Doug and Ann Cassell Combine Lifetime and Legacy Gifts to Support Ripon’s Current and Future Needs

Douglas Cassell ’74 and Ann Devenish-Cassell ’75 both chose to attend Ripon because they were seeking a liberal arts education at a small college. Doug was interested in the ROTC program, and Ann wanted a small school that cared about her as an individual.

“We are passionate about the liberal arts education mission of Ripon,” they say. “We thrived under its emphasis on the individual student and its wide range of curriculum and rich noncourse activity. Each of us came away with a greatly expanded view of the world and the differences among people’s belief structures across the globe.”

In addition to their nearly 50 years of making regular cash donations to the College, the Cassells recently expanded their giving to include donations via pledge schedules and have funded them with qualified charitable distributions (QCDs) from their IRAs. To ensure that their support continues beyond their lifetimes, they have also included a bequest to Ripon in their wills.

They chose to make their current gifts with IRA QCDs in part because of the beneficial tax treatment. These tax-free “IRA rollover” gifts are excluded from gross income and for donors over the age of 73 can count toward their annual required minimum distributions.

“It is our belief that Ripon has both an immediate and a long-term need for funds,” they say. “In general, we have favored unrestricted giving—leaving it to the administration to know best where immediate needs and priorities are. We hope that our near-term and long-term support efforts will sustain Ripon financially and allow it to continue its excellence in liberal arts education.”

Now both retired and living on Cape Cod, Doug enjoyed a 35-year career as a management consultant and Ann worked for 40 years in library services. They say of their time at Ripon: “The constant exposure to new ideas from excellent professors and their continuous focus on critical thinking enriched us and has guided us throughout our additional education and our entire careers.”

Doug and Ann encourage others to consider the legacy gifts they could leave to support future students. “We strongly believe that the ongoing value of and need for robust liberal arts exposure has never been greater,” they conclude. “There are many things we might do with our funds as we age. We don’t believe there is anything more worthy than strengthening the minds of future generations.”