All In The Family — Bequest and Life Insurance Beneficiary

Anne Woodbridge Coventry '95

Ours is very much a Lawrence family. My parents graduated from Lawrence in the 1960s and my brother was a senior there when I was a freshman. I married a Lawrence classmate whose grandfather, uncle, and three aunts had also attended Lawrence (in addition, four of his first cousins shared the campus with us while we were there). When our son was born, we joked that he was probably already on the LU enrollment list for the class of 2020. Though the college experience affects each individual uniquely, Lawrence is a shared reference point for my entire family. We all know its classrooms and corridors, its weather, its special events. We've all gone traying down Union Hill, attended convocations in the Chapel, whined about our mid-terms in the Viking Room, cheered on the team at the Banta Bowl. We've all taken English classes from Dr. Goldgar. We've all benefited from the individualized approach to education that Lawrence has always exemplified.

I made my legacy gift while serving on the gift committee for my 10-year reunion. At workshop weekend, the reunion committee members learned that tuition, even for those students who receive no financial aid at all, covers only about half of the actual cost of educating a Lawrence student. The rest comes from contributions made to the annual fund by alumni and friends of the college. That meant that my college education was not provided to me solely by the sacrifice of my own hard-working parents, as I had always believed, but also by the generous contributions of complete strangers. I felt it was important to pay that debt forward, to enable future generations of Lawrence Vikings to learn and grow at this sacred place, unfettered.

I was a divorced mom in my early 30s and did not have much to give, but Legacy Circle provides a means for alumni to help Lawrence without any current out-of-pocket cost. I designated Lawrence as contingent beneficiary on my group term life insurance and under my will. With just these small, financially painless actions, I qualified for membership in Legacy Circle.

Later, as I became more financially secure, I added a specific bequest to Lawrence under my estate plan. This, too, means no current out-of-pocket expense, but it gives me the security of knowing that my Lawrence legacy is assured.