit their particular interests, and often those interests are purely monetary or self-aggrandizing. And they are ravenous, going through substantial sums of money every year. Donating to political parties seems to me like pouring money down a rat hole.
However, inside the political world, I could see where some causes (like voter registration or gay rights) could use some money and show a tangible result, like ballot initiatives.
Outside of personal interests and priorities, the pressure for any new multi-millionaire is charities. Dozens come knocking, according to news reports, and each is worthy, from those researching the cause of ALS to groups for Alzheimer’s disease, cancer, heart disease, depression, autism . . .
Compounding the pressure would be contacts from friends or relatives with personal association to the charities or the diseases — or desperate individual circumstances.
Then there are the incredible needs taken on by some multi-billionaires like Bill and Melissa Gates, like world hunger, world ignorance, famines, floods, tsunamis, fires . . .
I’m sure there are many causes and dire needs I’ve never heard of that would come calling once word got out about my millions.
How would I handle that? I can’t say. No sense fretting now about something that is extremely unlikely to happen. I’m just pretty sure I’d figure out something to help a few causes (if I have like $100 million in the bank).
Anticipating this pressure, though, I would make an immediate effort to remain anonymous, keeping word of my wealth as private as humanly possible. That’s a sad but absolute necessity for limiting the anxiety that has been known to drive some lottery winners batty.
And taking this dream to this extreme — actually putting in writing how I may spend a crazy amount of money — makes me realize how crazy such a nouveau riche life would be.
And that makes me wonder if any speculation can be close to accurate. Who knows how we’ll react, what financial advisors would say, who will be contacting us, what precautions we need to take, what taxes will be charged, what money we will actually need to invest, what obstacles or reactions will be there when we contact our favorite charities or go to that governing board for permission to build a lighted field or new ice rink?
Considering all that, I realize someone must be pretty darn comfortable and secure in their wealth in order to give away $5 million, like that couple did for Notre Dame’s women’s basketball program. Just sayin’
I mean, for starters, they had a situation where the woman’s original college coach is still at the university and remains the same wonderful, inspirational and successful person from all those decades ago.
Come to think of it, that rare, if not unique, circumstance probably was what inspired the couple to part with their millions in the first place.
Locally, I’ve read many stories over the years about Hamilton College alumni feeling similarly moved to donate huge amounts to their alma mater — for sports, for arts, for science, for just about every facet of the school, it seems. The campus is packed with buildings or facilities bearing their names.
On a far smaller scale, we once gave money for a seat at the new skating rink at Boston University, where I earned a bachelor’s degree in 1974. The seat was given a little gold plaque with my family’s name on it.
We haven’t been back to the rink in a while (see blog post of March 24, 2014. “There used to be a fanatic”), so that marker may no longer be there.
But I’m guessing the donors of $5 million to Notre Dame will be making regular trips to their alma mater for quite some time to see the benefits of their generosity.
“A student-athlete who helped build the foundation of the University of Notre Dame's perennially powerful women's basketball program has joined with her husband, also a former student-athlete at the university, in making a $5 million gift to their alma mater to endow the Fighting Irish program's head coaching position, the first endowed coaching position in Notre Dame's history.”
This extremely nice and generous act made headlines a few weeks ago. It happens to concern a sports team that I started following closely five or six years ago (see blog post of April 5, 2012, “Best in the world”; in sum, women’s college basketball is the embodiment of what college sports should be all about.)
My reaction to this news quickly strayed from its actual impact (and the reverence its benefactors feel for ND Head Coach Muffet McGraw) to the thought, “Wow, what must it be like to have $5 million to donate to something or someone you hold in highest regard?”
There is no chance now, in my retirement/geezer years, that I will ever earn enough to be able to give away multi millions. And even winning your standard lottery amount is not likely to put me (or anyone, really) in such a position.
Any sudden influx of money would need to be gigantic — say in the mid eight figures, like $50 million — before your average person would start thinking of giving away large sums. Winning a relatively modest amount — in the $10-15 million range, say — normally just means shoring up or augmenting one’s personal situation.
In my case, that would include stuff like: a new home in a warm climate near the ocean; new cars for the entire family; college funds for the grandkids; gifts to my closest living relatives to ease their lives; a private plane to eliminate the need to ever go in a commercial jetliner except for overseas trips; a driver for when I reach that age of not wanting to fight traffic or deal with car issues; a caretaker for my home, if I remain stuck in Upstate New York in my old age; front-row tickets to a World Series game.
That might leave some smaller amounts to donate to favorite causes, like public radio, local non-profit organizations, my college or high school alma maters and those of my sons.
But, now, just for fun, let’s take this monetary dream to the next level: What if I did somehow win one of those incredible lottery amounts, like $100 million or more?
Of course, I could still be selfish and simply invest anything I wasn’t going to spend right away. That way, my family could be set for generations.
