Stefanie Valar ’76 grew up in Franconia, New Hampshire. Her late mother and father, born in Austria and Switzerland, respectively, were Olympic alpine ski racers who met at the 1948 games in St. Moritz. Later, they ran the Sunapee, Cannon, and Mittersill ski schools. Stefanie started working as an instructor at 13 and was certified by the then-Professional Ski Instructors of America at age 17. After graduating from Dartmouth in the first four-year coed class, she made her way to New York City to launch her career. After a decade in Manhattan as a banker for high-net-worth individuals and their privately held businesses, she moved to Lancaster, Pennsylvania, where she continued in banking. Stefanie wrapped up her career as the director of gift planning/legacy giving for Franklin & Marshall College. Outfitted with two new hips, she remains an avid skier.
Stefanie and her husband, Edward Hauck, a Bucknell alumnus, have made legacy gifts to their alma maters. (Gift planning is known by several names, including deferred or legacy giving. Stefanie prefers legacy giving.) Stefanie also advocates for legacy gifts within her class, having served as the Class of 1976’s gift planning chair for 18 years. Her class has set seven consecutive reunion membership records for the Bartlett Tower Society, which honors those who have made a legacy gift.
Why a legacy gift and why Dartmouth?
I’m financially conservative. While my Dartmouth College Fund giving has been modest, I have donated to it every year since graduation. My legacy gift will enable me to be much more generous because I will no longer need the money.
As for why Dartmouth, it has enriched my life immeasurably through treasured friends and a fabulous education. An economics major, my favorite courses were the history of art and the history of architecture. Very liberal arts, right? In addition, I wanted to help discredit the anti-coeducation argument that female alums would be less generous donors than their male counterparts.
Why did you eventually make legacy giving your career?
After 10 years in Manhattan, I ended up in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, as a banker for nonprofits and small businesses. One of my customers was Franklin & Marshall College.
About the same time, I joined the board of Planned Parenthood of Lancaster County, began to learn fundraising, and loved it! I took a job with F&M’s annual fund and was soon moved to major gifts. For the final 7 of my 19 years at the college, I was the director of gift planning/legacy giving. In retirement, I serve as a pro bono development consultant for local community organizations.
Most people want to matter, to leave the world a better place.
Do you enjoy working with alumni who want to learn about legacy gifts?
Absolutely! It’s a “feel good” undertaking. Most people want to matter, to leave the world a better place. Supporting organizations whose work aligns with one’s values is an important way to achieve this. Legacy gifts can empower such organizations to put those shared values into action long after you are gone.
I consider myself a philanthropic coach, a facilitator of generosity. Ski teaching taught me to focus on key concepts and explain them simply and clearly. This is particularly important with legacy giving because it can get complicated, and thus confusing, very quickly. Making this kind of giving easy to understand and accomplish is vital.
What type of legacy gift have you made?
My husband and I made legacy gifts to our alma maters through our IRAs. We are the sole primary beneficiaries on each other’s IRA. When one of us dies, the survivor will make Dartmouth a primary beneficiary.
Is your gift dedicated to a specific purpose?
Through a statement of understanding with the College, I have directed that the gift be added to the Class of 1976 Scholarship Fund because sustained availability of financial aid is important to me. This permanent endowment was established in 1997 with a $10,000 gift from class funds.
What do you feel when you think about how your gift will help future students?
Incredibly happy!
Four Simple Steps to a Legacy Gift from an Expert
Creating a legacy gift can be easy to do and cost nothing, as Stefanie explains here. Importantly, the following is not legally binding, so if circumstances change, beneficiary designations can be changed as well.
My legacy gift was created with retirement plan beneficiary designations. In so doing, my husband, Ed Hauck, and I became members of Dartmouth’s Bartlett Tower Society, which honors all who have made a legacy gift to the College. Here are four easy steps to accomplish this:
- Step 1: Ed, the College, and I signed a statement of understanding (SOU) written by Dartmouth stating that when the second of us dies, the IRA proceeds Dartmouth receives will be added to the Class of 1976 Scholarship Fund endowment.
- Step 2: I went online and made Ed the sole primary beneficiary of my IRA, and Ed went online and made me the sole primary beneficiary of his IRA. Then both Ed and I made “Trustees of Dartmouth College Tax ID 02-0222111 SOU” one of our IRA’s contingent beneficiaries. The SOU tells Dartmouth to reference that document when determining the use of the funds.
- Step 3: Should Ed die first, as the sole primary beneficiary of his IRA, I would transfer those tax-deferred funds into an IRA in my name and designate Dartmouth as a primary beneficiary of it.
- Step 4: After I die, Dartmouth receives its percentage and adds the funds to the Class of 1976 Scholarship Fund as directed by the SOU.
Have questions? Contact Dartmouth’s Gift Planning Office to learn more.