By including Washington University in your estate plans, you invest in the future and enter a tradition of planned giving that stretches back to our earliest years.
One gift—500 scholarships, and counting
Eliza (Lizzy) McMillan viewed education as integral to social mobility, and WashU was a prime beneficiary of her philanthropy. Lizzy prioritized access to education through scholarships, focusing her giving on marginalized students.
With an estate bequest in 1915, Lizzy established an endowed scholarship that has benefited more than 500 students over 100 years.
Starting with a sum of $107,148, the Eliza McMillan Scholarship is currently valued at roughly $5 million and continues to provide robust and flexible support for WashU students. Given its average annual payout of about $180,000 today, Eliza McMillan’s bequest was not merely prescient in its stipulations — it was timeless.
Paying it forward
Janell Kim grew up in a low-income, immigrant household in Oregon. College was never a theme of family conversation and the idea of attaining a university education was not in the plans.
After a chance engagement with a college prep nonprofit, Janell set her sights on a different future.
In her senior year of high school, Janell applied successfully to WashU and received full-tuition support that included funds from the Eliza McMillan Scholarship. Janell graduated with a degree in education and has come full circle. She now works for the same college prep program that sparked her interest in higher education and is pursuing a graduate degree in educational counseling. Describing the role of the scholarship in her life, Janell has said it had an “impact beyond what you can imagine… There is a ripple effect, and not just a ripple effect—it’s exponential.”
We invite you to create your own legacy by including an endowed Washington University scholarship in your estate plan.