FSU was the big school Jim Monahan was looking for as a young student on campus. A native of Jacksonville, Florida, Jim had dreams of attending Florida State University. Once in Tallahassee, he enjoyed life as a student and a member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity. After graduation, Jim spent the next 34 years successfully working in banking with First Union National Bank, Regions Financial, and Hancock Whitney Bank and enjoyed the majority of his banking career in the private wealth management area. He recalls feeling lucky that his entire career was in his hometown of Jacksonville. A hop, skip, and a jump away from Tallahassee, Jim has visited campus many times since graduating with a B.S. in finance in 1989 and enjoyed countless football and basketball games. He notes that “while the campus has changed significantly over the years, [he] still sees some of the same classroom buildings and dorms he remembers from the 1980s.” FSU was part of Jim’s philanthropic mission long before he began considering his alma mater as part of an ultimate gift in his estate. As he began planning for retirement and beyond, it was his intention to name several charities and other entities in his estate, including Florida State University. He took great care in the inclusion of Florida State because he felt that after graduating, the “education and experiences in Tallahassee helped prepare [him] for the next phase of [his] life, not to mention the great time [he] had throughout the four years at FSU.” While in the process of updating his estate plan, he accessed simple and convenient tools publicly available to him through FSU’s gift planning website and then reached out to the FSU Foundation to happily share his intentions. A savvy man in finance, Jim understood the simplicity of using his IRA as a way of giving to FSU through his estate. No matter your age, you can designate Florida State University as the beneficiary of all or a percentage of your IRA and it will pass to FSU tax-free after your lifetime. It’s simple, just requiring that you contact your IRA administrator for a change-of-beneficiary form or download a form from your provider’s website. Jim worked with Ashley Lainhart in the Office of Gift and Estate Planning at the FSU Foundation on ways to make an impact, ultimately designating a portion of his IRA to two specific areas of personal interest at FSU—the College of Business and Seminole football. Jim can rest easy knowing the charities he loves and benefited from are part of his estate plan. Retired in 2022 and enjoying his days fishing, Jim remains loyal to FSU and feels confident that his legacy will carry on through his charitable giving. Back © Pentera, Inc. Planned giving content. All rights reserved. Disclaimer