Bruce Bates Gives $1 Million in Appreciated Stock for Educating Five Generations of His Family

This story is based on a conversation between end-of-life planning expert Barbara Bates Sedoric ’75, who posed the questions, and her father, donor Bruce Bates.

Major donor Bruce Bates never attended Miss Porter’s School, of course, being the wrong gender to do so. But his late wife Nancy Smith Bates ’51 did, his daughter Barbara Bates Sedoric ’75 did, his granddaughter Holland Davis Tennent ’05 did, and so did his wife’s mother and grandmother—five generations in all. Plus, Bruce was asked to serve on the board of trustees at a time when he was the only male trustee. In appreciation of the stellar education received by so many of his relatives, the wealth management expert this year made his second million-dollar gift to Miss Porter’s—using the tax-wise strategy of transferring appreciated securities.

“I went to some great schools: Andover was one and Yale was another,” said Bruce, who lives in Pittsford, New York, after retiring as a Senior Vice President for Smith Barney (now Morgan Stanley Wealth Management). “Why did I choose Miss Porter’s for most of my giving instead of them? Hearing the women in my life talk about what a great experience they had is definitely part of it. But it is also because of all the women who made my stay on the board especially human. I was the ‘stranger in the room’—a male and a nongraduate. But they made me feel at home and put me to work doing important things (including serving on the search committee that hired Katherine Windsor as Head of School in 2008). Andover never asked me to be on its board; Yale never asked me to be on its board. If they had, I might have made them some larger gifts.”

Bruce and his daughter Barb recently had a conversation about the gifts to Miss Porter’s, with Bruce explaining that the most recent major gift was originally planned to be part of his estate—but he decided to accelerate it after a previous conversation with Barb.

“We decided that now was a better time to make the gift because by doing it now, I get to see the benefits,” Bruce said. “Waiting doesn’t make much sense when the need is there now—and this is rather a fun time to see it in action.”

Bruce made the gift with appreciated securities, which means that in addition to the income-tax charitable deduction he avoids the capital-gain tax he would have had to pay if he had sold the securities.

Bruce made his first million-dollar gift in 2006 in honor of his late wife Nancy. Both major gifts are unrestricted for the School’s use.

“When Nancy died, I decided it was important to do something special to honor her and recognize her commitment,” Bruce said. “An unrestricted gift was a way to thank the School for all the wonderful things it has done for five generations of the family I married into.”

Bruce and Nancy had previously established the Bates Family Scholarship in honor of Barb and granddaughter Holly. It awards one major scholarship per year. “I enjoy getting a letter from the student who is a beneficiary, telling how she is doing and what she is doing and that the scholarship has been a big part of her life,” Bruce said.

Barb reminded Bruce that he and Nancy also made a major gift years ago to refurbish the entrance to Main Hall (which is now being updated again). Barb related to her dad that when she began at Miss Porter’s at the age of 15, she didn’t fully understand how much the School meant to her family.

“I didn’t really pay much attention to the legacy that began with my great grandmother (Isabelle Hart Bonbright 1896) and continued with my grandmother (Barbara Bonbright Smith 1929) and then of course my mom, me, and my oldest daughter,” said Barb, who this year is celebrating her 45th reunion. “My aunt and some cousins were also graduates. It’s kind of remarkable the legacy that our family has. And my dad has done a great job of recognizing that.”

Barb then asked her father what he wanted from Miss Porter’s in return for his amazing generosity. Bruce chuckled at the question.

“They don’t need to do anything for me in return,” he said. “Miss Porter’s has always appreciated me, and that is all I have ever wanted.”