Bro. William Lloyd Clark, 32°, has created trusts that will benefit the H. J. Casey Scottish Rite Clinic for Childhood Language Disorders of Portland, Oregon, and the Shrine Hospitals.

Brother William L. Clark, 32°, has lived most of his life in California and Oregon. His charitable giving and his initiation into Freemasonry started with an incident in high school. During those years, he worked weekends as a janitor in a trunk factory in Pasadena and noticed that every month six or eight men would come to the trunk factory to visit his boss. Being a curious lad, Brother Clark listened in on their conversation and heard them planning events for DeMolay, the Kiwanis clubs, and the Boy Scouts. These conversations made a distinct impression on him—seeing these established men taking time from their work and families to plan special events for children they didn’t know was just wonderful. He thought, “When I get old enough, I want to join an organization that does similar things for children.” Brother Clark learned they were Freemasons, and on his 21st birthday, he submitted his petition to be a Mason.

As an adult, Brother Clark worked for the Bell System for 41 years, retiring in 1963. He started as a transmission engineer in San Diego, California. One day he visited a friend at a shoe store who wanted to fix Brother Clark up with a friend of his wife’s. He met Elma who was getting teaching credentials, and after a courtship, they married.

William Lloyd Clark, 32°
Painting: Jean Pilk

In 1933, he became the first Bell System exchange manager for Beverly Hills which had just become an independent exchange from Los Angeles. Then the Bell Systems sent him for advanced management training at the University of Washington. At the time of his retirement, Brother Clark was Bell Systems General Commercial Agent for Oregon handling independent company public relations matters in the state.

Inspired by the gentlemen he saw when he worked at the trunk factory in high school, Brother Clark became involved with organizations that worked with children. He was active in the Kiwanis Club and was a Director of Boys Scouts of America, a Director of the Hollywood YMCA, and an honorary member of Boys Club of Hollywood. He also was an elder in the Presbyterian Church, of which he has been a member since 1926. He has always loved boating, fishing, and bird-hunting (primarily pheasants) and was a charter member of the Portland Oregon Trailer-Sailors, a boating club, the Al Kader Shrine Yacht Club, and the International Association of Shrine Yachters.

An avid lawn bowler, Brother Clark was the Past President of the Portland Lawn Bowling Club. In fact, he retired early from Bell Systems in order to compete in a Lawn Bowling Tournament in Australia—he was to go as part of the United State’s lawn bowling team. However, his wife, Elma, developed rheumatoid arthritis, and he stayed behind to care for her. She was a great bowler, the Northwest Women’s Singles Champion, but died in 1983. They had been married for 56 years and had one son, who is a police officer, and several grandchildren.

While Brother Clark is very proud of his work with children and his career accomplishments, he is most proud of being a Mason. In 1926 he joined (and still belongs to) S.W. Hackett Lodge in San Diego. When Brother Clark became a 75-year member, the lodge had a celebration for him and brought him down from Oregon. Brother Clark took his 32° in December 1926, the night before he married his wife, Elma, and is now a member of the Scottish Rite in Portland.

Although it is a bit harder for him to get around, Brother Clark still visits the language clinic in Portland. He is amazed at work done for children at the Shriners Hospitals and at the Scottish Rite Childhood Language Clinics. So, when it came time for him to do his estate planning, Brother Clark felt that these charities were the best place to donate his money.

Many members have expressed a desire to benefit their local Scottish Rite, other than by a gift of immediate cash or property. The Supreme Council has enacted several programs that can help a member support his local Scottish Rite Foundation. For example, a donor can make a future gift to a local Scottish Rite Foundation by contributing to the Scottish Rite Foundation, Southern Jurisdiction’s Charitable Gift Annuity (CGA) program and designating that the balance of the gift, called the remainder, be given to the donor’s local Scottish Rite Foundation after the last income beneficiary passes away. With our Gift Annuity Program, a donor also can divide his or her remainder among the local and national Scottish Rite Foundations, in any percentage he or she elects. For example, a donor can provide for 25% of the remainder to go to a local Scottish Rite Foundation, 25%, to another local Scottish Rite Foundation, and 50%, to the Scottish Rite Foundation, Southern Jurisdiction.

