As Harvard alumni, parents, donors, and leadership volunteers, Seth and Pam Farber have viewed the University from almost every perspective during the past 30 years. “One thing that has always struck me in a very positive way is how effectively Harvard keeps its whole community involved and connected,” says Seth Farber AB ’86, JD ’89. “Graduating is not the end of your experience. In fact, your student years are really just the beginning. Harvard is something you carry with you through your life.”
With two children who are current undergraduates and a third starting in the fall, the Farbers are very much connected to the life of Harvard College today. “Harvard is an important place for us,” says Pam Farber EdM ’88, EdD ’91. “We hear about our sons’ experiences, and we see the way they are growing and changing as individuals because of the opportunities they’ve had there.”
“To know the impact that Harvard has had on our own lives, and now to see it having that same impact on their lives, is tremendous,” adds Seth Farber. “It’s really what drives us to support Harvard—because we want to make that same experience possible for others.”
To help give future generations of young people the opportunity to attend Harvard, the Farbers recently made their first planned gift, providing flexible, unrestricted funds for the College. In doing so, they called on one more Harvard perspective—Pam’s time working in the University Planned Giving office while she was a student at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. “Because of Pam’s experience, we always knew it would be an attractive option one day,” says Seth Farber, who serves as the head of litigation in Winston & Strawn’s New York office. “But frankly, it’s an easy way for anyone to support Harvard in a substantial way while also receiving tax benefits. You can make a big impact and enjoy all the advantages of a planned gift at the same time.”
“Alumni have so much to contribute to Harvard, serving as ambassadors for the University and resources for the students,” stresses Seth Farber, who has long been active with the Harvard Alumni Association and as an admissions interviewer for the Harvard-Radcliffe Club of Westchester. Together, he and his wife, who earned her BA from Wellesley College, have become major supporters of the Harvard College Fund Parents Committee, hosting events at their home and bringing the Harvard parent community together. “It’s eye opening to realize what a Harvard education actually costs and to know that there’s a gap between that and what they charge,” he says. “Even if you’re paying full tuition, you’re being subsidized, so we really consider giving the responsibility of everyone who has had the benefit of a Harvard experience.”
Explore more stories from Gift Strategies and contact University Planned Giving to learn more about establishing annuities.