August 1, 2011
Over the years, alumni Ken ’70 and Sally ’72 Mogren have seen their lives change. In similar fashion, their support for Winona State University has evolved along with their family and financial circumstances.
While their children and careers were young, Ken and Sally were limited on how charitable they could afford to be. Still, there were organizations they wanted to support, and deferred gifts made through their will were a good way to accomplish their philanthropic goals. They dedicated a portion of their estate to the WSU Foundation as an unrestricted bequest.
“In the beginning, we didn’t have a particular passion we wanted to support,” said Ken, president at Winona Agency, Inc. “Our gift to Winona State was unrestricted, meaning the university could use it at their discretion, where it saw fit.”
As their family, careers, and interests have flourished, the Mogrens have revised their estate plans. They’ve been able to increase their support, and they decided to establish the Ken and Sally Mogren Scholarship Fund at Winona State.
The Mogren Scholarship supports student-athletes in two sports with limited scholarship funding, cross country and golf. Ken played on the golf team at WSU and is an avid runner. “We’ve met several of the men and women who have benefited from our scholarship and they’ve been terrific,” said Sally, a former educator. “Our estate gift will increase our scholarship endowment and provide more help to great kids like these.”
Planned gifts, such as that made by the Mogrens, provide flexible and creative strategies for estate and philanthropic planning. Several types, such as charitable gift annuities, provide you with income and then help the university. Many can help reduce your tax commitments. Benefactors can make an immediate gift, for example, by taking advantage of the charitable IRA rollover.
The greatest benefit, as the Mogrens have found, is the knowledge that they are supporting teaching, learning, and discovery at Winona State that is important now and for future generations.
“Winona State has been of special importance in our lives,” said Ken. “The education we received helped us in our careers and as Winona residents, we’ve also benefited from the university’s positive cultural and economic impact on the region. Planned giving is an excellent way to give back.”
The University Advancement staff can work with anyone who would like more details on making their planned gift. Call us at 507.457.5020.
Visit our planned giving website at http://www.winona.edu/plannedgiving.
