Text Box: BACKGROUNDER                                                                                                            CONTACT:                                                          Bill Hawkins. President, GRANDgift SYSTEMS (877) 371-4197 Toll Free (512) 371-4197 (o) (512) 371-4198 (f) (512) 470-6475 (c) Bill.Hawkins@MyGrandGift.com     Bill Hawkins Recognizing the unique nature of the nonprofit market, Equitable created a separate wholly-owned division to market its gift-funding and gift-administration product, GRANDgift SYSTEMS.  It tapped Bill Hawkins, shown to the right, the person who invented the product and developed the program, to serve as its president, and headquartered the division in Bill’s home town, Austin, TX.    Bill and his wife raised their children in Dallas, TX.  Because of his experience there as president of the Parent-Teachers Association of The Winston School where the principal responsibility was raising money, with Trinity Christian Academy where his children received exceptional educations and, presently, with similar schools in Houston where his grandchildren are forming social, spiritual and academic foundations, Bill is committed to the education sector in general and to privately-supported schools in particular, especially faith-based institutions.  He has spoken at the Houston Fundraising Summit sponsored by the Center for Nonprofit Success, is an affiliate member of the Austin chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals, and served as a consultant on product development and strategic planning for insurance companies in the U.S. and Canada.    Equitable Life & Casualty Insurance Company Equitable Life & Casualty is one of America’s most unusual and most respected insurance companies.  This is reflected in its: Financial strength Commitment to donor stewardship             Title sponsorship of PROFILES IN CARING   Financial Strength Standard Analytical Services, Inc. is an independent company that publishes an analysis drawn from the annual statutory financial statements filed by insurance companies with state insurance departments.  In     its 2008 report on Equitable, the company is compared to 25 of the largest insurers in the United States in accident and health premiums earned (including, as examples, Aetna, Metropolitan and Hartford) in three   key financial areas.  Their findings are: SOLVENCY:  Equitable has $124.08 in assets for each $100 of liabilities, compared to the average of $107.88 for the 25 comparison companies SURPLUS FUNDS:  Equitable has $24.08 per $100 of liabilities, compared to the average of $7.88 for the 25 comparison companies LIQUID ASSETS:  Equitable has $108.65 per $100 of liabilities, compared to the average of $57.65 for the 25 comparison companies An original copy of the most current report on Equitable is available upon request.   Commitment to Stewardship It may be said that any company could have conceived a program like GRANDgift...that any company     could have heavily invested resources to develop a unique gift-funding product and gift-administration     system for small donors...that any company could have dedicated a Home Office Staff to paying these   annual gifts-checks—for years and years to come—with the same care and compassion the donor would  have used if still here, personally writing the checks themselves.  But they didn't.  Equitable, therefore, is particularly honored to be entrusted with this important responsibility of continuing a donor’s stewardship       in supporting the work of his or her school, church or charity.   National Title Sponsorship of the TV Series, PROFILES IN CARING       As evidenced by GRANDgift SYSTEMS, Equitable has a strategic focus on serving nonprofits—schools, churches, charities—and their donors.  This focus, however, goes well beyond serving nonprofits with GRANDgifts to supporting the national TV program that elevates public awareness of nonprofits: Profiles In Caring.        The series is hosted by former news anchor and two-time Emmy award winner Kimberly Perkins, and spotlights the works of outstanding individuals and U.S.-based nonprofit organizations doing good things here and abroad.        In addition to sponsoring the program, Equitable annually recognizes leadership in the essential humanitarian work of nonprofits with a large memorial, the Ambassador of Caring Award, pictured on the left.   GRANDgift Cost/Benefit Analysis of Gifts Paid Out vs. Premiums Paid In  In addition to installment payouts being a design essential, another was the cost/benefit ratio.  The targeted results were achieved as illustrated in this analysis of gifts paid out vs. premiums paid in for a forty year old female who purchases a GRANDgift policy which will send annual gift-checks of $1,000 each year for 10 years to her school to fund partial scholarships.  Total gifts received by her school will be $10,000.  Total premiums paid in will be $3,414 if she lives and pays all premiums until the policy is paid-up in five years--with her gifts paid out exceeding her premiums paid in by $6,586.  If she passes away during the five-year premium payment period, her policy will pay up instantly with no more premiums due, and her gifts will be paid in full over 10 years as planned.  An analysis of gifts paid out vs. premiums paid in at other ages is available upon request.    The $1,000,000 Plan and The Planned-Gift Diversification Strategy The example above describes one person arranging 10 annual gifts of $1,000 each.  If 100 out of all the   alums, parents, grandparents, faculty, staff and sponsors made similar arrangements, a school’s scholar-  ship-endowment fund would increase by $1,000,000.  GRANDgift strategies may be developed to reach a school’s goal—whether materially smaller or  larger than $1,000,000—in one- two- or three-year campaigns.              In addition to enabling smaller donors to contribute to the long-term financial stability of the      school, the school may have initiated a Planned-Gift Diversification Strategy in which the impact would be minimized if some major donors who have made pledges based on wealth vulnerable to setbacks     experience reversals similar to those that followed oil, real estate and dot.com booms.   # # #   CONTACT:                                                                    Bill Hawkins. President, GRANDgift SYSTEMS (877) 371-4197 Toll Free (512) 371-4197 (o) (512) 371-4198 (f) (512) 470-6475 (c) Bill.Hawkins@MyGrandGift.com www.MyGrandGift.com  2802 Flintrock Trace, Suite 214, Austin, TX 78738     To return to Press Release, click here. To return to Home Page, click here. To request more information, click here. To see more information on Equitable, click here.