Commitment to Northwestern Basketball Inspires Planned Gift

Rory Clark ’76 provides for future student-athletes with a charitable remainder trust

“My favorite memories of Northwestern are all from my time with the basketball program,” says Rory Clark ’76, who served as the senior team manager as an undergraduate student. As part of the team, Clark formed strong friendships with coaches and players, and learned lessons that have continued to shape his life and career. In gratitude, he has committed to making several planned gifts to benefit Northwestern Athletics, including a charitable remainder trust.

Clark, who grew up on Chicago’s South Side, was not a basketball fan when he came to the University. He loved sports—he had been a bat boy for the Chicago White Sox and enjoyed hockey—and was inspired to become involved in Northwestern Athletics after he saw a classmate wearing a letter jacket.

During his junior year, 1974, Clark joined the basketball team as a manager, taking on a range of responsibilities—from cleaning locker rooms and making Gatorade to maintaining equipment and scoring games. He enjoyed traveling with the team and spending hours analyzing game films with coaches and teammates. Ultimately, he graduated from Northwestern with two letter awards of his own.

Enduring Friendships

“It was amazing to be part of a team, to learn the game of basketball from Head Coach Tex Winter and Assistant Coach Rich Falk, and to grow into men with my teammates,” Clark says. He also is grateful for the connections Clark made on the team—especially his enduring friendship with basketball icon Billy McKinney ’77, whom he calls “the greatest basketball player Northwestern has ever had.”

Clark is now the owner of an Arizona-based consulting firm as well as Pastor of Barah Ministries, a Christian church. He has chosen to honor both Northwestern Athletics and McKinney’s historic career with several planned gifts, including a charitable remainder trust. With this popular giving vehicle, donors make a gift to the University and, in return, receive income for their lifetime or a term of years as well as significant tax benefits. At the end of the trust term, the University receives the remaining funds.

Giving back

Giving through a charitable remainder trust was appealing to Clark because it allowed him to receive income and tax benefits while providing resources for future generations. “I could give my money to the government in taxes or use it to help people,” he says. “Giving to Northwestern was an easy choice for me. I want to make a difference in every life I touch, one person at a time.”

In addition to his charitable remainder trust, Clark has included a generous bequest in his estate plan and made a pledge to benefit Northwestern Athletics. Together, Clark’s gifts will create the Billy McKinney Balcony within the Trienens Performance Center—a student-athlete training facility on the Evanston campus—and support other Athletics facility enhancements. “I like the idea of a gift that keeps on giving,” Clark says. “When a student-athlete walks into practice, I hope that they are motivated by seeing the names of those who came before them, people committed to being winners in life.”

Learn More

Contact Northwestern Gift Planning at 800-826-6709 or giftplanning@northwestern.edu to discover the many benefits of a charitable remainder trust or other planned gift to Northwestern.