By JOHN PAWLAK
Advisory Board Member
UNM-Los Alamos
Okay, first of all, this letter has nothing to do with a penny. Absolutely nothing. Now, that being said, let’s talk about the penny. Due to the increasing price of copper and production, it costs four cents to mint/distribute a penny. Leave it to our government to lose money by making money, eh? 2025 will be the last year in which we mint the penny. Will this change the meaning of “A penny for your thoughts”?
OK, I didn’t want to talk about the death of the US penny, but rather about something more personal, your death. But let’s be honest, saying “Let’s talk about your death” is a lousy way to start a conversation. I’ve tried doing that in the past and found I got invited to far fewer parties!
So let’s talk about dying. When we die, we leave behind loving families, good friends, and great memories of a great community. Additionally, we leave behind an estate. And yes, as you already suspect, I’m going to ask you to leave some of that estate to our community! But not much. Very little in fact. I’m asking you to be “in for a penny”.
First, let me go into “commercial mode” for a minute (don’t run away!), then I’ll be back to my normal self (if such a thing exists).
The UNM-LA Endowment Fund #610777 (EIN 85-6000642) supports the long-term stability and growth of the UNM-Los Alamos campus. A key component of this fund is the Title V grant, which provides federal funds that match donations to the endowment dollar-for-dollar up to $250,000 over five years. Your donation is matched dollar for dollar!
Okay, so here’s my schpiel (yes, I had to look that up to get the spelling):
Donating to charitable funds is a very personal decision. There are so many deserving charities, it’s hard to choose who to give to. Estate planning is very important. Don’t wait until the last second to start!
Seriously, do not wait until the last second! That’s really not wise.
I’m asking you to use my “one-percent solution” for helping out the UNM-LA Endowment Fund. It’s just that … leave one percent! If we all left one percent, just think of how far that would go towards having our local university continue to excel in its work.
Of course, you can leave half a percent, or two percent, or some set amount. There are lots of numbers on the number line to choose from.
My wife and I have included the UNM-LA Endowment Fund in our estate planning. The reason is simple: our local university is an integral part of the community. In addition to its impressive academics, UNM-LA provides community education programs, an adult learning center, community internship collaborations, career counseling, and many other community-related services.
Donating via the Los Alamos Community Foundation is a wonderful option. Their team works hard to support local activities and they make it easy to contribute to the Community Endowment for UNM-LA. https://alamos.fcsuite.com/erp/donate/create/fund?funit_id=1006
For more information, go to: https://losalamos.unm.edu/about/giving-to-unm-los-alamos.html … and THANK YOU for supporting UNM-LA!