“I saw Grand Canyon for the first time in 1979. By the mid-80’s, I was living in San Francisco and had a friend who met her husband on a dory trip in Grand Canyon. I remember the angst of feeling that these trips cost so much and how difficult it is for people of modest means to go.

In 1990, I sold a house that had been purchased in 1965 and had been a rental property for twenty years. For me it represented a very large capital gain and I did not need the money to live on, so I placed it in a Charitable Remainder Trust. I enjoyed a modest income from that, but thirty years later, continuing to administer the trust was becoming impracticable. When I learned of the Grand Canyon Youth plan to purchase their building, it seemed like a really good idea to terminate the trust and distribute the assets. That required a court order, but it’s really nice to have the joy of supporting Grand Canyon Youth’s mission in this way while I’m still alive.”

Long-time supporter Susanne Durling was the lead donor to the Downstream 2020 campaign. Thank you, Sue, for making this purchase possible!