Alumnus Gives Back as Thanks for Career Success

John Spinney Jr., Isenberg '87

John Spinney Jr., Isenberg '87, began his career at KPMG after graduating from Isenberg School of Management. While at KPMG, John visited UMass Amherst every year to help with recruiting. He still tells students, "The first thing you do is give back and give every year."

This is a philosophy he has followed. From recruitment and associated campus visits, John gradually became more involved with UMass Amherst, serving on committees for Isenberg and even serving on the UMass Amherst Foundation Board. John not only stayed involved as a volunteer, he has also made significant gifts, helping establish two endowed professorships: the Professor Richard H. Simpson Endowed Professorship and the James P. O'Connell Professorship of Accounting—and is in the concept stages on a third: the Professor Robert E. Lentilhon Endowed Professorship.

Thinking back on it, John notes that he learned to work hard from both his mother and his father, but his views on philanthropy come from his father who "helped anyone if he could."

John plans to establish a fourth professorship with a commitment in his estate plan. By naming UMass Amherst as a beneficiary of his retirement account, he will reduce the size of his estate, which may result in a tax saving. John says, however, that his giving is not motivated by tax savings. He gives because he is a first-generation college graduate who largely put himself through school. He knows his current success is because of his education at UMass Amherst. John says he feels an "enormous need to give back and there is nothing more important than that."

If you would like to give back to UMass Amherst by naming us a beneficiary of your retirement account—like John did—please contact Joseph K. Jayne ’21MPP at 413-577-1418 or giftplanning@uma-foundation.org.