My Giving Story: Val Broadie

For 30 years, Valerie Broadie J.D. ’79, P ’10 has used the skills she acquired at Duke to do two things: Be a successful non-profit fundraiser and give back to the community.

Broadie is a life member of the Duke Law Board of Visitors and also a 2014 Alumni Award winner.  Although her volunteer activities keep her connected to campus, Broadie says it was most interesting to see Duke through the eyes of her daughter Kristina, an undergrad who graduated from Duke in 2010.

Broadie recently created a bequest to support Duke Law School.  She hopes that her gift will have a lasting impact for generations to come

Here’s what she had to say about her gift and her inspiration:

What impact do you hope your bequest will make?

I have been a non-profit fundraiser for 30 years, and I understand the important role philanthropic support has for institutions like Duke.  My bequest to the Law School will ensure that my commitment to the important work of the students, faculty, and staff continues beyond the time I can physically write the checks myself.  I’m a firm believer that giving back and “paying it forward” is our responsibility to humanity. I have been greatly blessed in my life; many hands have helped me along the way. It is my pleasure and honor to reach my own hands out as often as I can to be a blessing to someone else.

How did your time at Duke develop and shape you as a person?

The Law School presented me with the first true academic challenges I’d ever had (except for calculus at Penn!).  I enjoyed pushing beyond my comfort zones and learning not to be intimidated in any circumstance.  I also learned at Duke how to see almost any side of a story, to try to understand and even argue a different perspective from my own. These are lessons that serve me professionally and personally even today.

What is the best experience you had at Duke?

The most important part of my experience at Duke was building friendships —among my classmates and faculty—that will last a lifetime.

What’s your favorite place at Duke?

My favorite place at Duke is Cameron Indoor Stadium. I spent a lot of afternoons and evenings there as a law student and, since then, cheering-on the Blue Devils.

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Gift Planning

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Duke University’s Office of Gift Planning specializes in charitable gift planning for estates, charitable trusts and annuities, and other complex current and future gift plans.

For more information, please contact the Duke University Office of Gift Planning.