The Benefits of Giving

Throughout their 65-year marriage, Glen and Dottie Ellison, both '49, served others through their work in education and business and through their active leadership in their church and their dedication to the Whitworth community.

Dorothy (Hone) Ellison grew up in British Columbia and earned a degree in Christian education at Biola University in Los Angeles. She then came to Whitworth, where she earned a degree in English and the Bible—and where she also met her future husband.

Glen Ellison grew up in Southern California and served in the U.S. Navy. He attended the Montana State School of Mines and Biola University before coming to Whitworth, where he finished his first of three Whitworth degrees, in psychology. After Glen studied for a year at Princeton Seminary, during which time Dottie taught school, the now-married Ellisons returned to Spokane, where they served as Christian education directors at First Presbyterian Church while Glen completed a second bachelor's degree and then a master's in education at Whitworth.

Glen's professional career took the couple around the world, but the opportunity to be involved with Whitworth was one of the deciding factors in their decision to retire to Spokane in 1989. In 2004 the Ellisons received the Alumni Service to Whitworth Award for their dedication to Whitworth and for expressing the mission of the university to others.

In addition to their service to the university, Glen and Dottie have provided significant support to Whitworth through outright contributions and by establishing two charitable gift annuities (CGAs) with The Whitworth Foundation. They established their first CGA in 2009, and they received joint annuity payments until Dottie's passing in 2013. Glen established a second CGA in 2017, and he will receive the payments from both CGAs for his lifetime.

"Education at Whitworth merits priority in my giving plans," Glen says. "Of the 10 charities I support each year, I consider Whitworth University to be the most worthy cause." According to Glen, his CGAs through The Whitworth Foundation provide "the benefit of a tax deduction and partially tax-free income thereafter."