For donors who are over 80 years of age, a CGA offers a higher rate of return than the donors currently can get from certificates of deposit or other similar fixed income investments. Moreover, if a donor has appreciated securities, that donor may be able to defer the tax on a portion of the capital gain he or she would recognize if the security were sold outright. A CGA allows a donor to take a low-yield stock that he has owned for awhile, and donate it to the Scottish Rite Foundation, S.J., for a CGA that pays him an annuity with a higher rate. The income stream from the CGA to the income beneficiaries is based on their ages. And, even better, the IRS considers a part of this lifetime income stream to be a tax-free return of principal.

The minimum contribution to the Scottish Rite Foundation Gift Annuity Program is $5,000. Our Development Office will be happy to run an analysis for you of a hypothetical contribution to the CGA Program so that you can evaluate the benefits of a CGA and make an educated decision about whether it makes sense for you. There is no charge for the analysis, and it does not commit you to making a gift. It is just an example that can give you a better idea of the income stream, tax consequences, and donation that the charity will get from this type of contribution.

Another way for a donor to help a local Scottish Rite Foundation is by making a pledge. Through the Scottish Rite Pledge Program, an individual may pledge to donate to the local foundation a certain sum per year for a period of up to five years or may make a pledge that will be satisfied through a specific bequest in the donor’s will or living trust. If you make a pledge, the Supreme Council will recognize you according to the Scottish Rite Donor Recognition Program for the full amount of that pledge at the time you make the commitment rather than when it is fully paid.

For example, if you pledge $2,000 a year for five years to the Scottish Rite Foundation of Iowa (for example), we will immediately recognize this $10,000 commitment through the Scottish Rite Donor Recognition Program. You will be recognized as a Patron, and we will display your name on a bronze nameplate in the Hall of Recognition. In addition, your name will be inscribed in the Gold Book of Recognition.

An additional way for donors to help their local Scottish Rite Foundations is through bequests in their wills or living trusts. If you decide to add a local Scottish Rite Foundation or the national Scottish Rite Foundation, S.J., USA, Inc. to your will or living trust, make sure that you properly designate the Foundation by using its correct legal name and EIN number. You don’t want to risk having your personal representative or the probate court make an educated guess about what you intended to do with your assets because your will or trust is unclear.

If you want to give a bequest to a Scottish Rite Foundation in your will or living trust, you should find out: (1) the exact legal name of the organization; (2) its address; and (3), most importantly, its federal tax identification number. Many non-profits have similar names, but they have unique federal tax identification numbers. By using the exact legal name of the non-profit organization, listing its correct address and its federal tax identification number, you will eliminate the chance of your estate being distributed improperly. The Scottish Rite Foundation, S.J., USA, Inc. is happy to help any donor who wants to make a bequest to a Scottish Rite Foundation obtain the proper information to do so.

Finally, another way a donor can benefit his local Scottish Rite Foundation is by making a donation of $1,000,000 or more, divided between a local Scottish Rite Foundation and one of the national foundations—the House of the Temple Historic Preservation Foundation, Inc. or the Scottish Rite Foundation, S.J., USA, Inc. We will honor this donor by having the donor’s original oil portrait displayed in the Pillars of Charity Portrait Gallery at the House of the Temple in Washington, D. C. Moreover, the donor’s name will be inscribed on a bronze plaque in the Pillars of Charity Alcove, and the donor will be invited to a private lunch or dinner with the Sovereign Grand Commander. As long as $500,000 of the gift of $1,000,000 or more is designated for either the House of the Temple Historic Preservation Foundation, Inc. or to the Scottish Rite Foundation, S.J., USA, Inc., the donor will qualify for this recognition.

Estate planning requires time and effort, but it will produce peace of mind and many other benefits, financial and personal. We are always willing to help our members achieve their estate-planning goals. If you would like a pledge form, or information about making a bequest, simply call the Development Office and speak with Barbara Golden at 1-866-448-3773 or Earl Ihle at 1-866-748-3227.

- 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.