Dianne Belk and Lawrence Calder

In 2018, Dianne and Lawrence committed $1.2 million dollars and challenged councils to increase planned giving efforts - 102 councils met the challenge. Councils educated their supporters about planned giving and asked them to include the council in their will and estate plan. The result was over 843 new planned gifts throughout the world, worth more than $30 million. Each of those councils received a $10,000 planned gift from Dianne and Lawrence.

Dianne, a Gold Award Girl Scout and lifetime member, was the first female industrial engineering student at Mississippi State University. She arrived at college with a fistful of scholarships, $5, and her clothes in a brown paper bag! After graduating, she worked as an engineer and became an internationally recognized manufacturing expert at a time when she was always the only woman at the table.