A Very Special Charitable Remainder Trust

Earl E. Ihle, Jr., 33°
Director of Development

Photo: ©Maxwell MacKenzie, Washington, D.C.

Charitable Remainder Trust (CRT), whether set up in life or in a will, gives you, or people you designate, an income for life or a term of years, and then gives the balance of the trust’s assets to the charity of your choice. To create a CRT, you decide: (1) how much and what type of assets you want to put into the trust; (2) how much income you want to receive each year from the trust; and (3) whether you want the income you receive to vary each year or to be a fixed amount. You also select a trustee.

There are two basic types of CRTs: the Charitable Remainder Annuity Trust (CRAT) and the Charitable Remainder Unitrust (CRUT). The CRAT pays out the same dollar amount annually. The CRUT pays out a fixed percentage of the fair market value of the trust’s assets, valued annually. So, if you want to receive a set dollar amount each year no matter how the investments of the trust perform, you might prefer the CRAT. If you think the assets of the trust will increase over time or are concerned about inflation eating away at your income, then you may prefer the CRUT. Another thing to consider in choosing between the CRAT and CRUT is whether you will be donating all of the assets to the trust when it is set up or if you want to add amounts to the trust over several years. With a CRAT, you must donate all of the assets to the trust when it is established and you cannot add to it later. With a CRUT, however, you can add more assets to the trust at later dates.

Charitable Remainder Trusts, set up in life or in your will, are wonderful ways to benefit the Scottish Rite’s charities. If you are interested in setting up a Charitable Remainder Trust to support the Scottish Rites RiteCare Childhood Language Program, scholarships, or natural disaster relief efforts, please contact Barbara Golden, Director of Planned Giving at 1-866-448-3773 or Earl Ihle, Director of Development, at 1-866-748-3773 for additional information.

The rest of this article discusses a wonderful trust established anonymously by a very special Scottish Rite Mason.

Anonymous No More

by Carl O. Brudin, Jr., 32°

I had a friend who was successful in life and, even though he is gone, having passed away on December 14, 2001, he is still very much around. A member of the Scottish Rite and Shrine in Baltimore, he was, most of all, my trusted friend.

Through my life, I sometimes wondered who really sponsored the local fireworks program, community fairs, and various other charitable causes in the Annapolis/Baltimore area. Often, I would see programs or notices listing the names of large corporations and prominent community leaders. Usually, “Anonymous Donor” would be listed. You don’t find that name in your telephone book, but that person certainly exists among folks we don’t know, men and women who don’t stand up to be identified, but who have a vision of assistance to every need out there.

My friend was such a person. We can call him “Anonymous Brother.” He wanted no accolades or recognitions. Success was measured from within, and his many deeds went unheralded. This Brother was a fellow Rotarian who believed in “Service Above Self.” He also believed in the concept “If you don’t put anything in, how do you expect to get anything out?”

My Anonymous Brother sought to help others by providing the means which would hopefully enable the caregivers to assist the mentally and physically challenged person. He stayed unknown for years. You never knew who was behind curtain 1, 2, or 3, and, when revealed, perhaps in a group photo, he was nearly indistinguishable as part of a large number of philanthropically minded persons. That’s the way my Anonymous Brother was; he wanted to help others, not himself.

Later in life, my friend established a Foundation which would render donations to various organizations. A prime beneficiary was the Hilgenberg Scottish Rite Center for Childhood Language Disorders, a RiteCare Program facility, in Baltimore, Maryland. He understood and felt, for instance, the necessity of a young girl he had met who was in need of a hearing device. As in most things, it took money to relieve the problem, and he delivered the funds anonymously. Before he died, he set up a trust for his ailing wife, and, upon her passing, established a Charitable Remainder Trust to help others through annual payments in perpetuity.

As my Anonymous Brother encountered health difficulties of his own in his later years, his failing health made him even more conscious of the needs of others. Today, through his generosity, substantial funds are remitted annually to organizations to aid persons with medical difficulties, and the recipients don’t even know his name. Last year’s distribution to the Baltimore Scottish Rite Clinic, for instance, was more than $85,000 and will increase as the stock market appreciates.

It is time now, I believe, to reveal the identity of this “Anonymous Donor.” He is my friend, the late Jesse LeRoy Adams, 32° (pictured right). Brother Adams was a member of Pythagoras Lodge #123 in Cockeysville, Maryland, as well as the Scottish Rite and Boumi Shrine Temple in Baltimore. Jesse was a self-made man from the west side of Baltimore, beginning humbly but always striving to succeed. He thought he could make it as a car dealer, but found the Packard and Studebaker lines unpopular with the general public. Jesse and his wife, Hertha, moved to Annapolis, the state capital of Maryland and home to the United States Naval Academy. There, he then tried his hand in real estate and home development. After many years of successful community building, Jess retired, and with his new-found leisure time, he enjoyed hunting big game and traveling the world.

By most measures, Brother Jesse LeRoy Adams was a successful person, and, more importantly to me, he was my friend as well as a friend to countless unknown others. Future beneficiaries of his Charitable Remainder Trust will be helped by his generosity and will never know him. My Anonymous Brother will keep cropping up year after year—that’s what you would expect from a Scottish Rite Freemason.

Carl O. Brudin, Jr. is a member of Tuscan Lodge #202, Towson, Maryland, and the Scottish Rite Bodies and Boumi Shrine in Baltimore. As of December 2004, Bro. Carl retired from his 40 years in the Trust field, most recently as Vice President in the Wealth Management Division of Branch Banking and Trust Company, Annapolis, Maryland. Contacts: 23 West Street, Annapolis, MD 21401; cob.csb@erols.com

- Our Development Team -

Barbara G. Golden, Esq., is the team's Director of Planned Giving. Barbara is an attorney with experience in tax, corporate, and commercial real estate law. She managed a non-profit legal services organization for several years and has extensive experience in fund-raising, grant writing, and program operations. Contacts: Tel. 202-777-3163; Fax 202-884-0183; or call 1-866-GIVESRF (448-3773) Toll Free; bgolden@srmason-sj.org.

Earl E. Ihle, Jr., 33°, is the team's Director of Development. He has been a member of the Fraternity for 30 years and served in 1978 as Master of Lafayette Lodge, #111, Baltimore, Maryland. He is also a member of Boumi Shrine Temple in Baltimore, the York Rite, and a dual member of the Scottish Rite Valleys of Baltimore and Washington, D.C. Contacts: Tel. 202-777-3143; Fax 202-884-0183; or call 1-866-RITECARE (748-3227) Toll Free; eihle@srmason-sj.org. Dr.Thomas M. Boles, GC, is the team's Advisor on Philanthropies. A member of the Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Santa Ana Valleys, he has worked extensively in fund-raising for children's programs throughout our Fraternity. Contacts: Tel. 562-691-4227; Fax 562-691-5327; or call 1-800-SRMASON (776-2766) Toll Free; tboles@srmason-sj.org.