Meet Our Donors

We thank all our planned-gift donors for their generous support. Here are some of their stories.

Gift Annuity Provides Dual Benefit to UCSB Donor

Juliane Heyman

Gifts that allow our donors to further their philanthropic vision while providing guaranteed income in retirement are in high demand. Case in point: the gift annuity.

Juliane Heyman, a longtime supporter of UC Santa Barbara, wanted to help ensure the future of a new Jewish Studies Initiative at the University. Juliane is a Holocaust survivor and felt it important that the already robust Religious Studies Department include the Jewish tradition. She wanted a way to support the program in perpetuity while creating an income stream in retirement.

Working with UCSB’s Office of Gift Planning, she elected to set up an endowment to honor the memory of her mother and fund it through a gift annuity with the campus. The annuity provides her a competitive, guaranteed return for the duration of her life (something difficult to find in today’s market) and will ultimately fund teaching, research, and programming for Jewish Studies.

“I believe in higher education. It was a value strongly instilled in my family. My mother received her Ph.D. in Germany in 1917— remarkable for the time. Now I have the benefit of furthering these values at UCSB by providing students and the community with a stronger cultural perspective. Knowing I can do all this while also supplementing my retirement income not only makes me feel good, it makes good sense.”

A Gift of Gratitude

Harvey Schechter ’47 and his wife Hope

Harvey Schechter ’47 and his wife Hope have been strong advocates of UC Santa Barbara for many years. Harvey attended the Riviera campus and has been closely involved with the campus, including serving as a board member of the Alumni Association and also as a trustee of the UC Santa Barbara Foundation.

As Harvey tells it, “There was no tuition in those days, and the registration fee was only $17 per semester. In short, the people of California gave me a free four-year college education!”

Harvey and Hope sought to create a lasting legacy to show their appreciation for the education he received. Through discussions with the Development Office, Harvey and Hope decided upon one of the most common forms of planned giving – a bequest in their wills. Their generosity will provide UC Santa Barbara with a gift totaling 80% of their estate upon their deaths.

Upon receipt of their gift, the money will be used to help needy students enjoy and benefit from a UC Santa Barbara education that they might not otherwise have been able to afford. Harvey explains the motivation for their gift this way: “Because that [UCSB] diploma served me so well since 1947, I vowed decades ago to pay back what I owe by doing for the young people of today and tomorrow what was done for me so long ago. If I lived to be 120, I would not be able to repay UC Santa Barbara and the people of California for what was done for me decades ago. Hope and I are investing in the future of California!”

Saving the Planet – How a Couple is Helping Create the Next Generation of Environmental Leaders

Bernard and Lori Sandler

Bernard and Lori Sandler, two generous, community-minded activists, truly illustrate the concept of “gifts in action.” Bernie and Lori feel strongly about the need to be good stewards of the Earth and even more strongly that the next generation be well-equipped to tackle the challenges posed by climate change and other environmental degradation.
It’s no wonder that they found UC Santa Barbara’s Bren School for Environmental Science and Management a good match for their philanthropic passion.

As they considered how to create a legacy that would perpetuate their environmental values, the Sandlers realized that they could help the Bren School recruit and train the next generation of leaders in perpetuity. In consultation with UC Santa Barbara Development Office, they elected to name the Bren School as the future recipient of a generous percentage of their estate through their Living Trust. Their trust is set up to provide income to them and their children, largely through real estate holdings, and ultimately, to benefit the students at the Bren School. Their desire is to have their gift form an endowment that will support as many outstanding students as possible wishing to enroll in the School’s Master's program who need financial assistance.

When asked what motivated their generous gift, Bernie stated, “Lori and I are believers in taking care of all those we love. We look at this as a gift to all and hope others can see the value in similar granting of estates aimed at expanding environmental education. The Bren School is training the next generation of environmental problem-solvers. Their education will enable them to be wise stewards of the planet. I can think of no better way to save the Earth than to invest in the future of those who will ensure a healthy future for us all.”

Life-Income Gift Brings New Life to UCSB Donor

UCSB Women’s Tennis player Bryanna Ojeda
photo by Tony Mastres

Your gift can make a profound difference not only to the University but also to you. One recent University donor set a perfect example when he leveraged his gift to the campus into a new and satisfying life for himself. Like many longtime Santa Barbara residents, his largest asset was his home, where he had lived for nearly 50 years. Sadly, after the loss of his wife he found that his beloved home was just too big for him and that his age and financial resources were insufficient to meet the upkeep needs of the entire property. He closed off most of the house but was heartbroken to see his once-lovely home slowly falling into disrepair.

A local realtor suggested he contact UC Santa Barbara’s Development Office to see if a life-income gift might be structured for his benefit. After discussing his needs and charitable goals with Development staff, he decided on a plan that combined a bargain sale and a charitable gift annuity in exchange for his home. The home was appraised at nearly $3 million, so the campus was able to provide him with enough cash to buy a comfortable condominium, as well as a quarterly annuity of about $45,000 for the rest of his life from the reinvested proceeds.

This gift brought him new life, new hope, and philanthropic as well as personal joy. An avid tennis player throughout his lifetime, he decided that after his death the remainder from his annuity would establish endowed scholarship funds for the Gaucho Women’s and Men’s Tennis teams. “I really got everything I could need or want from making this gift. It has been so wonderful to settle into a beautiful new home knowing that my income is secure. Even better, I’m contributing to the future opportunities of bright student athletes at UCSB.”