But I’d like to think that I could find a spare $5 million or so to spend on a special cause or project. Here are some that come to mind:
** As a young boy, I always dreamed of having my very own baseball field. Then, as a young parent of a budding Little Leaguer, the fantasy became: Win the lottery and build a lighted multi-sports field for my town. There would fields for high school baseball and Little League baseball, complete with real dugouts like those found at Major League Baseball parks. Fields for soccer or lacrosse also would be built. I would spend my retirement years as the groundskeeper.
** I also would love to give millions to our local hockey/skating community, which was so important to my sons growing up. The money could go either for a new rink or improvements at our historic old one. One primary goal would be to somehow eliminate those early-morning hockey or figure skating practices that discourage so many youths or parents from taking part.
** In my later years, I have had a devil of a time trying to keep up my swimming routine — a vital part of my geezer fitness regimen — at the few local pools open for public use. So, I dream of putting in a new indoor/outdoor, 10-lane pool, replacing the long-suffering outdoor facility in Clinton. The space is there. The bugaboo would be staffing and yearly maintenance, so some sort of investment would be necessary to generate annual amounts that could augment user fees and fund-raisers by the non-profit operating organization.
** My youngest son’s high school, The Thacher School in Ojai, Calif., was a godsend in his life and, by extension, ours. I would look at ways to establish some sort of lasting program or initiative there. At the same time, my oldest son’s school, Williston Northhampton, was incredibly nice and supportive for him at that difficult teen time and I would like to match any gift to Thacher. I’d also like to help the theater and music departments of the local school my sons attended through the early high school years.
** My own alma maters? Like all high schools, colleges and universities, their need for many millions of dollars seems endless. It’s almost intimidating, like, “What difference does it seem to make?” Tuition costs and other college-related expenses (room and board, computers, supplies) continue to skyrocket. Something needs to be fixed beyond whatever millions I could throw at them. Still . . . I would look at what I could do with a one-time gift from my extraneous funds.
** Likewise, public radio and television can always use more money, and they are institutions that I find personally invaluable. I’d like to find some way to give a gift that keeps on giving, rather than a one-time donation.
I can say definitely none of my new wealth would go to politics or political parties.
For one thing, while I am an avowed liberal (see blog post of March 12, 2014, “Liberal dose”), I am not convinced that any one established party is basically superior to the other, at least to the point that I would throw millions of dollars its way.
They all have their scurrilous elements. They all skew the facts to fit their particular interests, and often those interests are purely monetary or self-aggrandizing. And they are ravenous, going through substantial sums of money every year. Donating to political parties seems to me like pouring money down a rat hole.
However, inside the political world, I could see where some causes (like voter registration or gay rights) could use some money and show a tangible result, like ballot initiatives.
Outside of personal interests and priorities, the pressure for any new multi-millionaire is charities. Dozens come knocking, according to news reports, and each is worthy, from those researching the cause of ALS to groups for Alzheimer’s disease, cancer, heart disease, depression, autism . . .
Compounding the pressure would be contacts from friends or relatives with personal association to the charities or the diseases — or desperate individual circumstances.
Then there are the incredible needs taken on by some multi-billionaires like Bill and Melissa Gates, like world hunger, world ignorance, famines, floods, tsunamis, fires . . .
I’m sure there are many causes and dire needs I’ve never heard of that would come calling once word got out about my millions.
How would I handle that? I can’t say. No sense fretting now about something that is extremely unlikely to happen. I’m just pretty sure I’d figure out something to help a few causes (if I have like $100 million in the bank).
Anticipating this pressure, though, I would make an immediate effort to remain anonymous, keeping word of my wealth as private as humanly possible. That’s a sad but absolute necessity for limiting the anxiety that has been known to drive some lottery winners batty.
And taking this dream to this extreme — actually putting in writing how I may spend a crazy amount of money — makes me realize how crazy such a nouveau riche life would be.
And that makes me wonder if any speculation can be close to accurate. Who knows how we’ll react, what financial advisors would say, who will be contacting us, what precautions we need to take, what taxes will be charged, what money we will actually need to invest, what obstacles or reactions will be there when we contact our favorite charities or go to that governing board for permission to build a lighted field or new ice rink?
Considering all that, I realize someone must be pretty darn comfortable and secure in their wealth in order to give away $5 million, like that couple did for Notre Dame’s women’s basketball program. Just sayin’
I mean, for starters, they had a situation where the woman’s original college coach is still at the university and remains the same wonderful, inspirational and successful person from all those decades ago.
Come to think of it, that rare, if not unique, circumstance probably was what inspired the couple to part with their millions in the first place.
Locally, I’ve read many stories over the years about Hamilton College alumni feeling similarly moved to donate huge amounts to their alma mater — for sports, for arts, for science, for just about every facet of the school, it seems. The campus is packed with buildings or facilities bearing their names.
On a far smaller scale, we once gave money for a seat at the new skating rink at Boston University, where I earned a bachelor’s degree in 1974. The seat was given a little gold plaque with my family’s name on it.
We haven’t been back to the rink in a while (see blog post of March 24, 2014. “There used to be a fanatic”), so that marker may no longer be there.
But I’m guessing the donors of $5 million to Notre Dame will be making regular trips to their alma mater for quite some time to see the benefits of their generosity.