Personal Giving Stories

It’s no surprise that Howard Grundy ’70, M.D. ’74, Res ’78, is looking to the future. After all, he’s a maternal-fetal medicine subspecialist, so he’s accustomed to thinking ahead to an expectant patient’s delivery and postpartum care.

Grundy is planning ahead with his giving, too. He recently made two $50,000 gifts to the University of Illinois to establish two deferred charitable gift annuities. While he’s made cash contributions to the University in the past, he felt a deferred charitable gift annuity, which will give him an immediate tax deduction and a higher rate of return when he begins receiving guaranteed lifetime income in retirement, was the best way to give a bigger gift to the University where he spent 11 years of his life.

He specified that half his gift be used for ultrasound equipment in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the College of Medicine at Chicago. The other half will go toward biofuels research at the Center for Advanced BioEnergy Research in the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences at the U of I at Urbana-Champaign.

Grundy, who grew up in rural DeKalb, says he made his gift in gratitude for the University of Illinois giving him an excellent education and scholarship support. His mother was a steelworker and his father worked in a piano factory, and he had no way of paying the tuition at private universities. “I owe my career success to my many years of study at the University of Illinois,” he says.

As the president of Maternal-Fetal Medicine Consultants of Illinois in Orland Park, where he specializes in complicated pregnancies and prenatal diagnosis, Grundy understands the importance of the department of obstetrics and gynecology having the most advanced ultrasound equipment possible and the financial challenge of regularly updating the technology. “It’s a constant battle,” he says. “I’m sure the department will have an ongoing need for funds for quite a long time.

“Part of what’s wonderful about delivering babies is that their whole life is ahead of them,” he reflects. “They’re our future, and I wanted to make a gift that will provide for future needs, both for me and for the University.”

The U of I Foundation gift planning staff is pleased to answer your questions and offer assistance at any time. Please contact the Foundation to learn more.