Page 18 - Access Magazine Publication 5

BY DOUGLAS HOAGLAND
Jim Johnson calls students in Fresno State’s Veterans Education Program “the heart of America.” Johnson – a Navy veteran who served during the Vietnam War – says: “I did my duty, I’d do it again, and I know the men and women in the Veterans Education Program would, too.”
He believes so strongly in them that he’s left money in his will to the program. “I’m an old veteran, and I want to help these young veterans,” says Johnson, 78.
Planned giving such as Johnson’s can
help secure funding across the Division of Continuing and Global Education. “Programs that our donors love will continue into
the future because of these gifts,” says Katie Adamo Bewarder, associate director of development for the division.
Johnsons with President Castro
Planned giving works this way: a donor bequeaths money, real estate, stock, or life insurance to a college, division or program at Fresno State. The California State University, Fresno Foundation then invests the gifts to generate income in an endowment fund. In some in- stances, donors convey gifts while still living, and “they can see the impact of the gift and interact with students affected by it,” Bewarder says.
The Division of Continuing and Global Education hopes to soon establish an endowment for the Veterans Edu- cation Program with a five-figure gift from a supporter’s estate. The gift in Johnson’s will would eventually be add- ed to that endowment, and in the meantime, he makes yearly donations to the Veterans Education Program.
18 California State University, FRESNO
PLANNED GIVING T he Heart of America