Building a Brighter Future for Hawkeyes

SUBMITTED PHOTO Kathy and Mark Vant Hul have gotten more involved with Iowa athletics since moving to the Iowa City area, including attending many events.

Mark and Kathy Vant Hul have always enjoyed cheering on the Iowa Hawkeyes.

Living most of their lives in Alton, Iowa—nearly five hours from Iowa City—meant the Vant Huls didn’t have many opportunities to watch the Hawkeyes in person.

“We were about as far away from Iowa City as you could possibly get and still be in the state,” says Kathy Vant Hul, who lived in northwest Iowa for most of her adult life. “But we love the Hawkeyes.”

Now retired, the high school sweethearts have become more involved and have since found a way to give back that works for them.

A Unique Investment Opportunity

Nearly 40 years ago, the Vant Huls found themselves in a predicament neither of them expected. The couple had just sold a local grocery store and were looking at ways to invest the proceeds.

“A friend of mine had mentioned investing in farms, so we started to do some research,” says Mark Vant Hul. “Neither one of us came from farm families, but here we were looking to purchase farmland.”

Over the next two decades, the couple bought two farms in southern Minnesota and one in Madison County, Iowa. It proved to be a successful investment—with the income helping fund their two daughters’ college degrees and paying for their weddings.

“We’ve been very blessed throughout our lives,” says Kathy Vant Hul.

The Next Chapter

Retirement brought a lot of change to the Vant Huls.

After leaving their respective careers—Mark as a sales manager and representative and Kathy from the local bank—they moved to the Iowa City area to be closer to family. They started attending more Iowa sporting events—specifically football, men’s basketball, and women’s basketball—and befriended other Hawkeye fans, including Larry (85BBA) and Leanne Van Steenhuyse.

“Larry started to get me heavily involved and going to a lot of games,” says Mark Vant Hul. “We also started to talk about giving back to the university, and Larry introduced me to the idea of creating a charitable remainder trust. They have a charitable remainder trust at Iowa and thought it would be a great opportunity for us, too.”

The Vant Huls worked with two executive directors of development from the UI Center for Advancement— Joe Conklin (09BA) and Susan Hagan (90BA, 94JD). They had met Conklin a few years earlier, and with Hagan’s expertise in planned giving, they found the process of creating a charitable remainder unitrust to be very straightforward.

“Susan and Joe were very knowledgeable and outstanding to work with as they helped us develop the trust,” says Mark Vant Hul.

A charitable remainder unitrust allows individuals to donate assets to a charity while retaining an income stream for themselves for life or for a specific term of years. After the income beneficiaries pass away or the term ends, the assets are transferred to a designated charity such as the UI Center for Advancement.

The Vant Huls donated their Madison County farm to create a charitable remainder unitrust. Their deferred gift will eventually support Iowa football, men’s basketball, and women’s basketball. The Vant Huls also chose to support two health care areas that have touched their lives, Alzheimer’s disease and cancer.

For the Vant Huls, they receive a tax deduction now and earn income in retirement—all the while supporting Iowa in the future.

“We’re excited and thankful to do something meaningful and create a legacy at Iowa,” says Mark Vant Hul.

SUBMITTED PHOTO Larry Van Steenhuyse, Leanne Van Steenhuyse, Kathy Vant Hul, and Mark Vant Hul at a recent Hawkeye event.