DCF Newsletter - Winter 2013

connecting people,

building communities

Winter 2013

News from the Delaware Community Foundation

Honoring Eric by Giving PAWS a Hand

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ver the years, Rick Altemus, his son Eric, and their chocolate Labrador, Chip, developed special memories as they volunteered together at PAWS for People, a nonprofit that trains people and their pets to provide “pet therapy” to individuals in need.

“Ann and I decided that starting an endowment for PAWS for People was a good way of remembering Eric while helping out an organization that does so much for the people it serves,” Mr. Altemus said. “And all the money donated to PAWS stays and helps local people.”

Tatiana Copeland with her mother in Denmark

Mrs. Copeland has never forgotten.

So when she heard that the Denmark-based nonprofit Specialisterne was creating a fund at the Delaware Community Foundation, she donated $100,000 to the fund as a way of thanking the nation that welcomed her family when many others were turning refugees away.

PAWS, which stands for Pet-Assisted Visitation Volunteer Services, trains volunteers and their pets to serve as therapeutic visitors to hospitals, assistedliving facilities, rehabilitation centers, and elementary schools.

“All my life, I have been waiting for an opportunity to pay back Denmark,” Mrs. Copeland said. “When I heard about the Specialisterne Fund, I knew it was my chance to at least symbolically thank Denmark.”

Rick and Chip have been PAWS volunteers for three years and sometimes make as many as 24 visits per month.

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A tale of two families and their journeys from Denmark to Delaware Tatiana Copeland fled the tumult in Europe as a young child. The nation of Denmark gave her family sanctuary, saving their lives and setting them on the path to immigration to the United States.

When Eric died last year at the young age of 27, Rick and Ann Altemus decided to honor his memory by establishing an endowment fund for PAWS for People at the Delaware Community Foundation.

~ Continued on page 3

Tatiana Copeland Gives $100,000 to Specialisterne Fund

Rick Altemus’ chocolate Labrador, Chip, is a volunteer with Pet-Assisted Visitation Volunteer Services (PAWS).

~ Continued on page 11

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Delaware Community Foundation Board of Directors Executive Committee Thomas J. Shopa, Chairman Marilyn Rushworth Hayward, Vice Chairman Directors Martha S. Carper Doneene Keemer Damon Laura Day Anne S. Dougherty Steve A. Fowle Patrice Gilliam-Johnson Martha S. Gilman Jennings P. Hastings John C. Hawkins Mary B. Hickok Lynn M. A. Kokjohn Stephen P. Lamb Omar Y. McNeill Janice E. Nevin, MD, MPH Harold W. T. Purnell II

Hon. Vivian Rapposelli Chip Rossi Thomas L. Sager Joseph M. Schell Laurisa S. Schutt Valerie J. Sill David Singleton Gary Stockbridge Cindy L. Szabo John H. Taylor Jr. Michelle A. Taylor John S. Wellons Harry L. Williams Thomas D. Wren

Dear Friends,

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ometimes, community foundations can seem like banks. We create funds, manage investments, and send out statements, just like any other financial institution.

But a community foundation is much more.

As you will see in this issue of our newsletter, the Delaware Community Foundation and its fundholders are doing great things for the people of the First State.

On the cover is a great story about Rick Altemus, who created an endowment fund at the DCF for PAWS for People, helping secure the organization’s financial future while honoring the memory of his late son Eric. Inside, you’ll find information about how the DCF is: Fred Sears and Tom Shopa

• Helping students secure scholarships so they can go to college.

Connecting People, Building Communities is published by the Delaware Community Foundation

• Teaching young people about the importance of philanthropy through hands-on charitable giving.

Fred C. Sears II, President and CEO Allison Taylor Levine, APR, Editor Hughes Design Inc., Design www.delcf.org www.facebook.com/ DelawareCommunityFoundation Twitter: @DelCommunity

• Inspiring and empowering families to engage in charitable giving together.

Wilmington Office: Community Service Building 100 W. 10th Street, Suite 115 P: 302.571.8004 | F: 302.571.1553

During the past 25 years, we have been able to help our fundholders do so much for our community. We are proud that the DCF has become a leader in Delaware’s philanthropic and nonprofit community. Now, we want to do more.

Georgetown Office: 36 The Circle P: 302.856.4393 | F: 302.856.4367

That’s why we are developing a new strategic plan for the Delaware Community Foundation.

Community foundations nationwide are taking on new roles, from advocacy and research to nonprofit capacity building. With the help of a consultant, we are working toward determining what’s next for the DCF.

