Leaving a Legacy of Hope
“From a tiny acorn grows the mighty oak." Like the acorn in this old maxim, regardless of the size of a bequest, it can grow into a lasting legacy.
In August of this year, the Reeve-Irvine Research Center was the beneficiary of a generous planned gift from Albert N. Goldfeder. This gift established an endowment in Mr. Goldfeder’s name that will exist in perpetuity at the RIRC along with $40,000 for current use for public educational programs and scientific symposia and to support pilot research studies on innovative approaches to improve function after spinal cord injury. Mr. Goldfeder will be publically acknowledged for his generosity at the 2018 Reeve-Irvine Research Medal Symposium (see cover article), which will be open to the public. His generosity has opened the door to so many opportunities for our Center, providing funding to accelerate discovery, but also allow for flexibility to rapidly address new opportunities.
A bequest is one of the easiest forms of gifts that you can make to support the Reeve-Irvine Research Center. Through your bequest, you have the opportunity to establish a lasting legacy that offers hope to thousands, and to shape the lives of future generations. Planned giving is a way to remember a friend or relative, fulfill a desire to help others less fortunate or give back to the community, or make an investment that will grow knowledge and advance science. Your donation could lead to a key discovery that will be linked to your contribution forever! And of course, planned giving can bring important tax benefits.
Every dollar makes the research go further, faster.
Below are some examples of ways planned gifts make a difference.
- Seed Money for new ‘out of the box’ research ideas, support for new projects that are spinoffs of existing projects to improve the quality of the potential treatment, as well as advancing projects that are underfunded. These pilot studies will provide critical preliminary data for future grant proposals.
- Accelerating progress - exciting new studies may have funding that is distributed over years but the studies could be done more quickly. You who are living with SCI want rapid progress and our researchers are ready and able to move research forward without delay to test potential therapies. Any research project requires technical support; lab items must be ordered, finances must be tracked, animal research protocols must be prepared, and progress reports are required. Funds that are restricted to research cannot be used for these critical support services. Some equipment may be too costly for standard grant applications and/or may be restricted to one specific project. Bequeathed gifts allows for cross use of equipment maximizing impact not only in the immediate future but in perpetuity.
- Public Events- give an opportunity for those who suffer with an SCI injury to speak directly to our scientists to ask questions about their injury and to see first-hand the latest research that is being conducted through on-site tours.
- Scientific Symposia- Scientific meetings are one of the primary venues for scientists to share their findings before publication and establish new collaborations. This is a key to the process of science that leads to innovations that come from thinking as a team.
All of us at the Reeve-Irvine Research Center would like to send our heartfelt thanks to the Goldfeder family. It is private gifts like his that play a critical role in propelling spinal cord injury research programs and explore creative opportunities that cannot be explored through traditional funding sources. We are grateful to Mr. Goldfeder for his interest and support of the RIRC.
