Alumni and friends extend Bonnie Cone’s legacy through gifts

Alumni, faculty, staff and friends of UNC Charlotte gathered at the Charlotte Country Club for the annual Bonne E. Cone Society Luncheon on Wednesday, May 30.

This special group of friends have named the UNC Charlotte Foundation as the beneficiary of a planned gift. Commonly donated through wills or trusts, planned gifts can include charitable gift annuities or gifts of life insurance. These planned gifts have strengthened and advanced the University through student scholarships, endowed faculty chairs, enhanced campus experiences and impactful research initiatives.

This annual luncheon is a way for the University to acknowledge and express appreciation for such generous donors. UNC Charlotte is in the midst of its largest capital campaign in history, EXPONENTIAL, with a goal of $200 million. To date, the campaign has raised $152.5 million, truly transforming UNC Charlotte by providing scholarships and resources to students, research opportunities for faculty and reaffirming the University’s position as an economic engine for the Charlotte region.

“Miss Bonnie worked tirelessly for the University to motivate students, win friends and attract benefactors,” said Chancellor Philip L. Dubois. “She believed that fundraising must be an educational priority, and she made a planned gift through a bequest to UNC Charlotte in addition to many lifetime gifts. Thank you for following Miss Bonnie’s lead in making a planned gift to UNC Charlotte.”

Cone, affectionately known by most who knew her as Miss Bonnie, kept a special saying from Edward Everett Hale on her desk – words that she modeled her life after. “I am only one, but I am one. I cannot do everything, but I can do something. What I can do, I ought to do, and what I ought to do, by the Grace of God, I will do.”

Andrew Hartley, UNC Charlotte’s Russell Robinson Distinguished Professor of Shakespeare, spoke at the luncheon; he specializes in performance theory and practice. Also as A.J. Hartley, he is the international and NY Times bestselling author of 20 novels in various genres for adults and younger readers. His newest book, “Lies That Bind Us,” published under the pseudonym Andrew Hart, has been in the top 20 most-sold fiction on Amazon charts for the past three weeks.

View more photos from the luncheon on the University’s Flickr site.