Bob and Kathy Richards Planned Gift

In May 2012, Bob Richards was heading down the path of needing of a kidney due to polycystic kidney disease, an inherited condition that eventually leads to organ failure. Bob reached out to family and friends, sharing his need for a living donor. Ten people responded, and one was a perfect match – his niece, Roseann Richards-Hines. Less than a year later, he was the fortunate recipient of a living donor kidney from Roseann. And

Since that day, he has not stopped demonstrating his gratitude towards his niece and MUSC. Among his many expressions of appreciation, shortly after Bob’s kidney transplant, he and his wife, Kathy, initiated “The Roseann Richards-Hines Education and Research Fund” in Transplant Surgery with a generous monetary pledge to honor Roseann. The couple has been steadfastly committed to supporting the MUSC Living Donor Program through annual contributions to the fund – creating educational opportunities to help living donors and recipients and supporting leading-edge organ transplant research at MUSC.

Ten years later, Bob and Kathy continue to give back to MUSC. This year was Bob’s most significant gift ever.  As part of a planned gift, Bob decided to contribute from his IRA’s Required Minimum Distribution (RMD) to the MUSC Foundation to continue to support the MUSC Living Donor Program. 

“Now that I turned 72 and have to take a required minimum distribution from my IRA, I had a conversation with Vera Ford, Director of Development in the Department of Surgery,” said Bob. “She guided me towards making a planned gift, using a Qualified Charitable Distribution from my IRA, which satisfies my required minimum distribution without increasing my taxes. It is a great tax-smart way to make an impact for something I’m passionate about – the MUSC Living Donor Program.” Bob set up a distribution of $50,000 per year over the next five years, with plans to repeat the same distribution for the next five years, with the goal to donate $500,000 over the next ten years.

“My wife and I have always had giving spirits, and after my transplant, we knew we wanted to support MUSC’s Living Donor Program. We have seen first-hand the impact of this fund, and that’s a very gratifying way to honor my niece and support MUSC’s efforts” he said.