LEGACY FEATURE ALUMNA ESTABLISHES RETIREMENT PLAN GIFT TO SUSTAIN HER SUPPORT OF SU Allison Grebe ’94 never intended to go to the same school as her parents, the late John Grebe ’65 and Carole Sloan ’67 Grebe Pursell.
Allison has made a gift to the Susquehanna University Fund every year since she graduated and recently made SU the beneficiary of her retirement plan account.
"I looked at a number of small, private liberal arts schools," Allison says. "I did an overnight visit and despite being resistant to attending the college my parents attended, I fell in love."
"Choosing a career in nonprofit likely means I’ll never be a ’big donor,’" she says. "I’ll never have my name on a building or endow a full scholarship, but this I can do."
After graduating, Allison took a position at another small liberal arts college. A few months into the role, she realized that what she thought was her dream job actually wasn’t what she wanted to do for the rest of her life. So, she called her former Susquehanna advisor, Mary Cianni – a former professor and member of the board of trustees at the time – for advice.
Half of Allison’s planned gift is designated to the university’s athletics department for staff professional development opportunities, and half is directed to the Sigmund Weis School of Business to support off-campus learning opportunities for students or faculty.
"She told me there was an assistant director of annual giving position open at Susquehanna and she thought I’d be good at it." Allison did return to Susquehanna, where she spent five years as associate director of the annual fund. She has worked in education fundraising ever since.
"Alumni gifts made a difference in our student experiences, even if we didn’t know it at the time," Allison concludes. "Today’s students are smart, talented, and ambitious, and they deserve our support."
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