What we keep when we give

Some giving is intended to create something new, something that wasn’t there before—a program, a building, a sense of possibility. Likewise, some giving is intended to keep things the same—to make sure that others can have what we had, something we are grateful for in our lives. Andy Whiteley’s planned gift is more than a little bit of both.
 
Andy had a long career in independent education, including a period as CFO at Ridley College before moving to a similar position at RSGC in 1997. His impact here is, if not legendary, then, let’s say, noted. Tell anybody at the College that you spoke with Andy—I had this experience recently—and their first reaction will be a smile, then something like “lucky you” or, as Toni said, “he’s awesome!” Andy made a mark at the school, and you can see it if you know where to look. Like See House. The renovations to that facility are ones he was instrumental in bringing to life. “We called it the big dig,” he says. “There were hundreds of transport trucks taking dirt out of there for about a year while we built the thing.”
 
He admits there were a few headaches, as in any build, but it was needed. “When I got to St. George's,” he says, “everyone said ‘the facility sucks.’ When I look at it now versus what it looked like in 1997, I'm really thrilled.” Andy knew Tye Farrow, the architect of the current build, who at one point served on the board. “I've always been a big fan of Tye and his work. I just wonder why we didn't hire him to be the architect sooner.” Fair enough. “The things he's doing in the senior school, to bring in the natural light—he's basically going to transform a basement school into a pretty nice facility.” Indeed he will.  
 
Andy was a CFO, and he could have easily faded into the background of school life. But he chose not to. “When I first got there, I sat down with the chaplain and I said to him, ‘Look, I was not just the CFO at Ridley. I was involved in the fabric of the school. And my kids went there.’  I said, ‘I don't want to be the guy that just sits in the back office and isn't really seen by anybody.’”  He received some really good advice: go to the chapel services, go to the assemblies. Start there. “So I did,” he says. Which meant he was aware of all the other things going on in the school, and he got involved in those, too. “The kids got to know me not just as a CFO, but as  part of the culture of the school.” You can hear in his voice that he says that not as a point of fact, but as a point of pride.
 
Andy worked with Hal Hannaford for 12 years, and then with Paul O'Leary on an interim basis as assistant headmaster. “I finished up my career the year that Steve Beatty took over.” He had known Steve from his time as RSGC Alumni Association President and as a Governor on the RSGC Board. “I was actually a referee for him when he got the job at Montcrest, which was kind of interesting,” Maybe with more than a hint of regret, he says, “you know, if I was five years younger, I would have stayed working with Steve for five more years. But it was just time for me to hang it up.”
 
When he thinks of his planned gift, those are some of the thoughts that come to mind. He’d worked in a bank early on in his career. He knew what other cultures were like, and he was grateful for what he had here, to be part of something like this. “I've always felt that I owed a lot to the independent school system because I spent 35 years of my life working in it.” 

He also thinks of his kids. “I had four kids at Ridley at one time.” He’s fully aware that could never have been possible had the circumstances been different. “All of my kids got a huge benefit from an independent school education, one that I would never have been able to afford if I hadn't worked in the schools.” They benefited from the financial aid offered to staff and faculty. (At one point he says, “If you think of it, what more ringing endorsement could a teacher give than adjusting their family lifestyle to afford an RSGC education for their son on a teacher’s salary?”)
 
If there is a primary reason behind the motivation to give, that’s it. “My kids got such a huge benefit, and I just love to know that it will continue in perpetuity. That there's going to be some kid who gets an opportunity that his parents wouldn't have been able to afford without a school bursary fund or [help] with incidental costs. Uniforms, textbooks. There are still lots of extra expenses that a parent incurs when their kids go to a school like St. George's.” 

Andy’s planned gift names, in a sense, those who are as yet unnamed: the children of staff and faculty who won’t be able to attend the school without support. “There wasn’t ever a hallelujah moment,” he says. “Your thinking evolves over time, and you begin to think about the fact that you're not going to be around forever, and you've got more money than you need, and you're going to leave it behind to your kids. But you also want to do something that has a lasting impact. My particular sweet spot is tuition assistance for children of faculty and staff. And I guess I'm thinking that this would potentially have a lasting impact for a lot of kids.” 
 
The form of the gift also evolved over time. “Once I got around to some serious estate planning I realized that while there is no inheritance tax in Canada there is definitely a death tax. All tax-sheltered retirement [funds come] into income the day I die and will be taxed at about 53%, meaning my heirs get 47-cent dollars. However, if I bequest a dollar to RSGC it gets the whole dollar, my estate gets a tax receipt and my heirs only lose 47 cents from an asset that they really don’t need anymore. … That life insurance policy I took out in my twenties to cover the mortgage should I die is now redundant. I didn’t die and my kids have homes of their own now. Why not pay back some of the benefits that were given to me and my kids when we needed them?”
 
“So, the ‘why’ for me is to look after the ones I love,” he says, “and in my case that includes RSGC. The ‘how’ is by naming RSGC as a beneficiary of my life insurance policy.  I just hope they will be patient while I live a long and happy life.”
 
So far, so good.

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Andy Whiteley served as Chief Financial Officer and Assistant Headmaster, and retired from RSGC in 2013. He divides his time between Niagara and Minden. He also races cars. “ In addition to my accounting qualifications, I have a license as a professional motor racing driver.” Living in Niagara, he says, “my local track is Watkins Glen.”  Nice.