Donor Stories
Several supporters of our charities have made plans for legacy gifts for which we are incredibly grateful. Learn how they have made a difference and an impact through their giving.
Jerry and Anna Bedford (Charitable Remainder UniTrust)
Living Simply So Others May Simply Live
While their marriage began at Union Seminary in New York City, Jerry and Anna Bedford’s complementary ethos for giving began in the soils of Michigan and Wales. Jerry’s talents for planning and organization and Anna’s mastery of drama and communication led them as a team from New York to Kenya, then through Russia and Eastern Europe to Little Rock and Louisville. All along the way, they “lived simply so that others may simply live,” a teaching first espoused by Gandhi. Now, after a lifetime of hard work and joyful giving, they have been able to establish seed endowments for the charities of the John Cobb Legacy Fund as well as a charitable remainder unitrust (CRUT) that will ultimately benefit the Institute for Ecological Civilization . . . READ MORE
Bruce and Cindy Hanson (Living Trust)
Practical Hope
With ancestral roots in Norway and experiential roots in China, Bruce Hanson is steeped in traditions of practical austerity and pragmatic action. Both of his grandfathers came to the United States as indentured servants to pay their way from Norway, and they settled in small farming Norwegian communities in Iowa and Minnesota. These roots have now led Bruce to identify the Institute for Ecological Civilization and other related causes as beneficiaries of the living trust that he and his wife, Cindy, have created . . . READ MORE