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Helping in the Present, Preparing for the Future |
| For Carl Cooper and Lynn Van Dam Cooper, helping arts organizations in our local community is a top priority. To be most effective, they decided upon a two-pronged approach to their philanthropic giving. First, they set up a Donor Advised Fund from which they could make current gifts. Next, they created the Carl W. and Lynn Cooper Endowment Fund designed to benefit and support causes they loved well into the future. Although none of their favorite arts organizations would receive any immediate benefits from the endowment, these organizations would eventually gain from the earnings and appreciation of the endowment fund over time. In this way, the Cooper’s were looking out for both the immediate and future needs of the organizations they wished to help. |
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Jim Dillavou starts fund with gift of property |
Jim had a hunch he might have a tax problem when he went to visit his long time accountant, Peter Hidas at Martin Werbelow. Together, they came up with a solution that provided a tax credit and allowed Jim to make a significant charitable gift. Jim owned two income producing properties in Texas which he was thinking about selling. Gifting the properties to the Pasadena Community Foundation enabled Jim to get the maximum tax benefits from his Texas real estate. He was entitled to a deduction of the full market value of the real estate in the year he gifted the properties. He also avoided capital gains tax that he would pay if he were to have sold the appreciated property. Eventually the properties were sold by the Foundation and and the net proceeds were deposited into the Dillavou Family Fund. By working with PCF, Jim has the luxury of taking his time to recommend gifts to charities from the fund.
Paying tribute through charitable gifts.
When his mother-in-law died, Jim and his wife Kitty used the fund to make memorial gifts to some of the local non-profits which Polly McCaslin had supported during her life. “I will continue to make gifts form the fund over the next few years. I will also likely make additional contributions through the Foundation. It’s simple. It works.” |
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Lily Ruth Ealy Memorial Fund: Passing on Family Values |
| Before the onset of Alzheimer’s, Ray Ealy remembers his mother as an active woman who always visited the sick and gave of her time to others in need. He and his wife, Charmayne wanted to honor Ray’s mother and pass her values on to their son. So they established a Donor Advised Fund with the Pasadena Community Foundation and named it after Ray’s mother, Lily Ruth. Ray and Charmayne as well as friends and family have made contributions to the fund. Their son, Aaron, age nine will participate in making grants from the fund to charitable causes. Ray’s mother always stressed that “some people can’t give much but everybody can give something. So she encouraged us to just get out there and do it,” says Ray. The Ealy’s know that Aaron’s grandmother would be as pleased as they are that an important family value has been successfully passed from one generation to the next. |
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The Elvis Fund Helps Animals |
| Sometimes it’s the little things that mean the most and bring the greatest happiness. That certainly was the case for Carolyn Paxton.
It started in a pet store when a small, trembling package of fur with doe-like eyes looked up at her. A few weeks later she had adopted “Elvis” through the Small Wonders Rescue and began a new chapter in her life. Leaving behind a highly successful career in Biotech where she traveled the country and earned big bucks, Carolyn is now an entrepreneur and animal advocate.
Carolyn is part mother to Elvis and another adopted chihuahua named Izzy, and part successful businesswoman marketing specialty clothing for small animals. Because of her concern for animals, Carolyn has established a charitable fund, The Elvis Fund, with the Pasadena Community Foundation, and plans to contribute a portion of her yearly profits to it. She will award grants to organizations that help animals find great homes.
