Discovering New Ways to Give

March 10, 2026

For Lani Ray, a retired schoolteacher, education runs in the family—like a genetic trait passed from one generation to the next. “My grandmother was a schoolteacher, my dad was a schoolteacher, my sister was a schoolteacher, and I have a niece who was a schoolteacher,” she explains. Now, as a donor to BYU-Pathway Worldwide, Ray has found a new way to pass down the gift of education to generations to come.

Pathway to Giving

Ray’s pathway to supporting students began one Christmas season when she visited her local Light the World Giving Machines. During her 31-year career in the classroom, Ray witnessed firsthand the value of education. So, she was happy to see that one of the gift options was to help a young woman in Africa attend school. Ray felt inspired to give, and she donated to the cause.

Another year, Ray chose once again to give the gift of education, but this time she thought, “Who in my community needs this?” Considering people in her church congregation, she made a donation to her bishop and asked for it to be used to help a struggling student pay their tuition.

Then Ray discovered she could give online to BYU-Pathway and was impressed by the opportunities it could provide. “I know how much I paid for my education and how I struggled to pay the bills,” she says. “Having an education that is more affordable but just as good is phenomenal. BYU-Pathway opens doors for a lot of people.”

Ray set up monthly recurring donations to BYU-Pathway to continue helping students near and far. “I’m not super wealthy, but I do have a regular income,” she says. “I decided this is a good way to spend my money.”

Another Way to Leave a Legacy

After Ray retired a few years ago, she moved back to her hometown to help care for her father. Sadly, Ray’s father passed away soon after.To add to their grief, Ray and her sister were faced with navigating the complications of settling his estate. “There were some issues that took a long time,” Ray says. “I was appalled by some of the hoops we had to jump through to get everything settled.”

Following that difficult time in her life, Ray decided to establish a trust to manage her finances and make settling her estate smoother for those who outlive her. As she thought about who to leave an inheritance to in addition to her relatives, Ray desired to expand the scope of her legacy by naming BYU-Pathway as a beneficiary in her trust.

She says, “The more education I got, the more I was able to get better jobs to support myself. That broadened my horizons. I figured this would broaden the horizons of others. The motto for my giving is the old saying ‘If you give a man a fish, you feed him for a day. If you teach a man to fish, you feed him for a lifetime.’ If I can help somebody through their college years and make it a little easier for them to become self-reliant, then they can encourage and help others. It builds on itself.”

To learn how you can make a deferred gift and become a member of the BYU-Pathway Worldwide Legacy Society, email giftplanning@ChurchofJesusChrist.org, visit our web page about planned giving, or call 877-650-5377.