Janet and John Swanson of The Villages, Florida, have what you might call highly diversified resumes. Between them, they've covered library science and rocket engineering, travel coordination and software development, pet sitting and renewable energy.
These days, their charitable giving portfolio looks almost as varied as their careers did. But, as John points out, there's a method to their charitable giving. "I'm in charge of education and Janet's in charge of animal welfare," he laughs.
Janet's love of animals is thanks to her mother, who brought the family's first dog home. Her love of Hadassah also ties back to her mother. "I grew up with Hadassah, and every Jewish woman I knew was active in Hadassah. Certainly everyone in my family was," Janet explains.
Janet's family loyalty to Hadassah dovetails neatly with John's interest in retirement strategy. That's why the couple created a charitable gift annuity with Hadassah, in which they made a gift and receive regular, fixed payments in return. After their lifetimes, the remainder will benefit Hadassah's lifesaving work.
"We consider charitable gift annuities to be very good retirement planning. Growing up, I was a poor farm boy, and running out of money is not something I would ever want to do," says John, whose father died when he was 5. He went on to earn degrees in mechanical engineering from Cornell University and founded a software development company.
The couple met at a New Year's Eve party in 1974 in Pittsburgh, where she was pursuing a master's degree in library science. Today, they celebrate birthdays and anniversaries by donating to charities dear to their hearts instead of giving material gifts.
"When I sold my company, I said I've been given to, and I'm giving it back," John says. "The children have been taken care of, so the rest is going to the various charities in as efficient a manner as I can arrange."
Contact us at (800) 428-8884 or giving@hadassah.org to learn more about supporting Hadassah's future while also planning for your own.