Ruth Johnson’s Gift Annuity Will Endow Future Scholarship

When asked why she has made a planned gift to Gustavus, Ruth Johnson ’69 cited Edgar Carlson’s homily at the inauguration of President John Kendall. During her years as an administrator at Gustavus, Ruth handed out copies to people who asked about the College’s mission “Time marches on, but even now it stands as a compelling argument for what we do at Gustavus,” she said, “enabling students to become thinking, acting, judging human beings.” To use Carlson’s words:

Gustavus is an institution that does more than prepare graduates to fill some job; it is engaged in the quest for truth in its broadest and deepest sense. That includes what truth is as well as what things are true. It is not merely information, it is confronting reality and responding to it.

Looking back, Ruth sees how she was shaped by this mission. She recalls in particular a theology class in her junior year when she learned about the concepts of epistemology and teleology: ways of knowing and the ultimate purpose in any action. “I thought, ‘That’s everything!’ ” These questions proved essential in her career in Minnesota state politics. “In politics they are translated into: what problem are we trying to solve here, and will this solution do the job and work as planned?”

Ruth’s giving to Gustavus is likewise aimed at solving a particular problem—how to make this kind of education possible for new generations of students, allowing them to learn broadly, think deeply, and see connections and possibilities. “Students learn who they are and why they matter,” she says. “They gain the preparation needed to make a difference in the world.”

In making her planned gift, Ruth worked with gift planner Jennifer Vickerman to set up a charitable gift annuity. Ruth transferred funds to the College to fund the annuity—in exchange for a charitable deduction and a lifetime of payments back to her. After Ruth's passing, the invested remainder advances to an endowed scholarship in her name. Charitable gift annuities are an ideal way to be charitable today and provide for supplemental fixed-rate income payments for life. Ruth appreciates the fixed rate of return as part of a balanced retirement portfolio. The College gains a promised gift for the future, which will grow with sound investing and contribute to future financial stability.

Ruth appreciates this goal as well. “By contributing to the endowment to strengthen the College’s financial foundation,” she says, “I can help make it possible for future Gusties to have the kind of opportunities I received at Gustavus.”