A Change in Attitude and a Legacy of Giving

For most of their lives and ministry, John J. and Barbara Dadd Shaffer have shared what they call a “financial attitude of scarcity” that they attribute to their parents’ experiences of the Great Depression. The fear of financial insecurity was with them from the time they married in 1962 through over forty of their sixty-three years together.

Most of that time, the Shaffers lived in Alaska where John, a United Methodist elder, pastored multiple churches and held leadership positions within the Alaska United Methodist Conference. Barbara, a commissioned Home Missionary, worked for Alaska’s Department of Labor, Office of the Aging, and the governor’s office as a liaison for more than three dozen villages. The attitude of scarcity dominated their spending, saving, investing, and giving.

Yet, fifteen years ago, the couple intentionally shifted their mindset to make generosity and abundance—rather than fear—central to their views about money. It wasn’t easy. Barbara explains, “Our income and assets did not change. Our attitude changed.”

Today, United Methodist Higher Education Foundation (UMHEF) scholarship recipients benefit from that attitude adjustment. Now retired and living in Washington, the Shaffers are passionate in their support of UM-related higher education institutions. They know firsthand that UM schools can shape lives. Both graduated from UM colleges, John from Illinois Wesleyan University and Barbara from Albion College, and they met on the campus of Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary. Barbara, who has served as a trustee for Alaska Pacific University and UMHEF, says there are unique advantages to receiving an education from UM-related schools. Those institutions were “founded on principles important to us,” she adds. “Values are part of the structure and curriculum.”

Now, with an attitude of generosity and abundance, John and Barbara are helping students receive an education from a UM-related school. They have established four scholarships: one with Alaska Pacific University, one with Claremont School of Theology, a third for students in the DR Congo, and the John J. and Barbara Dadd Shaffer Scholarship with our foundation.

Because the UMHEF endowment fund is already producing scholarships, the Shaffers can see the impact of their giving, and the UMHEF community can thank them during their lifetimes!