Connections
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Rosemary Werner Memorial Hat TreeBill Werner and Mary Mickey stand next to the Rosemary Werner Memorial Hat Tree located at St. Francis Cancer Treatment Center. The hats are purchased through a fund established in memory of Bill Werner’s late wife Rosie. The hats, which are available to all cancer patients, are ordered seasonally and each is embroidered and tagged with Rosemary Werner’s initials. |
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And the two became oneGene and Ellinor Reab established a fund that addresses the issues most important to each of them. Mrs. Reab wanted to support the work of the youth ministries program at their church and Mr. Reab wanted to help meet the basic needs of local residents. With one gift to the community foundation, they were able to accomplish each of their goals. |
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James P. and Joy Y. Zana Scholarship fundIn 2006, the family of Jim Zana established the James P. and Joy Y. Zana Scholarship fund with gifts contributed in Mr. Zana’s memory. To date, 24 scholarships have been awarded to Grand Island seniors pursuing a fine arts course of study. The fund also awards scholarships to the Grand Island Presbyterian Preschool program. |
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A Better ApproachThere are a number of companies with a tradition of giving back, and they receive many requests for donations. It can be hard to decide which appeals to respond to... and even harder to know if the company’s charitable gifts are making a difference. As a result, many companies are establishing Donor Advised Funds at their local community foundation. Each year a team of employees meet with the community to review local needs and recommend grants, and for most, they feel their company is able to do so much more through their community foundation. |
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Sharing Family Values"We wanted to share our community values with our children and share our family values with our community," says one donor, explaining why she and her husband established a Donor Advised Fund at their local community foundation. Every year, they and their children meet with community foundation staff to recommend uses of the fund. Two years ago, they recommended that it be used to help start a daycare center. Last year, the fund helped expand the hours of this center, in addition to supporting an area arts camp. "We look forward to a day when we might involve our children’s children in giving back." |
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A Personal ConnectionWhen one donor retired, he wanted a way to give more to his community. "I've lived here my whole life, and now that I have more time and resources, I can give back to a number of causes and organizations that are very special to me," he says. He and his financial advisor met with their community foundation to discuss ways he might increase the impact of his giving and gain maximum tax advantage. He chose to establish a Fund in his family's name. He now meets with the community foundation’s professional staff to recommend grants in the areas he cares about most. "Last year, based on my recommendations, the fund bought uniforms for an after-school sports league and supported an adult literacy program. This is a great way to stay involved and use what I have to make a difference in the community I love." |
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A Personal Mission UnforgottenWhen they lost their adult daughter, Susan, to cancer, the Perez family received hundreds of contributions from people throughout the community. Susan had been a high school teacher, so many of the contributions came from fellow teachers and from parents of the students whose lives she had touched. "Susan cared so deeply about her work," says Mrs. Perez, "and we wanted to use the money to continue in that spirit of helping children through their education." The Perez family spoke with their local community foundation and decided to establish the Susan L. Perez Education Fund, a Field of Interest Fund that memorializes their daughter by supporting local educators and students. "We chose to begin this kind of fund because education is so dynamic," says Mr. Perez. "We realize that we aren’t always aware of what our school system needs and how it works, and we wanted to be sure that, even years from now, grants made in Susan’s name make sense for our community." |