Casting It Forward: Creating a Legacy of Giving
By: Mikaela Stevenson
For Elizabeth DiSabato, giving back has never been about recognition—it’s about creating something that lasts. “I like the idea of casting a fishing line into the future,” Elizabeth says. “You may never see where it lands, but you know it will make a difference for someone.”
This past spring, Elizabeth (BA/93, BA/95) reached a major milestone in her journey of giving, joining Carleton University’s Task Eternal Society—a distinction reserved for donors whose cumulative giving reaches $100,000 or more. The honour places her among an elite group of donors, partners and alumni whose philanthropy is helping to shape Carleton’s story for generations to come. This achievement also carries an added significance as Elizabeth is the only current Carleton staff member to join the Society.
Elizabeth grew up in Ottawa and began her undergraduate degree in English in 1990 on the campus where she’d one day become both a fulltime staff member and a dedicated donor. Her first job at Carleton was as a student caller for the Annual Fund, phoning alumni to share updates and ask for donations. “I loved the idea of people working together toward something meaningful,” she says.
That early experience planted a seed that grew into a lifelong career and passion. Today, Elizabeth is a Stewardship Specialist in Carleton’s Department of University Advancement, where she helps with the creation of scholarships, bursaries and gift agreements. Her analytical mind keeps the details in order, but her heart is always in the stories—both of donors who give and of students whose lives are changed as a result.
“When you hear from a student who says a scholarship made it possible to stay in school, you realize this isn’t just paperwork,” she says. “It’s people’s lives.”
For Elizabeth and her husband Adam, philanthropy has long been part of both their professional and personal worlds. The couple support a range of causes, from monthly donations to the Ottawa Food Bank and the Ten Oaks Society to volunteering with the Ottawa Humane Society, but Carleton remains a priority. “Because we don’t have children, this is our legacy,” Adam explains. “We know that long after we’re gone, these scholarships will still be helping students build better futures.”
Elizabeth and Adam’s giving legacy includes a named study room in the MacOdrum Library as well as a gift in their will to sustain and grow several endowed awards they’ve established at Carleton. Throughout her career, Elizabeth has set up multiple scholarships and a bursary in honour of family members, including one for each of her parents and her uncle, as well as one for Adam’s family. She is in the process of finalizing a fifth award as a memorial to her maternal grandparents that will benefit undergraduate students pursuing a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry with a concentration in Nanoscience. “My parents didn’t have much growing up,” Elizabeth shares. “My dad always wanted to be a history teacher but couldn’t for a variety of circumstances, and my mom had to drop out of high school, taking up correspondence classes later on and working her way up to a bookkeeping job. It meant a lot to create these awards for them.”
That commitment to education runs deep for both Elizabeth and Adam. “Education is the key,” Adam says. “It opens doors, it gives people choices and it allows them to live good lives. Supporting that feels right.”
“It’s about the future,” Elizabeth adds. “It’s about promoting education and what you can do with it moving forward. The bursary I set up in my mother’s name supports industrial design students. I love the idea that someday, one of the recipients will create the next widget that helps someone walk again, or replaces someone’s vision, or just makes life easier for someone who is older or has mobility issues.”
To celebrate this milestone, Elizabeth and Adam attended a plaque unveiling ceremony in Carleton’s Richcraft Hall atrium, where their names now appear on the university’s Donor Wall—a permanent testament to the generosity of those in the Task Eternal Society.
For Elizabeth, seeing her name among those she’s worked with throughout her career is deeply meaningful. “When I started here, I used to look at the donor wall and think, ‘Wouldn’t it be amazing to be part of that group someday?’ It took a while, but I got there,” she says.
Her advice for others considering a gift to Carleton is simple: start small, but start.
“A little at a time adds up,” Elizabeth says. “Before you know it, you’ve built something that matters—and that feels incredible.”