Gift Planning

Donor Stories

Robin Jaycox—Investing in Colgate

Over the course of 35 years, Robin Jaycox '53 invested in Colgate students as director of financial aid. Today Robin is still investing in his alma mater only now he is putting his own money to work.

"Having worked in financial aid at Colgate for all my career, I know what it means to build the scholarship endowment. I personally feel I can do something about it. If we don't do something significant, Colgate is going to lose the middle-income kids."

What Jaycox has done about it is create a number of gift annuities.

"Certainly, the gift annuity is a vehicle in which you can give to the college and receive a guaranteed income in return. I had some securities that had significant appreciation and the gift annuity allowed me to lock in my gains, avoid capital-gain tax, and receive a very competitive interest income," he says.

A history major, all-star soccer player, and ATO as an undergraduate, Jaycox, now an accomplished watercolorist, also studied art for four years with Al Krakusin. "I learned more about life from that man. He was a wild Hungarian with a tremendous sense of humor and a glint in his eye. He could sense in a moment whether you'd done your homework."

Robin has spent only three years away from Colgate since 1949. After graduation and a two-year hitch in the army as an artist-illustrator, Jaycox returned to Colgate to pursue his masters in the preceptorial program. With his degree, he taught high school social studies in his home state of New Jersey but within a year work lured him back to campus as assistant director of admission and student aid. By 1960, he was asked to head up financial aid. Until his retirement in 1993, Jaycox awarded more than $222 million in scholarships, grants, loans, and jobs and came to understand full well the dividends those investments paid.

If Colgate is not financially attainable on your own, you don't take the opportunity for granted. By building the scholarship endowment, we can ensure the Colgate experience for more middle class and low-income students.

The discussion herein is general in nature and may not apply to all individuals. Prospective donors are urged to consult their personal tax and financial advisors concerning the specific consequences of making gifts to Colgate. We would be pleased to discuss, in confidence, ways in which you may support Colgate. These measures may also have an impact on your estate planning.