Making a World of Difference

Jo Nelle Bain '71, '75 has never forgotten the thrill of a 7,000-mile adventure she took at age 10 with her mother. Since then, she has traveled to more than 40 countries and is still finding new places to explore.

While the retired media professional is seeing the world, she is also planning a bright future for tomorrow's SMU world changers. She has decided to designate SMU as a beneficiary of a retirement plan—a significant portion of her overall estate.

Her decision reflects the values she learned at an early age from her mother, a high school teacher. Her mother stressed financial responsibility, and above all, the importance of a good education.

As an SMU student, everything she studied broadened her perspective, she says, and helped shape her future success. "I am grateful to SMU for providing me with such a wonderful, well-rounded education," she says.

Jo Nelle has taken measures to ensure that students benefit from similar transformative academic experiences in years to come. Fellow Mustangs can make provisions for their families while expanding their legacies through planned gifts to SMU, she says. "It's common for people to leave most things behind for their children and grandchildren," she says. "But if you give a percentage of that to your university, you can help in educating future generations."

"By making a planned gift," she adds, "you've done something you know will live on." In establishing a planned gift, this world traveler will indeed be helping SMU shape future generations of world changers.

Let Us Help

Let us share all the ways your gift makes a difference at SMU. Contact SMU's Office of Gift Planning at 214-768-1911 or giftplanning@smu.edu to get started.