Notre Dame has always played a major role in Phil and Susan Calandra's story. The couple met as freshmen in 1969 when Phil, a Notre Dame Finance major and rugby player, and some of his friends ran into a group of Saint Mary's students by the Sorin statue on campus. One of the women, Susan, an Economics and Business major caught the eye of Phil. He offered to walk her back to her Saint Mary's dorm, and they began dating soon afterwards. The couple married in 1974, two years after their college graduations.
In their initial years of marriage, the Calandras moved around quite a bit, but in each new location they found Notre Dame and Saint Mary's alumni clubs giving them instant access to friendships and strengthening the ties to their alma maters. The Calandras also stayed engaged with Notre Dame through their gifts to the Sorin Society and Men's Rugby Program over the years, as well as gifts to Saint Mary's.
Susan recalls how her father, John Scherer, a '43 Notre Dame graduate, taught her to give back. Higher education has been a natural priority of the Calandras' philanthropy as they see a quality Catholic education as the key to solving many of the planet's most critical challenges.
In 2016, the Calandras made the decision to establish a Charitable Remainder Trust (CRT) at Notre Dame. The Calandras used highly appreciated stock to fund their CRT. By doing so they enjoyed significant income tax benefits relating to capital gains and charitable donation deductions. In addition, Phil and Susan designated most of the remainder so that, upon termination of the trust, these funds will further research on Niemann-Pick Type C disease through the APMRF.
When asked about their decision to make a CRT gift, Phil and Susan said, "The old adage that 'you can't have your cake and eat it too' does not apply to making a planned gift to Notre Dame. Our CRT gifts have delivered, and will continue to do so long into the future, significant financial benefits to both the University and our family.
In addition, we have the pride and joy of knowing that in the future, our assets will be put to good use by the University to cure diseases and educate tomorrow's leaders. We have concluded there is no better way to share our treasure."
Thank you, Phil and Susan, for believing in the mission of Notre Dame and giving back to be a force for good in the world.
