Plan Your Future Gift
What is Planned Giving?
A planned gift is an arrangement made today to support the causes you care about after your lifetime. By including the School of Social Work in your will, trust, retirement account, or other plans, you can create a lasting impact on our students, communities, and the work that matters most to you.
Choose How Your Gift Will Make an Impact
Programs You Can Support
Field Education
Internships are the foundation of social work education, offering immersive, hands-on learning experiences in a professional setting. Understanding the critical role of the internship, we provide a dedicated Field Education team of clinical faculty with real-world social work experience.
Student Support
Student support addresses food insecurity, housing costs, and other unforeseen challenges facing students now and in the future. By reducing these barriers, it helps ensure students do not have to choose between meeting basic needs and continuing their education.
Community Learning Lab
The Community Learning Lab (CLL) creates and supports relationships between the community and the students at the University of Illinois in a partnership that is mutually beneficial in the areas of sustainability, service, growth, and education.
International Internships and Service-Learning
The School of Social Work offers international internships and service-learning that connect classroom learning with global engagement. Students have participated in placements in South Africa, Greece, Israel, Japan, and Uganda.
School Initiatives Where You Can Make a Difference
Endowed Faculty Positions
At the Illinois School of Social Work, our faculty are pushing boundaries in mental health, child welfare, social innovation, and more — all while mentoring the next generation of leaders. Recent gifts have helped us establish our first faculty scholars — the Mark Brandt Faculty Scholar and the Bill and Julie Kellner Faculty Scholar — and endow the Director of the Community Learning Lab through a transformational $3.5 million gift from Dean Emerita Wynne Korr. These gifts elevate not just individuals, but entire areas of focus, advancing research, education, and community partnership.
Contact Nathan Goebel to find out more about Endowed Faculty Positions.
Action Learning
We believe learning doesn’t stop at the classroom door. Through our Community Learning Lab (CLL) and course-based action learning projects, students engage directly with nonprofit partners, government agencies, and service providers — applying their knowledge in real time to meet real needs. This is where theory becomes practice and education becomes action.
Contact Nathan Goebel to find out more about Action Learning.
Social Innovation
Social work is about systems — and systems need to evolve. At the Illinois School of Social Work, we are reimagining how we address generational challenges like poverty, discrimination, mental health access, and community safety. From tech-enabled solutions to interdisciplinary partnerships, we’re not just responding to change — we’re leading it. But leadership requires flexibility — and most funding sources are anything but flexible.
Graduate Scholarships
Every year, the Illinois School of Social Work prepares passionate, purpose-driven students to serve as mental and behavioral healthcare providers, policy advocates, and nonprofit leaders. Many of our MSW and DSW students are returning professionals — balancing classes with full-time jobs, caregiving, and deep ties to their local communities. They aren’t just learning social work — they’re already doing it. But the financial strain of graduate education remains a persistent challenge.
Contact Nathan Goebel to find out more about Graduate Scholarships.
Professional Education
Every licensed social worker in the country must complete continuing education to maintain their credentials — yet access to affordable, high-quality programs remains uneven. At the Illinois School of Social Work, we already offer CEU-eligible programming nearly every week, serving hundreds of practitioners annually. But right now, these offerings are primarily funded by participant fees and School resources — a model that limits growth and access.
Contact Nathan Goebel to find out more about Professional Education.
Donor Stories
Meet the people who have planned a gift to the School of Social Work and learn more about how their generosity makes a real difference.
Susan and Mike Haney
Mark Brandt
Daniel and Christobel Sanders
Create Your Own Path: Learn How
To learn more about planned giving, explore the types of planned gifts below or contact Nathan Goebel and see how your future gift can create lasting impact in the areas that matter most to you.