Moments in Philanthropy || July 2010
In this Issue
Madison Community Foundation New Funds
MCF 2009 Annual Report Now Available
Charitable Gift Annuity Rates to Increase July 1
Legacy Matters - a St. Vincent de Paul Interview with Amy Overby
Mann Education Opportunity Fund - Influencing Generations of Students
Margaret’s Fund Scholarship Recipient
Capital Campaign Completed at South Madison Library
Madison Community Foundation – Best of Wisconsin Business Awards
Madison Community Foundation New Funds
Theater in Overture Center Passthrough Fund
Garner Family Fund
Statue of Liberty Replica Restoration FundMadison Community Foundation 2009 Annual Report Now Available
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2009 Annual Report Cover
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The Madison Community Foundation 2009 Annual Report is now available in print and online. The report provides a comprehensive look at the impact MCF had in 2009. It summarizes the multiplied impact of strengthening infrastructure, helping create community endowments, and providing resources for our most vulnerable citizens.
MCF staff and Board of Governors would like to thank Rippe Keane Marketing for their innovative and inspirational design work on the 2009 issue. With generous and insightful management, Rippe Keane staff produced the authentic story of MCF community support in 2009.
To download the Madison Community Foundation 2009 Annual Report,
click here. To receive a printed copy, email
Darcy Kobinsky, Office Manager, or call (608) 232-1763.
Charitable Gift Annuity Rates to Increase July 1
If you have been thinking about creating a Charitable Gift Annuity as part of your financial and philanthropic plans, now might be the time to make a commitment.
A charitable gift annuity is a contract under which a charity, in return for a transfer of assets, agrees to pay a fixed amount of money to one or two individuals for their lifetime. The payments are fixed and unchanged for the term of the contract. A portion of the payments are considered to be a partial tax-free return of the donor's gift, which are spread in equal payments over the life expectancy of the donor. The donor can claim a charitable income tax deduction for a portion of the gift in the year the CGA is established. The donor cannot add more money to the CGA once it is done — a new CGA would have to be created.
“The annuity payment is fixed at the time the CGA is created, based on the rates in effect at that time,” explained Ann Casey, MCF Vice President, Finance & Planned Giving, “This rate change increase is worth consideration. Although changes are reviewed annually, the last time the rates were adjusted was 2008, and then the rates went down.”
Annuity payments continue for the life/lives of the donor(s). The contributed property is given irrevocably, and becomes a part of the charity’s assets. When the donor(s) pass away, the remainder of the CGA either creates an endowment or is added to an existing endowment to benefit a particular charity at Madison Community Foundation.
For more information on Charitable Gift Annuities, email or call
Ann Casey, Vice President, Finance & Planned Giving, (608) 232-1763.
Legacy Matters - a St. Vincent de Paul Interview with Amy Overby
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Photo: Amy Overby
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Madison Community Foundation Vice President of Donor Relations Amy Overby recently discussed legacy giving with Ernie Stetenfeld of St. Vincent de Paul. The interviewed appeared in the Society of St. Vincent de Paul summer newsletter. They talked about the impact of legacy giving on St. Vincent de Paul, in particular how legacy gifts help build capacity to help neighbors in need. Amy delineated the easy steps to making a bequest involving stocks, bonds, or any other assets to the charity beneficiaries through provisions of a will. St. Vincent de Paul Board of Directors routinely commits ten percent of any bequest to an endowment that will forever support the work of the Society unless the donor requests otherwise.
To read the full article in the St. Vincent newsletter,
visit this site.
To contribute to the St Vincent de Paul endowment fund,
click here.
Mann Education Opportunity Fund - Influencing Generations of Students
The Mann Education Opportunity Fund was created at Madison Community Foundation in the mid-1990's to identify and nurture exceptional Madison students of color as they enter high school. It was launched by friends and family of Bernard and Kathlyn Mann to honor their lifelong commitment to education. The Mann Fund is one of the most dynamic scholarship funds at MCF – hundreds of people have contributed, donors are still actively giving, and the family of Bernard and Kathlyn are still involved with the program.
When Molinda Henry walked across the stage at UW-Madison graduation ceremonies this June, her gown and mortarboard were making the trip a second time. Four years earlier, her daughter, Emuye (pronounced ee-moo’- yay), had been one of the first Mann Scholar recipients to complete her college education. When Emuye stepped off the stage at prestigious Ivy League Brown University in 2006, she took off her mortarboard and, turning to her mother who had never been to college, said, “Ok, now it is your turn.”
