Young Family Starts Giving Legacy Early

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Heather Dooley (Accounting, 2012) grew up listening to personal finance guru Dave Ramsey. She remembers that one caller to his show, after their parents died, created a scholarship in their honor, and Dooley liked that. “Surely,” she thought, “I don’t have to die before I can give back.” So Dooley, a CPA with Forvis in their performance and operations group, along with her husband, Taylor, a project manager at Merit Construction, established a scholarship at the Culverhouse School of Accountancy.

Culverhouse benefits from many generous alums, so the scholarship itself, while certainly important, is not particularly unusual. What’s remarkable is that the donors are not seasoned philanthropists with years of giving under their belt, but a young couple with small children (their daughter, Meredith, and son, Daniel, are pictured).

Dooley attributes their ability to give at an earlier stage in life, in part, to their lack of student loans. What advice would they give other young professionals considering philanthropy? Dooley urges them to heed Dave Ramsey’s advice to “stretch that giving muscle.” Even if they cannot yet afford to fund a scholarship, the habit of giving is one that will continue to enrich lives no matter what age it begins.

Considering a gift to Culverhouse? Contact Executive Director of Development Nick Foster at nfoster@culverhouse.ua.edu.

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