As members of Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center's Board of Ambassadors and longtime supporters of groundbreaking cancer research, Jeff and Ethel Maxwell can honestly say they're well-versed in the breadth of the Hutchinson Center's work and mission. But it wasn't always that way. 

"Like a lot of people who live in Seattle, my initial impression was of the Hutchinson Center as a place where people go for cancer treatment," Jeff said. "However, treatments such as bone-marrow transplantation are just the tip of the iceberg in terms of the cutting-edge science that's going on here. We didn't really appreciate the extent to which it is first and foremost a research institution."

Jeff, who chairs the Center's Planned Giving Advisory Committee and is a partner with regional CPA firm Moss Adams, eventually found himself so compelled by the Center's work that he followed the advice he gives clients -- by carefully researching, then remembering the institution of his choice in his will.

"I had done planned giving work for other organizations before, but when I got to the Hutch, it was not only a situation where I was giving some assistance to the philanthropic efforts in general but I found myself really caught up in the mission of the Center," he said.

Once the decision to make a planned gift has been made, additional thought needs to be given to the particulars of the gift. "A person who is going to make a substantial bequest should have a strong sense of where his or her dollars are going to go. Are they going to be focused on a particular area of cancer, for instance? Or would it be broad-based support for the institution? Neither is right or wrong, but something that the person should know, or choose," he said.

"There can be some tremendous income tax advantages, too. Depending on the nature of the property that's being given and the potential income tax that might be generated if the property were sold, you can actually come out well ahead by making a planned gift of property rather than making an outright cash gift."

Maxwell strongly recommends that prospective donors seek out knowledgeable professionals to help with the details of a planned gift. "Don't try this at home," he said. "These are intricate and sometimes complex arrangements, and there are a number of attorneys, trust officers and CPAs who focus their practice in this area, as well as very highly skilled staff in the Hutchinson Center's development office to help people make these gifts." 

Perhaps best of all, planned giving may have a tendency to perpetuate itself through future generations. The Maxwells are finding their choices have already impacted the way their children think about philanthropy.

"Our children all know the extent to which we've included the Hutch in our estate plans," Jeff said. "We like to show them what we're doing in order of philanthropic giving. Younger generations who have a good appreciation of their families' mission and legacy and commitment to philanthropy tend to do better with whatever it is they inherit, whether it be large or modest."