Donor Stories
Thomas A. Edwards
Georgia Tech is fortunate to have a friend in this loyal alumnus and centenarian. Tom Edwards, EE 1928, holds the record for the most charitable gift annuities with the Georgia Tech Foundation—thirteen! Tom funded his first gift annuity with us in 1998, and has been supporting Tech in this way ever since.
Tom grew up in Florence, Alabama, and came to Georgia Tech in 1924 with his best friend, Alexander Berger. In their senior year, he and Berger invented a radio that was presented at an electrical convention. When the Atlanta Journal Constitution reported on the invention, the wire services picked up on the story, and Tom had five job offers when he graduated. Tom started with General Electric in 1928, and spent his entire career with the company.
During the 1940s and 50s, Tom was a part of the GE magic shows that were so popular, taking the show on the road all over the Northeast. In the course of his career, he also had the opportunity to spend time with President Eisenhower and Thomas Edison.
Tom probably also holds the record for having taken the most cruises. By 1998, he had been on sixty cruises, so by now that number must be approaching his own age! Shortly after retiring, Tom also took a six-month, round-the-world cruise aboard a freighter. He has seen the Carribbean, the Amazon, India, and many more exotic locales on his journeys.
This well-traveled gentleman has been supporting Georgia Tech with an unwavering devotion since 1978. His first major gift was a pooled income fund gift, which was followed by 17 more such gifts. Tom has designated these to support the Class of 1928 Memorial Fund and also for unrestricted endowed support of the Institute. Then, when Tom discovered the promise of charitable gift annuities, he switched gears and started making gifts in this way.
The charitable gift annuity, a life income gift, makes sense for Tom. By giving the Georgia Tech Foundation appreciated stock (accumulated at a low cost basis over his career with GE) to fund his gift annuities, Tom saves a portion of the capital gains taxes that would be due if he were to sell the stock. Plus, a gift annuity pays him a fixed percentage of the gift amount for his lifetime, providing an income stream on which Tom can keep on cruising. After Tom receives lifetime income, his charitable gift annuities will support Georgia Tech through the Thomas A. Edwards, EE 1928 Endowment Fund for the unrestricted support of the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering.
Georgia Tech helped Tom on his way to a life of opportunity and success, and charitable gift annuities are Tom's way of helping Georgia Tech seize opportunities that will arise in the years to come and continue along a successful route.
