She told the Foundation of her bequest intent and became a member of the Clara Bradley Burdette planned giving society. For the next 30 years, Suzanne had a successful career, lived conservatively and watched her assets grow. Inheritance from her family, as well as her strong work ethic, soon made her realize that she had a significant estate and no family to share it. “I talked with my university development office and said I thought I’d like to set up a scholarship fund. However, the university staff convinced me that they had other needs that would be even more important to them, and that fit beautifully with my interests,” she says. “Suddenly I realized that my bequests to my university and to Alpha Phi Foundation shouldn’t just drop into these organizations with no planning. I needed to be more specific with what I wanted done with the money I was leaving to my favorite non-profits.”
There is a project in Alpha Phi that appeals to each of us. We need to find it and make it happen. We need to assure the future of our beloved Fraternity. Suzanne read the Quarterly faithfully and became convinced that the Foundation had a great need: endowing the Forget Me Not Fund to make it a major funding source for the Foundation. “I read that the maximum size of Forget Me Not grants had stayed the same for decades,” she says. “Even though the cost of living had quadrupled, the Foundation was able only to grant the same amount of aid to our sisters who were having difficulties
in their lives. Some of the stories I read about were tragic, and the recipients deeply appreciated receiving grants. I felt that Alpha Phi needed to consider inflation and increase its assistance to these women, so I wanted to do something specific.” During a meeting with Foundation staff members, Suzanne stated that she would like to make a major bequest – the largest the Foundation has ever received – to be directed to an endowment for the Forget Me Not Fund. This would ensure that her gift would work forever to help Alpha Phi sisters in crisis. Foundation staff welcomed the idea, agreed on the need, and told Suzanne that no sisters had ever established an endowment for this wonderful purpose. The Foundation’s Board, hearing of Suzanne’s generosity, realized that this biennium would be the time to focus on this fund. Suzanne’s generous bequest kicks off a special major gift fundraising effort for the next two years: building the Forget Me Not Fund to help sisters. What better time to focus on helping needy members than during a time when so much heartache has come to our society? Suzanne is delighted to know that her bequest is leading to this special fundraising effort. “Women need to know how important their wills can be to an organization like Alpha Phi,” she says. “I feel so good knowing that my research into the Foundation’s mission caused me to propose this endowment and also was an impetus to the Foundation Board to focus on Forget Me Not fundraising.” Suzanne encourages members to remember the Foundation in their wills as soon as they make them. “I never would have thought it possible that my hard work would help the organization I love so much help other sisters in such a major way,” she says. She also suggests that members read carefully information from the Foundation about their mission and that they talk with Foundation staff members about the Foundation’s ‘wish list.’
“There is a project in Alpha Phi that appeals to each of us. We need to find it and make it happen. We need to assure the future of our beloved Fraternity,” she says. Please contact Executive Director Ann Brinkman Carstensen at 847.316.8950 or acarstensen@alphaphi.org about making a sustaining gift to the Alpha Phi Foundation, a 501(c)(3) organization. Consult your tax advisor about your estate and tax deductibility.
From the Heart … Forget Me Not Grant Recipients Say Thank You “Right now I am without words. I feel so grateful and blessed to be a part of an organization like this. This assistance from the Alpha Phi Foundation will allow me to get closer to being back on my feet and moving forward with my life. I feel like a huge weight has just been lifted off my shoulders. I cannot wait until the day that I can give back to the Foundation to help others, just as it has helped me. Thank you so much. I am so grateful.”
-Elyce “In 2008, I was lucky enough to have been given a Forget Me Not Emergency Grant during a time when I thought I might lose everything I had. That emergency grant ultimately kept me from bankruptcy and foreclosing on my condo. Today, I have a permanent job, my medical and credit card bills are paid, and I was able to keep my home. I am so grateful and humbled to have all of this during such tragic economic times for many. When I pledged Alpha Phi, I never imagined that I would ever be in such need, and moreover, that my sorority’s foundation would be there for me in such an awesome way. Tears well up in my eyes to think of how far I have come since that time, and how I could not have done it without the gracious help of the Foundation. Thank you so much for believing in me and helping me in such a great time of need. Alpha Phi continues to mean so much to me, and I cannot think of enough ways to thank you from the bottom of my heart.”
-Alexis
fall 2010
Alpha Phi Quarterly
21