Naomi Law is an author, retired educator and administrator, and community volunteer. She is also a member of the Bickerdyke Society.
The Society recognizes individuals who choose to extend their charitable giving beyond their lifetime by including Galesburg Community Foundation in their estate plans. By making a planned gift during her lifetime, Naomi is ensuring that the causes she cares about today will be supported forever.
“The Bickerdyke Society exists to positively change our community. It uses a word that is bigger than a legacy. That word is “forever,” says Naomi. “It’s very likely that the name Naomi Law won’t be remembered. And that’s okay. However, by contributing to the Galesburg Community Foundation, what I believe in will continue to make a difference.”
“If you’re considering a planned gift, you don’t need to have everything figured out before you talk with us,” says Sarah Grant, Galesburg Community Foundation Director of Development. “We’ll sit down with you—and your family if you’d like—to talk about the causes you care about. From there, we can look at giving options that will have the greatest impact.”
There are a variety of ways to make a planned gift. “The people at the Galesburg Community Foundation have the expertise, wisdom, and experience to guide you in making the best possible long term decisions,” says Naomi.
Planned gifts are an investment in the place you call home and have a long-term, transformative impact on the people and nonprofits you choose to support. “When you leave something in your will to the Galesburg Community Foundation, you can be specific about how you want that money used,” said Naomi. “You can designate, for example, that funds go to college students or to a diverse population or whatever you choose. I give to the Galesburg Community Foundation because I trust them to help me make the best decisions now for the future.”
The Bickerdyke Society is named for Galesburg resident Mary Ann Bickerdyke—called Mother Bickerdyke—who is known for her generous and courageous service as Chief Nurse during the Civil War. “I think that Mother Bickerdyke was the type of person who would say, ‘You can do better.’ That’s my message. We can do better. No matter what we’re doing—do better. By investing in the Bickerdyke Society, we are helping people do exactly that.”
Ensure that the causes you care about today will always be supported by making a planned gift through the Galesburg Community Foundation and joining the Bickerdyke Society. To learn more, contact Sarah at info@yourgcf.org or 309-344-8898.