Through The Elvis Fund at the Pasadena Community Foundation, one small dog has helped his owner bring a lot of happiness to those who love animals. And for Carolyn, it’s absolutely true that great things come in small furry packages named Elvis. |
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Sarah Elizabeth Gilfillan Memorial Endowment Fund |
| The family of Sarah Gilfillan created this permanent endowment fund to pay tribute to the life and spirit of Sarah. She was a student and scholar who found a way to blend her knowledge of Latin American language and culture with her passion for contemporary visual arts. Friends and family who contribute to this fund will help support the work of non-profit organizations that exemplify Sarah’s work. |
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Ben Massey Memorial Fund |
| When Ben Massey passed away in 2008, his wife Linda asked the Pasadena Community Foundation to handle donations made in his memory. We set up a donor advised fund, the Ben Massey Memorial Fund, to which friends and family could contribute. The fund pays tribute to Ben's life. He greatly enjoyed helping others through this fund will continue to do so. Donations will be used to support the work of non-profit causes that were important to Ben and to his family. |
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Mitzvah Endowment Fund |
| Thirteen-year-old Bobby saw his Bar Mitzvah as an opportunity to do something good for the community, particularly for after school programs in the Pasadena Unified School District. Friends and family made contributions to the Mitzvah Fund, a donor advised fund established at the Pasadena Community Foundation. PCF staff will work with Bobby to make grants to organizations providing after school enrichment for disadvantaged children. Since Mitzvah means “good deed” in Hebrew, it seemed only natural to Bobby that gifts given in his honor for his Bar Mitzvah should go into a fund to do good for others. |
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Peggy Phelps uses gift of real estate to support local community. |
| As a strong believer in giving back to your local community, Peggy Phelps in noted for her generous contribution of time, energy and wise council to countless non-profit agencies. This year, she is expanding her ability to give by donating her Aspen condo to the Pasadena Community Foundation where she serves as a Board member. The property was given to PCF and was subsequently sold by the Foundation. The net proceeds were deposited into Peggy’s Donor Advised Fund. Peggy will be able to advise the Foundation in making gifts to the many local agencies she knows, loves and wants to support through her fund. Why does she remain so active in helping non-profits? “Because I love this community and my life here. I can’t imagine living anywhere else.” |
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Pitzer Family Endowment Fund |
| How do you raise a fairly affluent teenager to be aware of the needs of others? That was just one of the considerations that motivated Gloria and Donald Pitzer to establish the Pitzer Family Endowment Fund. They liked the idea of building a legacy and of involving their son Ben, a student at San Marino High School. As an estate planning attorney and past member of the Board of PCF, Gloria has long been familiar with the work of the Foundation. Raised in Pasadena, Gloria decided to become a lawyer while in the 8 th grade at McKinley Junior High. Somewhere along the way, she managed to meet a local boy named Don, an engineer currently affiliated with JPL’s deep space network project. “The fund will be a vehicle for our family to come together and discuss what we care about.” |
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Building a House, Building a Life, Building a Legacy |
| When Michael Schneickert purchased his Alfred and Arthur Heineman designed house in Pasadena’s Oak Knoll district, it was the beginning of a love affair with Arts & Crafts architecture and the community of Pasadena. During his three year restoration of the house a second love affair led to his recent marriage to Karen Leiko Otamura. The two now share plans to make the house their home with hopes of raising a family and establishing deeper roots.
Michael and Karen also share a commitment to give back and have chosen the Pasadena Community Foundation as a vehicle for their charitable giving. Michael, an investment advisor at Citigroup/Smith Barney, recognized the benefits of Donor Advised giving and set up a fund at PCF. Karen and Michael also have established a Donor Advised Endowment Fund to build a longer term charitable legacy. Their recent wedding was cause for an updated estate plan in which they have named their endowment fund as a beneficiary of their estate. |
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Tyler Memorial Fund: Honoring Loved Ones |
| Ted Tyler’s obituary began “Ted Tyler’s great and generous heart stopped beating on Saturday June 9, 2007.” A third generation member of the Tyler family to live on Grand Avenue in Pasadena, his life was a model of commitment to family, friends and community. As is often the case with a long time devoted couple, his wife of 67 years, Rosemary Tyler, passed away just a few months later in October.
Both Ted and Rosemary were extremely active in civic life so it seemed fitting that their memorial fund be set up at the Pasadena Community Foundation to benefit the community which they loved.
Friends and family contributed to this advised fund; the family will decide how to distribute the gifts for charitable purposes. |
