Laycock Center

How do you help a someone leave a meaningful legacy who wants to remain completely anonymous, who wants no special attention, no extra hosting, and doesn’t like to come to events?

First, you invite them to help you in simple ways that build meaningful relationships. You connect a long-time personal friend from the institution with them.

And you do a lot of listening. You get to know their family, their parents, their values. You notice the art and photos on their walls and you have conversations about what they care about. Then, you do a lot of work with the instituion to explore the greatest opportunity for impact that matches those values.

And you get creative because you cannot name the idea after the donor!

When the Dean of the College of Fine Arts and Communications and I presented the Laycock Center for Creative Collaboration idea to the anonymous donor, she was delighted.

It made perfect sense.

She loved that the center involved all of her interests–music, art, film, helping people around the world. She could see that it would make a real, transformational impact on the students and the people they serve.

And, though she still refused to accept any kind of public recognition at the announcement of the center or in any subsequent events, she loved our regular stewardship reports. She loved attending concerts and productions even though no one knew she was the one making it all happen!

She has now passed on–I attended a truly beautiful funeral–and her children are thrilled with this lasting legacy of her impact. They still send Christmas cards to my home.