The American Council on Gift Annuities (ACGA) has established an endowment fund to assist promising gift planners with their professional development. The Terry L. Simmons Philanthropic Endowment Fund provides scholarships to worthy individuals who would otherwise be unable to attend the biennial ACGA conference. The scholarship fund is a fitting tribute to a man who successfully legislated in the 1990s to protect the ACGA and planned giving programs throughout the United States.

Recent Scholarship Recipients

In 2024, the ACGA was able to award 8 scholarships to the ACGA Conference in Houston. We'd like to congratulate these individuals on their achievements and are happy that we were able to help broaden their gift annuity knowledge. You can read about each recipient here.

The ACGA Conference provides a first-class learning opportunity for new as well as seasoned development professionals. The Terry L. Simmons Endowment provides scholarships to young and aspiring professionals as well as development staff at organizations that need assistance to attend the ACGA Conference who would otherwise be unable. The scholarship included:

• 2024 conference registration
• 1-year ACGA membership for your organization
• 2-night stay at the ACGA conference hotel
• Recognition in the ACGA newsletter and during the conference

Read More About Terry and His Achievements

Were it not for Terry, the ACGA would not exist today and planned giving programs throughout the United States might be greatly diminished. In 1995, a class action lawsuit had been filed against the ACGA, its directors, and all charities that had followed the maximum rates suggested by the ACGA or that had commingled funds in the investment of gift annuity reserves and charitable trust assets. Terry swung into action, creating Charitable Accord to rally support from charities, drafting legislation, and haunting the halls of Congress until it was enacted.

The result of his efforts was three federal laws: The Charitable Antitrust Relief Act of 1995, the Charitable Donation Antitrust Immunity Act of 1997, and the Philanthropy Protection Act. The first two exempted gift annuities from antitrust law, enabling charities to follow common rates, and the third exempted the commingled funds from securities regulation. Since all of the laws were retroactive, the pending class-action lawsuit was dismissed.

Terry also secured passage of a statute in Texas exempting gift annuities from the normal regulation applicable to insurance companies. That statute evolved into the model exemption act, which has now been adopted by numerous states, relieving charities of burdensome compliance requirements in those states.

On June 27, 2008 Lindsay Lapole and Frank Minton presented Terry Simmons with a plaque commemorating the establishment of an endowed philanthropic fund in Terry’s honor. Also present for the occasion were Terry’s wife Karen, his son, Adam, and his daughter, Shannon. His oldest son, Jordan, was unable to attend because of work responsibilities.

Income from the fund is used for grants to enable young gift planners to further their professional development by attending an ACGA conference.

The inscription on the plaque reads:

The fund was created through contributions by the ACGA and hundreds of Terry’s friends. At the time of the presentation, more than $54,000 had been contributed or pledged, and gifts were still being received.

Terry, his wife Karen and two of his three children, Shannon and Adam, share a moment with Frank Minton and Lindsay Lapole.

If Terry had done nothing else, these legislative achievements would have been a tremendous legacy. However, he has done much more, including serving as conference chair and president of NCPG (now the National Association of Charitable Gift Planners), being a founder of Charitable Gift Planning News, serving on the ACGA board, writing numerous articles on gift planning, and being a very popular speaker. His annual updates on legislative, regulatory, and judicial developments at NCPG and ACGA conferences were eagerly awaited.

At the peak of his career, having just been selected as one of the country’s top lawyers, Terry was struck by a car while crossing a street in Dallas. The injury severely impaired his physical mobility and left him in almost constant pain. He was mostly confined to his home and had to give up his law practice. Yet, he continued to keep abreast of professional and political developments and offer wise counsel as a participant in teleconference meetings. Terry passed away April 3, 2017. We are grateful for Terry's life and what he accomplished for all charitable and non-profits in the United States.