Donor Stories
Younger Generation Create Legacy Gifts at Boise State
Over the past couple of years, we've begun noticing an inspiring trend in our Office of Gift and Estate Planning. A few of our staff members – from Gens X and Y – started establishing legacy gifts for the benefit of Boise State University. These young planners talked with members of our gift planning team and learned they could use a variety of giving methods to provide future support for students and programs campus-wide.
Their philanthropic passions, and daresay their personalities, are broadly diverse: these university professionals hold interest in sports, are parents raising children, and some, as former scholarship recipients, have a desire to give back to their alma mater. As wide-ranging as their areas of support, so are the deferred giving methods they used.
Lisa Gardner '95, executive director of alumni relations, is an avid athlete and Bronco fan, and chose life insurance to create her planned gift. Because of Lisa's youthful age, the new insurance policy she established was a very cost effective way to make a tremendous (future) impact in six different programs at Boise State.
Perrine Blakley, director of gift planning, and the mother of two young children, elected to name a percentage of her IRA retirement fund to support the "Janine Smith Who You Are Makes a Difference Fellowship." Perrine worked with the original donor who established this graduate student fund to honor his wife, an elementary school educator.
Scott Jurgens '06, assistant director of development, carved out a piece of his TIAA retirement plan to benefit First Generation scholarship students. Scotty, a man with an incredibly upbeat spirit, believes that providing scholarships for 1st-gen students provides a "silver bullet" for many who are seeking the opportunity to go to college. He also opted to include a percentage of his plan to support an Honors College scholarship, to provide much-needed competitive financial aid to high-caliber students.
The ever-energetic alumna, Heather Carlson '05 '11, assistant director of advancement communications, a 2010 Idaho Business Review Accomplished Under 40 recipient and former Honors College student, believes in the power of scholarships and the impact they can make toward student success. She herself received several scholarships while at Boise State and contributes her accomplishments to the honors program – a place where she and students like her learn critical thinking skills in small size classes and focused learning environments.
We applaud and gratefully acknowledge these forward-thinking staff members for taking the steps to put a plan in place to support future generations.