Honoring the extraordinary legacy of Keith and Virginia “Ginny” Titus
None of us can know exactly how the things we do during our lives might reverberate across years, decades, even generations.
A Legacy to Re-Member
The Revs. Keith and Virginia “Ginny” Titus, along with Re-Member co-founders Mike and Kathy Alles, surely couldn’t have foreseen the impact they would make as they drove towards Pine Ridge — first by themselves, and then with small groups of volunteers — who wanted to serve and learn with-and-from the Lakota people.
Or that the miles they drove from their Michigan homes would be the first of a million or more traveled since then by Re-Member volunteers and staff who come from across the United States and around the world, crisscrossing the reservation to deliver firewood, grow fresh produce, and improve the quality of life for its residents.
Or that the organization they founded would become one of the longest-serving and most effective nonprofits on Pine Ridge.
Theirs is a remarkable legacy, of which long and dedicated service to the Oglala Lakota Nation and Re-Member — not only as co-founders but also as organizational leaders, tireless volunteers and, later, ambassadors — is only a part.
To recognize their legacy, Re-Member’s new planned giving society has been named in their honor.
Thank you, Keith and Ginny.
Planning a Gift to Re-Member
Re-Member’s work is sustained by private gifts — gifts of time and sweat from each of our volunteers; gifts of supplies and equipment required to do our work; gifts of money to operate our facilities and assist the community with heating costs; gifts of clothing and essentials that we distribute to Lakota families.
Titus Society membership
Membership in the Keith and Ginny Titus Legacy Society is offered to all donors who let us know, via written documentation, that they have included Re-Member in their estate plans or as a beneficiary of another type of planned gift — regardless of the amount. Members of the Titus Society are publicly recognized for their generosity and periodically invited to special events, although they may remain anonymous.
One particularly powerful way of giving is to include Re-Member in your estate plans. Like the Tituses’ first trip to Pine ridge a quarter century ago, a planned gift, realized after your lifetime, establishes an indelible legacy of support for Re-Member and the Oglala Lakota people. Planned giving also often allows donors to make a more impactful gift than they are able to during their lifetimes.
Planned gifts can take many forms — from simple bequests in your will or living trust to naming Re-Member as a beneficiary of your retirement account or life insurance policy. One realized, they are used according to donors’ wishes.
Philanthropic Priorities
At Re-Member, we work to secure donations for three key areas:
Gifts to our General Fund help us purchase and maintain the materials, equipment, vehicles, and facilities needed for the projects that comprise much of our work.
Gifts to our Seasonal Funds help us deliver firewood and provide emergency heating assistance in the winter and operate our Community Garden Program in the summer.
Gifts to our Feather II Fund help cover the costs of completing a new home for Re-Member that will create dynamic opportunities to expand and develop our program on Pine Ridge.
The Power of Endowment
Most donors who give to Re-Member want us to put their gifts to work right away. This kind of giving creates a direct, immediate impact. Another kind of giving, endowment giving, has less immediate impact but is perhaps even more powerful, since it supports our work of the organization in perpetuity.
Endowment gifts, in simple terms, are invested rather than spent. Each year, some of the earnings are used according to the donor’s wishes, while the rest are re-invested so that the fund grows gradually over time. Endowments are critical to the financial strength of a nonprofit like Re-Member because they represent a more predictable source of funding than cash donations, which can vary dramatically from year to year.
Learn More
To learn more about documenting a planned gift to Re-Member, please contact:
Jennifer Sklener
Director of Finance & Administration
(616) 634-5921