Leaving a Legacy: Donovan and Sally Hicks

After attending an estate planning seminar sponsored by Colorado State University, Don and Sally Hicks were seriously motivated to address their estate planning opportunities. They started discussing their options and responsibilities, as they wanted to remember their children, church, and the educational institutions that have been instrumental in forming who they are today. Don stated, "Since the higher education system is generally the last formal education that most receive, it shapes our lives forever."

As a graduate from the Department of Physics, Don feels that whatever professional success he has had in his career was profoundly influenced by his matriculation at Colorado State. It is because of this they made the decision to make a planned gift to CSU.

By choosing to include CSU as a beneficiary of his retirement plan, Don made an easy and efficient planned gift which will provide resources to the Department of Physics in years to come. Both Don and Sally are Frontier Society members, a very special group of Colorado State University friends who have invested in the University's future through planned gifts, including bequests, life income arrangements such as gift annuities and charitable remainder trusts, gifts of life insurance and other deferred giving options.

With their legacy gift to the College of Natural Sciences, they will help provide quality training and education in the sciences. When asked why they chose natural sciences as the beneficiary of their generous gift, Don explained, "We believe progress in the basic sciences is critical to our future here on this planet. We believe that our legacy should be distributed by the college as it sees fit to achieve the maximum leverage."

Whether you want to carry on the memory of a loved one, to recognize a job well done, to demonstrate deep humanitarian concerns, or to support excellence in education—your charitable gift needs to be protected and preserved. Within the College of Natural Sciences, planned gifts have supported research, student scholarships, programs, faculty, and general needs in each department. Through estate and financial planning, your gift can help balance what you strive to accomplish for yourself, your family, and your charitable interests.