The best gift I ever received was from a donor who so plainly "did not love" any of our usual gifts on the shelf, I thought it would never happen ... until she decided that we would build one together. Trust me, for a new gift officer, that imperative to design was a whack on the side of the head, but it would define my future.
Together, we crafted what turned out to be a dream gift for young scientists. The ones so driven by curiosity (and so "not ready for prime time") that their singular passion meant that it would be a real struggle to get funding for their research through traditional sources; but this donor was anything but traditional.
In the end, this insightful and unstoppable donor created a fund so perfect for Weizmann that not only she could give to it (and did), but also many other donors have re-created for themselves many times since -- using current and future gifts, and every kind of gift in between.
It was the fund for donors who love science that is so new it doesn't yet have a name: Discovery Fund.