Had an exciting day today. I've formally put in motion plans to realize a long-held dream - to help someone realize their own long-held dream. I trust the outcome of my humble effort will have more life-altering results than my dream-fulfillment gestures of the past (e.g. Donna's celebratory motorcycle ride). The really exciting part is I have no idea who will be touched by today's events.
What I've done is establish an educational endowment at SFU. No, I don't have the resources of a Rockerfeller or a Gates, but I've recently learned there is a way to give more upon my passing than I could ever afford to give during my lifetime. All I had to do was include the name of my chosen charity/charities as benefactor(s) of my life insurance policy.
I decided to focus this gift on a single parent entering SFU's Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, the same faculty that awarded me a BA in '87 (English major/Education minor). Why a single parent? Well, I was never blessed with children of my own and, if I had (given my less-than-stellar track record for picking potential partners) there is a very good chance I would have ended up a single parent myself. In addition, there were enough single parents among fellow students throughout my post-secondary studies to draw my attention to the unique difficulties many of them face. Interesting that most other awards established for single parents studying at SFU are for those in third or fourth year studies - next to nothing is available for those embarking on their academic journey. Makes getting through those first two years even harder.)
The way my endowment has been set up, awards will be drawn from the interest paid on the donated gift (which the SFU awards committee will invest on my behalf in perpetuity). This means that more than one student entering the university in more than one year can benefit from the donation. None of my friends or family members need bother themselves with the administration of the award as the university takes care of that, too. Of course, if anyone wishes to add to the fund once it's operating (which will happen once my will is settled and the insurance policy paid out) they would be more than welcome to do so.
I have some ideas re what to do with the rest of the insurance funds, but those plans aren't as well developed or worked through as this one. More about all that in the days, weeks, months (years?) to come.
One of the advantages of knowing my time in this life is limited is taking the opportunity to determine what sort of legacy I want to leave behind.
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What a beautiful gift to put in place - that life is not just ours, but it is shared in so many ways.
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