Giving
The 1907
Society
Honoring Legacy
Illuminating a path for the next generation of leaders
As a member of the 1907 Society, you join an exceptional community of visionaries and forward-thinkers. And with your planned gifts, you seed the promise of opportunity for future generations of Inland Southern California and beyond.
The 1907 Society takes its name from the year the UC Regents established the UC Citrus Experiment Station. It was Valentine’s Day, 1907, and over the next 100+ years, the ideas planted that day flourished beyond all expectation. That original experiment station was staffed by only one scientist and one assistant, charged with horticultural investigation. Today, it serves as the foundation of UC Riverside, America’s most transformative university. Home to a community of 150,000+ alumni from 7 schools and colleges, multiple Nobel Prize winners, and groundbreaking world-class research.
It was through a dynamic combination of community activism, determination, and passion that the plans laid in 1907 blossomed into the UCR we know today. And it is with your generous support that, together, we can continue to champion a brilliant future of opportunity for generations of UC Riverside scholars to come.
“[My dad] was just so happy engaging with engineering and math students, telling them about what he did. He understood that schooling is very important, and that technology is a big part of everything, and wanted to continue that learning, that type of innovation.”
Karen Eliason on the planned gift of the late Lynn Gref, B.S. ’63, M.S. ’64, Ph.D. ’66, and Sally Gref, founders of the Gref Family Endowed Fund for the Advancement of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics, and the Lynn & Sall Gref Regent’s Scholarship in Science
“When my husband passed away, we put on his grave marker a saying that he absolutely believed in: ‘The most important value you have in your life is your good name.’ I’m happy to surround myself with people I love, and... I only want to give funds to change people’s lives for the better.”
Pamela Rubin, on her legacy gifts to UC Riverside with late husband Mark Rubin
Why do you give to UC Riverside?
Every story is unique. We’d love to hear yours!
How to Join
Distinguished, lifetime membership in the 1907 Society is automatic when the Office of Gift Planning receives written documentation of a gift through a will, trust, estate plan, or other deferred giving.
Recognition Benefits
As a lifetime member of the 1907 Society, you are recognized and celebrated in distinct ways, including:
- Invitation to Homecoming with reserved access
- Exclusive invitations to intimate events with UCR senior leadership during Homecoming weekend
- Invitation to the annual Gala and special memorabilia and gifts
- Bi-annual education opportunities
- Exclusive mailings
If you have included, or plan to include, UC Riverside in your estate plans, please contact the Office of Gift Planning and let us know so that we can thank you. Email us or call us at: (951) 827-5676.
FAQ
-
What is the 1907 Society?
The 1907 Society (formerly the Watkins Society) was established in 1994 to recognize the visionary group of supporters who provide for UCR through their estate plans and other deferred giving arrangements. It is named in honor of the year the Citrus Experiment Station was founded, which eventually became the nucleus of the campus, beginning its path toward becoming the preeminent research and educational institution that exists today.
-
Am I in the 1907 Society?
Distinguished, lifetime membership in the 1907 Society is automatic when the Office of Gift Planning receives written documentation of a gift through a will, trust, estate plan, or other deferred giving. To confirm or inquire about your membership status, please reach out to the Office of Gift Planning at planmygift@ucr.edu.
-
Which gifts count toward 1907 Society eligibility?
The following gift types are counted toward membership qualification:
- Documentation of a bequest gift to UC Riverside Foundation in an estate plan
- Establishment of a life income gift
- Beneficiary designation gifts
- Gifts of life insurance
- Charitable remainder trusts
- Charitable gift annuities
- Gifts of real estate
- Documentation of a bequest gift to UC Riverside Foundation in an estate plan
-
Is the 1907 Society different than the Watkin’s Society?
In 2023, Watkin’s Society was renamed the 1907 Society as a part of a bigger expansion of our donor recognition program. If you were previously a Watkin’s Society member, your membership remains active under the 1907 Society.
How to get started with Gift Planning
The resource below offer an overview of gift planning and share ideas for meeting your financial goals while contributing to a future of excellence for UC Riverside.
Did You Know...
It was just two navel orange cuttings planted in the backyard of Eliza Tibbets in 1873 that morphed into Southern California’s lucrative citrus belt — over a million trees stretching 70 miles from Pasadena to Redlands — and created the need for the Citrus Experiment Station.
