Couple Uses Insurance Expertise to Create Lasting Gift for Alma Mater

Rand, '85, and Kelly, '86, Harbert have given back to their alma mater in many ways since graduation. They have established a marketing professor fellowship, made numerous donations to the Central Annual Fund serving the university's greatest current needs and, most recently, provided significant support to the UCM Golf program.

Due to Rand's experience in insurance and Kelly's background in estate planning, the couple made the decision to give a planned gift to UCM via life insurance. They liked the idea of life insurance because for a small certain sum, they could give an exponentially larger gift at the end of their lives.

"Early on, we made the decision that we wanted to give both annually and also make a planned long-term gift. We felt life insurance provided the means to accomplish the planned giving portion," Rand says.

The planned gift Kelly and Rand provided the university was funded by a second-to-die life insurance policy. An advantage of second-to-die is that more coverage can be acquired for less premium than on a policy covering a single life. Upon the death of the second spouse, the university will receive the tax-free proceeds of the policy. By gifting in this fashion, the donor receives a charitable contribution deduction for premiums paid, and the proceeds of the life policy are excluded from the donor's estate.

"For those who desire to give a planned gift to the university but have no specific assets to allocate to such a gift, insurance can provide an answer," Kelly explains.

Rand Harbert and Kelly Stoll met at Central Missouri State University. They were both first-generation students from small Missouri towns. Rand came to CMSU on a golf scholarship and majored in graphic arts. Kelly was awarded a full-ride academic scholarship and majored in accounting. Rand was selected to receive the George S. Charno Award, which is given annually to the most outstanding male and female graduates. Kelly, who was a cheerleader for basketball and football, cheering with Rand during his senior year, graduated as valedictorian. Both feel very fortunate to have graduated debt-free.

Following graduation, Kelly worked at KPMG accounting firm and served as a Certified Public Accountant in both audit and tax. In 1995, she started Spectrum Partners, which operates assisted living facilities, and currently serves as the company's president.

Rand worked in pharmaceutical sales and brand management prior to joining State Farm in 1992. He has risen through the ranks of State Farm to become Chief Agency, Sales and Marketing Officer - and was named one of the 50 most innovative CMOs in the world by Business Insider in 2016 and 2017. He was instrumental in establishing the State Farm Marketing and Sales Competition, an annual event that UCM has hosted for more than a decade in which students from across the nation develop and present their marketing innovations for cash prizes. Rand also helped secure corporate funding for the State Farm Marketing and Sales Lab, a block of five rooms on the third floor of UCM's Ward Edwards Building where the competition is held.

In addition to all of these contributions, both Rand and Kelly have given back to the university through service on the UCM Alumni Foundation Board of Directors. Their family legacy continues with their middle son, Ross, earning his bachelor's degree from UCM in spring 2020. The couple is passionate about giving back to their alma mater and agree they wouldn't trade their time at the university for anything.

"I never dreamed that my education would serve me so well," says Rand, who earned the Distinguished Alumni Award in 2018 and has been honored by the university as a Distinguished Marketing Executive. "To say I loved my four years at Central would be an understatement; giving back is natural considering all that UCM has done for me."