She's Already Giving to Kids Who Haven’t Been Born Yet
L-R: Kelly Collison, Roger Grein, Sue Monteith, and Alison Kaufman. The Magnified Giving team joins and congratulates Sue Monteith after she was recognized for her planned estate gift to Magnified Giving at the Greater Cincinnati Planned Giving Council Voices of Giving event. Photo courtesy of Leigh Taylor Photography.
When the Greater Cincinnati Planned Giving Council gathers each year for their Voices of Giving event, they're celebrating a specific kind of generosity, the kind that looks past the present moment and invests in what a community can become long after the giver is gone. This year, Magnified Giving had the honor of nominating someone for that recognition who embodies that spirit in every part of how she lives: Sue Monteith.
Sue has spent her life showing up for the people and places around her. She's been active in her church's mission work for years, supporting organizations like Matthew 25 Ministries, the Mason Food Pantry, Our Daily Bread, and Faith Emergency Services. She's a sustained supporter of her undergraduate alma mater, where she funds a family memorial scholarship for graduate students and gives annually to special initiatives she believes in. She's a participant, not just a donor, in educational programs at Cincinnati Music Hall and the American Sign Museum, the kind of person who doesn't just write a check and walk away but stays genuinely connected to the work. And she has long supported Ohio Valley Voices, which helps deaf and hard-of-hearing children learn to listen and speak.
Magnified Giving has been part of that same circle of care. Sue has believed in what happens when young people are handed real philanthropic responsibility and trusted to rise to it, and when she sat down to think about what she wanted her estate to reflect, she included us in it!
"By including Magnified Giving in my estate plans, I am investing in future generations of young philanthropists who will make a lasting difference in their communities," Sue shared. "It is meaningful to know that my values of generosity, service, and civic engagement will continue to inspire and empower students for years to come."
There's something so quietly extraordinary about a gift like that. The students Sue is investing in haven't started the program yet, and some of them haven't been born yet, but her generosity will help shape the experience they have when they do arrive, and the way they think about their communities for the rest of their lives. Every grant-giving ceremony, every Camp Give session, every moment when a student stands up and presents a check to a nonprofit they researched and chose because of what they learned with us, those moments are what Sue is making more possible.
Kelly Collison, CEO of Magnified Giving, spoke to what this gift means to the organization: "On behalf of Magnified Giving, we are all honored and humbled by this extraordinary legacy gift. Sue's foresight and generosity will create opportunities for young people to discover the power of giving and make a meaningful impact for years to come."
Legacy giving doesn't require enormous wealth, and it doesn't require a formal process to get started. It really comes down to a belief that something is worth continuing, and a decision to act on that belief in a lasting way. If you've been part of the Magnified Giving community, seen what our students accomplish, or felt connected to the idea that young people can be powerful forces for good in their communities, we'd genuinely love to talk with you about what a planned gift could look like for you.
You can reach Noelle Schwartz, Director of Advancement, at [email protected] to start that conversation.
To Sue: we're so grateful. The work you're helping to sustain will touch students who don't know your name yet, and that's exactly the kind of generosity that changes what a community is capable of becoming. Special thanks to the Greater Cincinnati Planned Giving Council for organizing this meaningful event to celebrate this special kind of philanthropy!
