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Charitable gift annuities provide reliable returns

Richard Paegelow

Several years ago, Richard Paegelow, Glendale, Calif., was helping his mother, Vivian, with her finances, seeking stable income to meet her needs. A magazine advertisement describing charitable gift annuities caught his eye.

“One of the fears of seniors is outliving their income,” he said. “This looked like a good investment.” Unfamiliar with gift annuities, she hesitated, so he offered to add $5,000 if she put in $10,000. 

Richard Paegelow

Ultimately, Vivian Paegelow established gift annuities with three charities, including KU Endowment, and they began paying her back immediately. Upon her death in 2012, her annuities at KU supported the Charles Stansifer Fund, in the Center of Latin American Studies.

Richard thought the investments paid off. “They maintained her income for several years when interest rates dropped,” he said. In the process, he became interested in gift annuities for himself, with deferred income, and now has established eight annuities with KU Endowment. They ultimately will support KU’s study abroad programs.

Richard received a B.A. from KU in 1969 in Spanish and Latin American Area Studies. A Fulbright Scholarship supported his graduate studies in Quito, Ecuador, and he earned an M.A. in political science from KU in 1972. After earning an MBA from Columbia University, he worked in banking and management consulting.

Since 1991, he has owned and managed Inline Translation Services Inc., in Glendale. The company specializes in translation of written material from English to other languages and serves private, public and nonprofit clients operating worldwide. English-to-Spanish translations account for half its volume.

“In 1967, during my junior year, I studied in Costa Rica,” he said. “I had two full semesters with a host family, really learning the language and culture. It was truly life-changing. None of this would have been possible without that study abroad and language immersion experience.”

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