Forester Establishes Strong Roots for the Future at MU

In the center of Bruce Loewenberg’s living room, brushing up against the lofted ceiling, are two unusual focal points.

“People come over and say, ‘My God, you’ve got two trees in your house!’ ” Loewenberg laughed.

He literally does have two trees inside his home with the wood preserved through a curing process. The house was actually built over and around them.

“I’ve even got a tiger on one of them too!” he said.

As a lifelong forester, Bruce's passion for trees is matched only by his love for his alma mater. The plight of MU’s pin oaks particularly resonated with him—when the MU Botanic Garden team made the difficult decision to replace the trees on the Francis Quadrangle, Loewenberg understood why it was necessary.

“Those pin oaks were a lot smaller when I was on campus,” he said. “But they only live 70, maybe 80 years. I’m nearly as old as they are! These new white oaks they’re planting will live longer—and they grow relatively quickly too.”

To support the project, Bruce sponsored one of the 24 new trees—called the Legacy Oaks—with a charitable gift annuity. Unlike a cash gift, the gift annuity produces an ongoing, consistent income for the donor in addition to immediate tax benefits.

“It’s an absolute no-brainer for me; I’ve got no idea why you don’t see more people taking advantage of gift annuities,” he said. “You stick that money in a money market account or even a savings account and you’re getting, what, less than 1 percent? In my case, with the annuity, I was getting a far better rate!”

Now, his investment is growing right alongside the new trees—and as Bruce puts it, “It's a win-win for just about everyone.”

When creating a charitable gift annuity, your initial gift to MU is invested by the university; based on your age at the time of your gift, you'll receive a fixed annual income supported by the account for the rest of your life. To learn more about charitable gift annuities, contact The Office of Gift Planning at 1-800-970-9977 or 573-882-0272 or giftplanning@missouri.edu.