You Can Make a Commitment Now

How do you show your appreciation for your Central College experience and education?

Colleen Rogers Messenger, Class of 1999, chose an easy way to give back to Central through the beneficiary designation of her retirement account.

She knows firsthand the significance of beneficiary gifts to an organization. Messenger has been in the fundraising realm for nearly 20 years. She currently is the director of planning for ChildServe in Des Moines, Iowa, which provides specialty pediatric care to children and youth.

“Every day I see reminders about how our work is helping kids and their families at ChildServe,” Messenger says.

Gifts to Central also have a tangible impact on students’ education and experiences. Donations to Central support scholarships and programs such as off-campus experiences, internships, research, campus clubs and athletics.

Great Memories

“The four years that I spent at Central were an amazing time for me,” Messenger says. “I had an amazing professional advisor, Mary Stark, the John and Anna Poole Endowed Chair in the Humanities and professor of English. I studied in Leiden,The Netherlands and in Merida,Yucatán, Mexico. I got to be involved with a coalition for a multicultural campus. I had all these experiences that changed my life then and are still changing my life.”

Messenger lived in Gaass Hall her first year on campus and met lifelong friends.

“Central creates an environment to making friends for a lifetime,” she says.

These warm and wonderful memories nudged Messenger to show how significant her Central education was to her life now.

“I thought about what I did during and after college — living and studying abroad — that international perspective stayed with me. The cities, countries and cultures may change and evolve, but the experience expands your worldview for the rest of your life,” she said.

Messenger hopes other Central alumni will make a commitment to the college.

“We should all spend time reviewing the thought process of why we want to establish Central as a beneficiary and the percentage of the gift,” she adds.

To designate a charity like Central as the beneficiary of a retirement annuity, simply contact your financial advisor, complete a beneficiary form and include the name of the charity, its tax identification number and the percent you want the charity to receive. Donors may start small at 2 percent to 5 percent, especially if they have multiple organizations they want to leave money with upon their death. Beneficiary forms can be updated, easily allowing the donor to increase their percentage or add a designee.

Messenger believes that designating Central as a beneficiary for a percentage of her retirement annuity account is an effortless way of giving back for the great education and experiences she enjoyed at Central.

Including Central in your will or estate plan is a testament to the values and ideals you hold dear — having a heart for others — and is one of the most meaningful ways to support generations of students to come. To create your own legacy at Central, contact Deb Calderwood at 641-628-5138 or calderwoodd@central.edu to get started.