Planned giving, global impact
October 4, 2023
AgEcon Search is the most extensive collection of free digital agricultural and applied economics literature worldwide. It comprises over 180,000 papers representing over 70 countries. So in early 2021, when Frances Homans, then Head of the Department of Applied Economics at CFANS, learned that the late Surjit and Sachiko Sidhu left a generous estate gift for the unrestricted use and benefit of the Department of Applied Economics, AgEcon Search seemed a perfect fit. After all, the Sidhus came to the U.S.—bringing extensive experience with agricultural development projects in Asia and Africa—to pursue their graduate degrees in applied economics in the early 1970s.
Homans explains, “The obvious benefit of AgEcon Search is that papers are freely available to anyone—anywhere. The less obvious benefit is that researchers everywhere can find an audience for their work.” She adds, “Thanks to Sachiko and Surjit Sidhu and their tremendous generosity, we will continue to host and grow AgEcon Search well into the future, making a global impact for generations to come.”
The Sidhu family left CFANS in their estate plans, but there are many ways to provide a future gift and some are as easy as completing an online form. If you're interested in learning more about making a future gift to CFANS, contact CFANS Development at cfansgive@umn.edu.