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Molinda Henry photo
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“College had not been a possibility for me,” explained Molinda. “I was a single mom, working hard and raising two kids. I wanted my children to get all the education that they could and to have a better opportunity than I had, so I drilled into them the importance of studying hard and getting good grades.”
Studying hard paid off for Emuye, who, chosen as a Mann Fund Scholar, had support and mentoring all through high school to get her primed for college. A stipend of $1,000 a year paid for school supplies, tutoring, and fees for extra programs, athletics, and music. An assistant kept in touch regularly, making home visits and making sure Emuye had all the help she needed to succeed.
“When Emuye was applying to college, someone even came to our home to make sure that she had all the help she needed in filling out college applications,” said Molinda. “My daughter had dreams of attending Brown University in Rhode Island, and she was accepted! I kept telling her I wanted to be like her when I grew up.”
After she was handed the mortarboard, Molinda entered the Odyssey Program in preparation to attend college and then took the huge step of quitting her full time job to attend University of Wisconsin – Madison full time in African American Studies and Literature. Her children were extremely supportive of their mother’s return to school. She graduated in three and a half years.
“The Mann Fund support opens the world to everyone in the family,“ continued Molinda. “The enthusiasm, study ethics, and can-do attitude rubbed off on all of us. We learned how perseverance is rewarded by success. Emuye was the pebble in the pond, with the ripples reaching out even beyond our family. Watching her experience, I realized that I, too, could do anything, could have my dreams come true.”
Currently interviewing for positions in education, Molinda intends to teach African American studies and literature. She is also writing a book about her experience as a non-traditional African American student.
Molinda’s daughter, Emuye, is currently lives in California and works for Apple, Inc.
The Mann program's goal is to provide mentoring and educational tools primarily, but not exclusively, to students of color from the Madison Metropolitan School District who show potential for academic achievement, but face significant challenges in fulfilling their full potential.
If you would like to contribute to the Mann Educational Opportunity Fund, please
click here.
Margaret’s Fund Scholarship Recipient
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Margaret’s Fund recipients Nicole Tackes for 2010 left, and right, Tara Hoffman for 2009
Photo by Steve Ackerman |
Nicole Tackes is the recipient of the 2010 Margaret’s Fund: A Northside Scholarship award. Currently enrolled in Madison College, Nicole intends to complete a nursing degree.
Margaret’s Fund is a scholarship fund at Madison Community Foundation established to support Northside Madison residents who pursue higher education. The award goes to a returning adult in even years and a graduating senior in odd years. The recipient is selected by a panel of Northside residents, including representatives from the business community and the Northside Community Center.
Unlike other scholarships, the unrestricted Margaret’s Fund scholarship may be used to pay for costs beyond tuition and books – the forgotten expenditures that often cause stress and anxiety. Each year the fund distributes one $500 scholarship.
To contribute to Margaret’s Fund, please
click here.
South Madison Public Library completes Capital Campaign
When the South Madison Library Capital Campaign was $200,000 shy of its goal this spring, Friends of the Library groups all over Madison banded together to offer a matching grant incentive to the community-at-large. When the Goodman Foundation recently stepped in with funds to complete the Library campaign, the Friends groups saw the opportunity to use their momentum to enhance the South Madison (now the Goodman Branch) Library endowment.
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This building is becoming Goodman (South Madison) Branch Library
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“We are thrilled beyond words to see the capital campaign goal realized in these challenging times,” declared Nadine Pfotenhauer, Friends of Sequoya Library President. “The money raised by the Friends groups will be used to establish the library’s endowment. Distributions from the fund will provide a stream of revenue to support programs and resources at the Goodman South Madison Library forever.”
“Collection growth is crucial for libraries to meet the ongoing needs of our communities,” said Tom Linfield, Madison Community Foundation Vice President of Grantmaking and Community Initiatives. “MCF contributed $27,500 for a unique collection of education and employment resources for this library. We are delighted that the Friends’ endowment will be used to continually upgrade resources for South Madison Library.”
Madison Community Foundation also contributed $200,000 to the Library’s capital campaign.
To contribute to the Madison Public Library Foundation Endowment Fund,
visit this page.
Madison Community Foundation – Best of Wisconsin Business Awards
Madison Community Foundation was recognized as one of the three top philanthropic “businesses” in Wisconsin, according to Corporate Report Wisconsin Magazine’s “Best of Wisconsin Business Awards”. 2010 marks the sixth year the awards have recognized highly respected businesses in Wisconsin in over thirty business categories.