OEC Staff Member Creates Gift to Protect Oregon for Future Generations

Teke Dillender has served in a variety of roles for the Oregon Environmental Council since 2006 when she first interviewed for a staff position: as director of major gifts, board member, donor, Legacy Society member and currently, the deputy director of philanthropy. She has been a contributing member throughout the past 16 years, starting after her very first interview.

"I became a member following the first interview I had because I was so impressed with the staff and board members I met and the thoughtful questions they asked," Teke says. "The research I had done about OEC's work impressed me as well, and I have remained a member ever since."

As a young woman, Teke chose to move to Oregon for the natural beauty and easy access to the outdoors. She shares her love of Oregon's wild spaces with her two sons and wants to preserve nature so future generations can enjoy it the way she does.

"I want my kids who are just coming into their own sense of beauty and wonder of the natural world to have access to that the rest of their lives," she says. Teke recalls that she used to have to force her sons to go hiking and camping with her, but now she is thrilled that they are developing their own relationship with the outdoors. They have begun planning their own backpacking trips and making plans to visit remote lake areas with their friends.

"Seeking out the peace and beauty of the wilderness has always been important to me," Teke says. "I want all people to have access to that."

She credits OEC with contributing to the well-being of that wilderness. "The Oregon coastline is stunning and protected for all Oregonians by the work of early OEC members. The mountains, the high desert, so many corners of our state have their own ecosystems and geography, and are so rich and beautiful in their own ways. I appreciate that OEC's work contributes to protecting the health of these places."

One thing Teke values about OEC is that its work over the years has evolved to focus on the intersection of environmental and human health. OEC's policies to reduce the impact of climate change, for example, protect not only the health and beauty of Oregon's natural areas but also the health of our communities and people.

Teke says her initial sense of environmentalism was around preservation of the outdoors. Now she is keenly aware that environmental protections are crucial to human health as well. Peace and serenity found in the outdoors is important for our mental health and access to clean air and water and an environment free from toxics is critical to our physical health.

Teke decided to leave a planned gift to OEC around the time of OEC's 50th anniversary. She had left OEC as a staff member at that point but was serving on the board of directors. "I was thinking about the profound impact OEC has had on this place I love so deeply. When I thought about what I wanted my own long-term impact to be, it aligned closely with OEC's mission and vision, so I decided at that time to make arrangements to leave a planned gift to OEC."

Teke explained that OEC is a contingent beneficiary on her life insurance policy. "As a single parent to two school-age children, my priority is planning for them. I felt an obligation to make sure my children were taken care of if I died when they were young, but I knew I had the intention of giving to OEC. So the decision I made at the time was to leave a contingency bequest to OEC." When her children are grown she will revisit how to provide for her children and leave something to OEC.

Teke hopes her gift will create a sustainable funding source for OEC. "I feel passionately that this work is so important and it is also long term. What I would love to see is for this gift, along with many other gifts, to provide a pool of funds that will support OEC's work for years to come."

She wants anyone considering making a planned gift to OEC to know that "I am not leaving a gift because I feel obligated to as an OEC staff member. I care deeply about OEC's long-term stability and success because I have seen the organization's impact for the past 16 years. This is an investment in the future, in a healthy, climate-resilient, thriving Oregon for generations to come."

Join Teke and others just like you who strive to protect Oregon's water, air and land for future generations. In fact, talk with Teke herself about remembering OEC with a gift in your will or through a beneficiary designation. Simply contact her at 503-222-1963 x119 or teked@oeconline.org today.