Chodorow travels to Florida to meet with parents, alumni

Trip will publicize planned giving, other fund-raising methods With two weeks left before spring vacation, students can only dream about spending time in sunny Florida. Provost Stanley Chodorow does not have to wait. Chodorow flew to Florida yesterday, where he will remain through Friday. But instead of using his time for relaxation, he is meeting with University alumni, donors and parents of current students. Last night, Chodorow mingled with 60 parents of Penn students at a reception at one of their homes in Miami, according to Irvin Hurwitz, director of development and alumni relations for the region. While the development trip is "pretty typical," Hurwitz said, the provost's attendance is actually rare. "It's definitely a help when we have one of the top two people at Penn show their dedication by meeting with alumni," he added. "It just gives the visit and the trip a lot more credibility and substance." Tomorrow night, Chodorow will be attending a "pure alumni relations event" at the Hyatt Hotel in Tampa, according to Hurwitz, where he will talk about the University's plans for undergraduate education and the Perelman Quadrangle. Today in Boca Raton and Friday in Tampa, Chodorow will present a keynote speech at a lunch for members of the Harrison Society, a club for alumni donors. Other than the four planned activities and "a hundred other things we do when we're out there," Chodorow will be meeting one-on-one with alumni donors, Hurwitz said. The Harrison Society recognizes alumni who give money to the University through life insurance policies, by including Penn in their wills or through planned giving projects, according to Tom Hofstetter, associate director of planned giving. The Florida lunches are "road shows" of the University's annual meeting for members of the society on campus, which is scheduled for April 18 this year. Members of the Harrison Society have pledged gifts to the University ranging from $10,000 to $10 million, Hofstetter said. Planned giving provides donors with an opportunity to make a charitable donation and get annual income from their gift, as well as certain income tax breaks. Alumni who make planned giving donations to the University can choose between several annual payment plans. Some are paid a flat percentage of their gift each year. Other donors choose the "pooled income fund," which is similar to a mutual fund, according to Hofstetter. The University invests the donor's money and pays him or her a percentage of the profits from the investment each year. Regardless of the method donors choose, the University retains the remainder of their original gift when they die. The goal of the trip is to raise money for the University, increase alumni knowledge of the administration's priorities and generate interest about projects like the Agenda for Excellence and the Perelman Quad, Hurwitz said.