Kalamazoo College is proud to recognize donors and volunteers who made a gift or volunteered between July 1, and June 30, The Kalamazoo College experience is enhanced by a strong community of donors.
Gifts from alumni, parents, families and friends support scholarships, faculty excellence, experiential learning, capital improvements, athletics and so much more!
The impact of this philanthropy is evident in the student experiences shared below, including access to diverse academic offerings, supportive faculty and a strong sense of community. My favorite part of being at K is my ability to take classes across all disciplines.
This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Sign up for the Breaking News Newsletter and receive up to date information. Click here to manage all Newsletters. Contact Subscribe. Fran Dwight. City officials believe this to be the largest donation in history given to support a municipality.
Deputy City Manager Laura Lam talks about what the donation to the Foundation for Excellence will mean for future visioning activities among city residents.
Foundation for Excellence Manager Steve Brown takes questions from the media. City officials believe this to be the largest donation in history given to support a municipality and it funds a foundation that very well may be unique to any city as well. The Kalamazoo Foundation for Excellence is the vehicle through which the city is achieving long-term fiscal stability and something loftier, dollars for programs intended to help end the cycle of generational poverty.
Founded in , the foundation has raised money philanthropically to pay for essential city services so the city does not have to raise taxes, take dramatic budget-cutting measures, or cut city services.
It also has tackled those projects citizens have said are important to them. The mayor who described himself as fired up as his remarks got underway was so excited he repeated the news. Walter shares the family story. Elizabeth did most of the work to get it established, and it was her financial advisor in Kalamazoo who told her about the Community Foundation.
Scholarships from our fund help incoming junior and senior undergrad students and incoming or current grad students who are enrolled at one of four schools: Western Michigan University, Michigan State University, University of Colorado and University of Wisconsin. My parents always said that the only way to make it in life was to get an education. My dad was the first one in his family to graduate from college, and what he went through to achieve that was amazing.
He would do anything to go to college even though he had absolutely no financial support and was on his own. Our mother was valedictorian of her high school in a little town in Wisconsin. At the time she married my dad she was working at Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company in Milwaukee and later became a full-time homemaker.
Elizabeth also earned a business degree from Western. That was all mainly because of my dad. I never would have gone to college without his influence. We decided to create merit-based scholarships with no restrictions on academic majors when we established our fund. We know that m any scholarships are focused on incoming freshmen, especially those who can demonstrate significant financial need.
But the cost is usually higher for upperclassmen and grad students, and they often have even greater financial needs that can be less obvious. The Community Foundation was very patient and creative as we established this fund, allowing us to offer scholarships to students attending the various universities that were important in our lives.
Elizabeth was won over by the staff, and I was very impressed with Juan Olivarez, who was the president and CEO at the time. In fact, we had such a positive experience that we went on to establish another fund: the Elizabeth, Walter and Frank Jr. The fund they created supports three Kalamazoo County nonprofits they have been passionate about for years. Jackie recently passed away and Warren shared with us the story behind this unique arrangement.
We established the Warren and Jacqueline Lawrence Family fund as an endowed Designated Fund that would help us support the work of three specific nonprofits we had in mind. In talking with the Community Foundation's staff, we found out that a particular Designated Fund usually supports only one nonprofit.
But they were flexible and creative and worked with us to achieve what we wanted. Many people don't realize the Community Foundation serves the entire county, not just Kalamazoo proper. It was at that point I realized what was meant by the saying, an endowment is forever.
To me, forever means multiple generations. Our grandchildren and great-grandchildren will benefit from the gifts we make to an endowment, as will their children and grandchildren, and so on down through the years. In other words, an endowment never stops giving. When people ask me about the arrangements we've made, I tell them Jackie and I had a number of reasons for establishing our fund with the Community Foundation the way we did.
For example, the money is in their hands and taking care of it is now their job. They do all the worrying about proper investments, the IRS and any legal questions. They have been a great partner in helping us with the technical part of achieving our goals. Another reason is that they were easy to work with. They were very understanding about my lack of knowledge and were patient with all the questions I asked. And then there's the credibility of the Community Foundation.
You don't even have to worry about that. So you have the satisfaction of working with an organization that's very credible and very understanding. When you walk in the door, they're ready to answer all your questions and give you the correct guidance. They want to help you accomplish what you want to accomplish, even when it's a bit unusual, like in our case. I also tell others that, as a donor, your are protected by the Community Foundation. It even has a donor "Bill of Rights," which assures your gift will be used for the purposes intended and stated when you made that gift.
For example, our intent with the Vicksburg Community Schools is to support innovation in teaching and learning in the square miles that make up our school district. But what happens if we someday merge with Schoolcraft or go to a county-wide school district? The wishes of the Vicksburg Community Schools, which are included in the documentation, will guide the decisions of the Kalamazoo Community Foundation's board.
And even if something completely unexpected happens that isn't covered in the documentation, we know the Community Foundation's board will honor our intent. One of the things we liked about this particular designated endowment arrangement is that other people can contribute to the fund and, by doing that, end up contributing to three nonprofits we care about. If friends or family members or others want to contributed to our fund, it's very easy.
I saw this recently after Jackie passed away. The Community Foundation let me know that there were donations made in her honor and memory to our family fund, as well as other nonprofits in Vicksburg. I know that would mean so much to her. Legacy is a great word even though it is often over-used. To me it means what we did and the things that were dear to us in our lifetime will be remembered and honored even when we're not here physically. Years from now the Community Foundation's board and staff will be different, and few of them will remember who Warren and Jackie were.
But we have the satisfaction now of knowing our intentions will continue because established an endowed Designated Fund. People need to know you don't have to be wealthy to contribute to the community you care about.
0コメント