Brandon T. McCrayIn January, I lost one of the best people in my life – my grandmother who helped raise me. From instilling in me a sense of right and wrong to teaching me how to treat others, grandmother truly shaped the person I am today. She changed my tomorrow for the better.
As the chief fundraiser for the Medical College of Georgia, I have the privilege and pleasure of meeting many of you who change tomorrow for the better in the ultimate way: saving lives and curing disease. I have heard you say that MCG made your life’s work possible.
In August 2022, I came to this university from Florida, where I worked for over 25 years in higher education and health care philanthropy, including leadership posts at the University of North Florida and Florida State University. While Florida has six public medical schools, Georgia has just one.
As the state’s only public medical school, the Medical College of Georgia is the leading provider of Georgia’s physician workforce, graduating the largest number of doctors of the four medical schools in the state. As you well know, Georgia’s medical school is more vital than ever.
Based on my fundraising experience at two academic medical centers – Meharry Medical College in Nashville and University of Florida College of Medicine/Shands Jacksonville Medical Center – I can assure you that MCG would not be where it is today without the generous support of you, our MCG alumni.
Your gifts support our medical students, residents, fellows, faculty and staff. Your gifts help fuel research and foster groundbreaking discoveries that lead to better treatment and care in the future. Ultimately, your gifts help MCG provide quality patient care for your family, friends and neighbors.
In short, your philanthropic partnerships change tomorrow for the better. And there is more than one way to give – I like to talk about the three levels of giving: (1) an annual gift for immediate needs; (2) a larger, major gift that is more transformative, and (3) an estate gift for more long-term support. Some of the larger gifts can give forever through the form of an endowment. You may be familiar with the term “endowment” but have questions about what this really means. An endowed fund is a permanently invested fund, where a percentage of the earned income spins off every year to fund a general or specific purpose. The principal gift is never touched – it is preserved through careful spending policies – but continues to generate income in perpetuity.
Donors often choose to name endowments to preserve their own legacy or to honor a family member or mentor. Endowed funds can become family traditions, with succeeding generations adding gifts to the principal established by a founding donor.
MCG’s endowment funds are invested for the long term, and earnings from those investments provide a permanent source of funding for scholarships, academic programs, patient care and innovative medical research. Endowments provide the vital financial stability that enables MCG to maintain its excellence in delivering high-quality education, clinical care and science that moves our knowledge about the body and patient care ever forward.
Your endowment can change life for the better, spanning generations, touching countless students, patients and families. If you are not already a supporter, I encourage you to consider partnering with MCG for a better tomorrow.
I miss my grandmother, but the lessons she taught me will live on through the impact I make with you. I am happy to be here and to make Augusta my family’s new home. I look forward to meeting more of the MCG community and making many new friends as we partner together to promote and undergird Georgia’s one and only public medical school.
Brandon T. McCray, Vice President for Development
Philanthropy & Alumni Engagement
Augusta University
706-721-7191
brmccray@augusta.edu
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3 WAYS TO SUPPORT MEDICAL COLLEGE OF GEORGIA
Here are three main ways to give back to the Medical College of Georgia – annual, major and estate gifts. Here is more information to help you decide the best way to partner with MCG.
- Annual Gifts
Annual gifts are those charitable donations that help MCG meet the needs of the day. Donors who give annually to MCG have the unique opportunity to immediately put their contribution to work for MCG and its students. You may designate your gift to support students, faculty, research or any of MCG’s departments, programs or units, or simply allocate it to MCG’s greatest needs. - Major Gifts
Major gifts are deliberate, larger gifts of $25,000 or above – the kind of philanthropy that solves a major problem or meets a specific or substantial need. Of significant impact is a major gift that creates an endowment. Endowments last forever. The principal of your donation is invested, and the earnings are used to fill the purpose of your choosing. Named endowment opportunities start at $50,000. You may choose to create and name an endowed fund for a scholarship, a residency education fund, research, academic chair, a lectureship, patient care or other vital purposes. You may gift your endowment as a single gift or spread the payments over up to five years in the form of a pledge. For example, the minimum gift to create a named scholarship is $100,000, which can be given as a $20,000/year pledge over five years.
- Estate Gifts
These are what we often call legacy gifts or ultimate gifts. The simplest form of a planned gifts is the bequest. You simply indicate that you want to leave something to MCG through your will. Other ways to leave a legacy gift include creating a trust or charitable gift annuity; naming MCG as beneficiary of your retirement or life insurance plan; leaving or donating tangible personal property, such as real estate, artwork or antique furnishings or transferring stocks or bonds to MCG. Estate gifts often create endowments such as an endowed chair, but also can be directed to immediate, impactful use.
Let our philanthropy experts help you decide the best way to partner with MCG.
Please reach out at philanthropy@augusta.edu or 706-721-4001 to schedule a personal visit.
