Sports and estate planning have a notable element in common: teamwork.

The University of Kansas has a long record of teams lighting up the scoreboard. Equally strong is the legacy of generous donors who have helped shape KU into the premier institution it is today. A team of advisors can help donors create a plan to support the areas of the university that spark passion.

The players can vary depending on a donor’s goals, and a team can include financial planners, attorneys, tax consultants, KU Endowment and the university itself. All players agree that a strong relationship between the donor and team members is essential to making the donor’s vision for their legacy into a reality.

Cathy Reinhardt, a financial advisor and president of Reinhardt Financial Services Inc., in Lawrence, says her role is to give people the tools they need to give in a satisfying way.

“Because of the relationship we’ve built, I can gauge what’s reasonable for them to give,” she said. “For clients interested in philanthropy, I sometimes push them to up their game.”

A game plan

For Elizabeth Schultz, KU professor emerita of English, making her gifts come to fruition meant working with Reinhardt, KU Endowment and the university. Together, they planned several gifts, including scholarships supporting the humanities and the arts and a distinguished professorship in English.

“Cathy has always been very receptive to any ideas,” Schultz said. “And then she knew how to make them happen.”

Lewis Gregory, senior vice president and private client advisor at Bank of America Private Bank in Kansas City, Mo., finds success in identifying areas where the donor truly feels connected.

“From there, we narrow that so their gift can have a major impact, as opposed to giving to a lot of different entities,” Gregory said. “We next decide the best way to implement it so their giving is effective.”

The vehicles through which someone can structure their legacy are many. There isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach.

Calling the plays

Donors may not know they can create detailed instructions for how a gift is used, Reinhardt said. When gifts are made, donors approve a fund administration agreement that documents precisely how they want the funds to be spent.

“I imagine that some people give very generously, but to KU at large,” Schultz said. “For me, that isn’t as personally fulfilling as it is to designate gifts to very special projects.”

She and Reinhardt worked together to develop specific gifts that benefited areas important to her, notably the Herman Melville Distinguished Professorship in the Department of English, where she was a professor for 34 years before retiring in 2001.

“Working with the department makes it very personal and meaningful to me,” she said. “And anyone can do it. A gift can be given anywhere in the university.”