Gummere’s Gift Annuity Ensures the Future of the Spike Initiative

“Hard to believe the 2021-2022 academic year will be my sixty-first year in higher education in admissions, fundraising, and friend raising,” says Francis B. “Spike” Gummere, Jr., who arrived at Lake Forest in 1968 as the Director of Admissions. Since then, the College has become his second family—and he has spearheaded many initiatives to promote and support Lake Forest, including The Spike Initiative and the Gummere Fellows program.

In addition to his decades of loyal service as a school ambassador, Spike has also led by example as a donor and founder of the Spike Initiative. He is now adding to this endowed program by creating a charitable gift annuity with the College to ensure his support continues beyond his lifetime. “There is a great need for endowment funds,” he says, “and I am in a position to do this kind of thing. Lake Forest is, without question, my charity—more so than my alma mater.”

Spike funded his gift with highly appreciated stock, which provides two additional benefits: a tax deduction in the year of the gift for the full fair-market value and avoidance of capital-gain tax on the appreciation of the asset. “I consulted with Dave Wilber ’68 and Rich Bartolozzi ’86, both of whom are friends and colleagues,” Spike says. “Working with them was very helpful.”

From Boston to Chicago

Spike received his BA in history from Trinity College in 1961 and his master’s in education from St. Lawrence University in 1966. Both he and his wife Judy are Bostonians. “We thought, ‘oh, we'll go to Chicago for five or six years. It's our adventure going west. We'll go running back to New England at some point.’ Well, fortunately, that never happened. She took a position at the Lake Forest public library and just retired a year and a half ago, and I'm still hanging around here.

“I had worked for seven years in New England at two institutions, including my alma mater. In truth, I came here out of tragedy. My best friend had come to LFC two years before in 1966 as Director of Admissions. He died tragically at the age of 29 and the job became open. My boss at Trinity College came to me one day and said, ‘you know, you're a fool if you don't apply for Jake's position.’ ” And the rest is history.

Married 61 years, the Gummeres live in Lake Bluff, less than three miles from campus, and enjoy spending time with their two children and two grandchildren. Spike also enjoys staying connected by attending campus events. “Whether it's athletic events, concerts, or theater productions,” he says, “it is part of the fun of being here and really feeling a part of it.”

The Spike Initiative and Gummere Fellows

In 2016 the Spike Initiative was created in Gummere’s honor to provide scholarship support and to fund other campus programs. “Very kindly, the powers that be allowed me to define what those funds would be used for,” Spike says. “We decided that one third of any gift to the Spike Initiative would go to current support for financial aid, which is terribly important now and always has been. The College has long been a leader in terms of our commitment to financial aid. The remaining two thirds would go to an endowment for admissions.

“About a year and a half into the program, the Vice Presidents for Development and Admissions came to me and said, ‘Spike, we have another idea about this. Since you've created this endowment for admissions, why don't we start a Gummere Fellows program. We need student ambassadors who want to go out and represent the College to alumni.’ Yes, I was and remain humbled and honored, but I confess I loved it. I take my hat off to the students who were involved in its creation and design and to those who have served as fellows. They have made the program the success it has been.”

A gift to fund the future

Spike says he hopes his gift will further enhance and possibly expand the Gummere Fellows program over time. “At the present, the fund can support 12 fellows,” he says. “It would make me very happy to see the Gummere Fellows grow to twice that size or more.”

Spike was inspired to make this legacy gift by his love for the College. The tax advantages were certainly a welcome bonus. More important, he says, is recognizing that one of the great needs of Lake Forest “is the simple reality that we are underendowed.” While current support is an important aspect of fundraising, Spike hopes that those in a position to support endowment will consider what type of legacies they could leave for future Foresters.

“Let your heart be your guide,” Spike concludes. “Think about what is meaningful to you in terms of what you want to support—endowment, a specific program, a department or sport, an activity—anything and everything needs support. The more we can endow financial aid funds, the better. There’s no question of that.”