The De La Salle Advancement Office is starting off the new year with a renewed focus on its planned giving program. As part of the department’s increased emphasis on landing major gifts that will benefit the long-term future of the school, De La Salle has launched a new website to accompany its vibrant Brother George Synan Society for planned giving.
The website will serve as a one-stop shop for all things related to the DLS planned giving program.
Among the myriad of services it offers, it provides vital information to men and women on how to leave DLS in their will and aids individuals in setting up estates and insurance policies.
Planned Giving Director Dennis Koch, ‘94, views the recently launched website as a difference-maker for De La Salle in its fundraising efforts.
“A planned gift is one way that a person can leave behind a legacy, his or her mark on the world,” Koch said. “It is the last chance a person has to express what really matters to them. We know that many alumni care deeply about De La Salle, and leaving a gift to the school tells the world just how much De La Salle meant to them.”
If you choose to make a planned gift to De La Salle, you effectively become a member of the school’s Planned Giving Society. The society is named after former longtime DLS teacher and administrator Brother George Synan, FSC.
The late, beloved Br. George, who spent 73 years as a Christian Brother, was the living embodiment of the Lasallian way. Just as the school’s founder, St. John Baptist de La Salle, made it his life mission to make sure that "no boy (would) be turned away from an education because of a lack of funds," Br. George did the same during his many decades of service to De La Salle.
- Brother George Synan, FSC.
Br. George, an exemplary leader and role model to a variety of past generations of Pilots students, transformed the lives of countless number of young men during his time at De La Salle. And now, the school aims to preserve his legacy via the Brother George Synan Society for Planned Giving.
This society, which was established in 2008, currently possesses approximately 60 members. By the time of the school’s 100-year anniversary in 2026, the goal is to have 100 members.
You can start the process of making a planned gift today by clicking here.
Russ Agosta, ‘64, one of the charter members of the Brother George Synan Society and a longtime DLS supporter, believes planned giving is an essential component for ensuring that De La Salle – which opened its doors in 1926 – stays alive for another 100 years.
“Planned gifts are more sizable and well-thought-out, plus express a firm desire to benefit the charity and make a difference,” Agosta said. “It puts you in a position, in case something happens to you, where your heirs will know what you want to do with your money, and it’ll get done.
Leaving behind a planned gift to De La Salle has never been as easy as it is today.
Along with the services mentioned above, the school’s new planned giving site features links to a free estate-planning guide, a series of video instructions on bequest language, and a will planner.
In addition to the website, Koch works closely with estate-planning attorney Frank Briguglio, ‘02, financial planner Jim Chapman, ‘14, and insurance agents Kevin Mitzel, ‘11, and Ron Mitzel, ‘78, to assist alumni with any questions they may have when deciding whether to leave money behind to De La Salle.
Kevin Mitzel, ‘11
DLS Advancement Director Greg Esler sees the site as adding to the already robust nature of the school’s planned giving program.
"Launching our new planned giving website marks a significant step toward transforming De La Salle Collegiate,” Esler said. “Dennis Koch and I are presently working with Christopher De Trempe, a gift planning program director from the University of Notre Dame, to take our planned giving program at De La Salle to the next level.”
Esler continued, “As a department, our mission is not solely focused on bettering the state of the school today. It’s also focused on the growth and sustainability of De La Salle over the next 100 years. To me, it’s the only way in which we can properly preserve the legacy of the school’s founder, St. John Baptist de La Salle.”
If you have any questions regarding the school’s planned giving program or would like to make a planned gift today, please contact Dennis Koch at dkoch@delasallehs.com or 586-541-6221
CLICK HERE to visit the new planned giving website.