Planned Giving
A Gift (to Research)
That Keeps on Giving
WENDY LANG, 81, OF CALIFORNIA, ADMITS
that her family history pushed her to find out more
about neurodegenerative diseases — her mother
had Alzheimer’s and her father had Parkinson’s
disease (PD). She made a commitment to research
by joining clinical studies, including The Michael J.
Fox Foundation’s (MJFF) game-changing Parkinson's
Progression Markers Initiative to find biomarkers
— disease indicators that are critical missing links
in the search for better PD treatments. Wendy says,
“Basically, I was just hoping to help science. I wasn’t
even thinking that I was going to get a disease. It just
never occurred to me.”
Genetic testing identified the LRRK2 mutation and in
2017, Wendy was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease.
“The minute I got my diagnosis, I just researched
and made contact with people,” recalls Wendy. Being
proactive also allowed her to plan for her future and
financial security. One of her decisions was to create a
charitable gift annuity with MJFF.
To Wendy, giving to the Foundation was obvious —
she wanted to be a part of our successes, as well as the
Parkinson’s community that Michael J. Fox has played
such a large role in. Her direct involvement in research
and a charitable gift annuity are something that offered
personal and wide-reaching advantages, says Wendy
— “it seemed like a great thing to do to participate in
research toward a cure, and then to give to MJFF while
getting an income. It’s a win-win situation, it absolutely
is.”
“Basically, I was just hoping
to help science. I wasn’t even
thinking that I was going to
get a disease. It just never
occurred to me.”
21
Spring/Summer 2019
What is a
Charitable
Gift Annuity?
Charitable gift annuities are planned
gifts that enable donors to make
a donation (usually in cash or
stocks) and, in doing so, receiving
a tax deduction and a fixed flow of
income from the charity for the
rest of his or her life. Payments
depend on each individuals age at
the time of the donation. Detailed
information on charitable gift
annuities is available at
plannedgiving.michaeljfox.org.
To chat about the personal benefits
of planned giving with MJFF, please
contact us at 212.509.1524 or at
[email protected].
We look forward to hearing from
you!
Wendy Lang of California
Photo by DeAnn Jennings