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Personal Donor Stories We thank all our planned-gift donors for their generous support. Here are some of their stories. Donor Stories Marjorie Frost '51
"I wanted to provide future students with the same wonderful education I received. As a career educator and single parent of four children, I hadn't accumulated large assets, so my financial planner suggested I create a major gift using life insurance and designate Macalester and my church as beneficiaries. This method of giving back to Macalester was affordable, and the premiums are tax deductible!" In addition to leaving a legacy at Macalester and her church, Marjorie and her husband, Milton Olson, leave their mark in the community through their extraordinary volunteer efforts. They were married in 1999, and Marjorie describes this time as the happiest years of her life. Marjorie's challenge to other Macalester alumni? "Make sure that the legacy you leave is a reflection of your values by planning for it -- if you don't plan, it won't happen."
Gilbert Gehrenbeck
Gil's wife, the late Alice Maulsby Gehrenbeck, was the first of the Gehrenbecks to attend Macalester. A Wallace Hall resident, she graduated from Macalester in 1922. Other Macalester members of the Gehrenbeck clan include Gil's sons, Dr. David Gehrenbeck '53 and the late Dr. Richard Gehrenbeck '56, Gil's daughter-in-law, Rita Reynolds Gehrenbeck '57, and three of Gil's six grandchildren, Dr. Anne Gehrenbeck-Shim '85, Nancy Gehrenbeck-Miller '87 and Robert Gehrenbeck '87. "I believe we started giving to Macalester because of my wife's interest in internationalism," said Gil. Over the years, Gil's gifts to Macalester have also reflected other interests. He was a significant contributor to the renovation of the Olin-Rice Science Center in honor of his son Richard. He has also established a number of planned gifts at Macalester, including a pooled income fund, a charitable gift annuity and a charitable remainder unitrust. "My planned gifts are a good investment for me. I get an income, and the remainder goes to Macalester," said Gil. Upon creation of his planned gifts, Gil benefited from an immediate income tax deduction. In addition, because Gil funded his planned gifts with appreciated securities, he avoided paying tax on the capital gain which would otherwise have been realized upon sale of those securities. Gil's planned gifts provide him with quarterly income payments during his lifetime, and at his death, the remaining funds will establish the Alice Gehrenbeck Memorial Music Scholarship Fund.
"It's important to us," Janet explained, "that Macalester continues to grow and thrive in order to offer that type of experience to a continuing stream of students and future leaders." Macalester was a life-changing experience for Tom and Janet, both educationally and intellectually, so when it came time for them to look at estate planning, the Nelsons contacted an attorney and tax consultant and decided on the most effective way to include Macalester in their wills. The Nelsons chose to make their bequest to Macalester unrestricted, meaning that the College will be able to use the gift in whatever way is most needed at the time. "We know the needs of the College will continue to grow and change," said Janet. "We intend our gift to be for the long-term, and we're confident that the future leaders of Macalester will use our gift to allow the College to continue its tradition of excellence."
Kris and Connie Ronnow have been devoted to a lifetime of service, working diligently to improve community and human relations, health care and racial and social welfare issues. The Ronnows exemplify what a Macalester education offers. They are acutely aware of the value of a quality liberal arts education and have shown their gratitude to Macalester by putting the College in their wills. Their generous, unrestricted bequests will help educate the world's future leaders. "The older one gets, the more one reflects on the important things in life," Kris explained. So not long after their daughters, Karin '84 and Erika '88, graduated from Macalester, the Ronnows decided it was time to review their estate plans. "Few of us realize what the total of our estates will be," Kris continued. "Nonetheless, we need to take care to affirm that which we have stood for. Macalester has maintained its principles throughout the years. That is one of the reasons we want to give -- because it still represents who we are."
The Woods have seen many changes at the College throughout the years, but heir memories linger, and they live with the heartwarming satisfaction of knowing that they have left a legacy for others so they too can receive the best possible liberal arts education.
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"I reached a point in my life when I realized that I wanted to be intentional in planning where my worldly possessions would go when I died and how important it is that the distribution of my estate be a reflection of the values that I hold." While Marjorie Frost '51 will leave some assets to her children, she feels that by giving generously to the institutions that were important in her life she is modeling philanthropy, another important value she holds, for her children.
Gilbert "Gil" Gehrenbeck has never taken a class at Macalester College. His diploma, listing a degree in chemical engineering, came from the University of Minnesota. And yet, at the age of 96, he is the patriarch of a family with a proud Macalester tradition, and a devoted donor to the college.
Janet Rajala Nelson '72 and J. Thomas Nelson '70 embrace the belief that a liberal arts education impacts the lives of our future leaders and problem solvers by teaching solid skills in critical thinking. :Students learn to challenge ideas and perspectives, including one's own," Janet explained. "Mac does an excellent job of acquainting students with political and social issues, the arguments on all sides of those issues, and it gives them the skills to make an informed decision," Tom added.
Evelyn and Charles Wood have strong ties to Macalester. As former educators, they believe the College perpetuates the same core value of academic excellence that they experienced as students in the 1940s. That belief was incentive enough for them to give back to their alma mater by creating a charitable remainder unitrust. The Macalester development office presented them with various giving options, answered questions for them and their attorney, and helped them finalize their charitable remainder unitrust, a gift that will help the College fulfill its mission of providing students with an outstanding education well into the future.|
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