Planned Giving

Michael Guarnieri '84 did not let a year pass after graduation without giving back to his alma mater. From his first gift of $125, to joining the President's Circle at the Junior Circle level, to allocating a bequest to the institution in his mid-thirties when he bought his first home, Mike has never hesitated to make Fairfield University a giving priority in his life. "When you're single, life can tend to become very much about you," admits Michael. "So I make a conscious effort to put my financial achievements in perspective. There's a community aspect to success, and in my case I didn't pay the full tuition load because I couldn't afford to as a student. I feel more balanced when I re-pay that debt a little bit every year, giving more as I could so other students can get a break - and then succeed in a chosen career - the same way I did."

In preparing his bequest gift, Mike chose to give a percent of his estate so he would not have to re-think the gift at a later time. "I didn't want it to be complicated," he explains, "and percentages are more flexible than a fixed amount."