The Delaware Community Foundation manages charitable funds for individuals, families, businesses, and organizations, and distributes income from the funds as grants to humanitarian, educational, health and cultural entities throughout the First State. With approximately 1,200 funds, nearly $230 million in assets and annual grants of about $13 million, the Foundation provides a lasting source of charitable funding to benefit Delawareans today and for generations to come.

For 25 years, the Foundation has been connecting people who care with the causes they care about, helping to make Delaware a better place to live and work. For information, please call 302.571.8004 in Wilmington or 302.856.4393 in Southern Delaware, or visit www.delcf.org.

Yes, we watch the stock market and calculate interest rates and do all of the things any bank would do when entrusted with your charitable dollars. But our mission is not to make money. It’s to make a difference.

This is an exciting time for the Foundation, as we examine what we have accomplished over the past quarter century and plan our route for the years ahead. As we move through this process, we welcome your input. This is your community foundation. We invite you to tell us what you want it to be.

Sincerely, Fred C. Sears II, President and CEO

​Thomas J. Shopa, Chairman

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Making a Difference in Kent County: CenDel Foundation Low-income Kent County residents will benefit from increased services thanks to hundreds of thousands of dollars in grants now being awarded by the CenDel Foundation at the Delaware Community Foundation.

In January, the CenDel Foundation awarded $200,000 in charitable grants from the Potter Charity Trust. One of the oldest charitable trusts in the country, the Potter Trust was created in 1843 by Col. Benjamin Potter to benefit the poor in Kent County.

The CenDel Foundation recently began managing the Potter Trust’s grantmaking process.

In this first grant cycle, 26 nonprofits received grants ranging from $1,000 to $25,000 to provide a range of critical services, including dental care, mental health services, emergency shelter, and support for veterans transitioning back into civilian life.

This spring, CenDel will award another $200,000-$250,000 in grants from the Potter Trust. Nonprofit organizations serving the poor in Kent County are invited to apply. Applications and guidelines are available at www.delcf.org/grants. The deadline is March 15.

Giving PAWS a Hand ~ Continued from cover

“Sometimes it’s just a matter of cheering someone up,” Mr. Altemus said. “Other times the interaction with Chip – petting or brushing her – actually helps with an individual’s physical therapy.”

Mr. Altemus points to Johnny*, a young boy at a summer sports camp for children with special learning needs. Johnny had refused to participate in any physical activity – until Chip came along.

Johnny began taking Chip for progressively longer walks and racing the dog through tunnels in an obstacle course.

“Johnny’s parents were just ecstatic at the progress they saw over the 10-week summer camp session he attended,” Mr. Altemus said.

PAWS for People has more than 300 therapy teams like Rick and Chip visiting more than 130 locations in Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

The Altemuses’ fund is the first endowment fund for PAWS, which relies primarily on fundraising events and donations from individuals to cover its $250,000 annual operating budget.

“Having an endowment with the Delaware Community Foundation not only gives us greater visibility, it also demonstrates to foundations and potential donors that we are a stable, reputable nonprofit organization,” Executive Director Lynne Robinson said.

The endowment will provide a small annual income at first, said Ms. Robinson, but the organization is encouraging others to add to the fund so that it can become a significant source of revenue that will provide stability and financial security for PAWS for People.

As an added incentive, thanks to a challenge grant from the Welfare Foundation, monies donated to PAWS for People through July 2013 will be matched up to $50,000, said Janet Luke, PAWS’ director of development.

“As a newer organization, we’re still getting the word out about what PAWS for People is,” Ms. Luke said. “This endowment is an indicator that we are being embraced long term by the community, and it sends a strong message of endorsement to foundations, donors and potential volunteers alike.” *Johnny is not the boy’s real name.

We have changed it to protect his privacy.

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Building Giving Communities A Champion for Women, Girls & the Natural World

The Fund for Women has bestowed the 2012 First Founders’ Award on Lynn W. Williams, who has spent more than 50 years as a tireless champion for girls, women, and environmental causes in Delaware.

Ms. Williams was the founder and first president of the Delaware Nature Society, whose environmental educational programs have reached more than 1.3 million people since its establishment in the 1960s.

“The lasting impact of Lynn’s service to Delaware is truly remarkable.

Between her work for the Girl Scouts, the Delaware Nature Society, and innumerable other environmental causes, Lynn has created important science and nature educational opportunities for generations of girls.”

She also was instrumental in protecting the 433-acre tract that became the Brandywine Creek State Park in the 1960s and, in recent years, rallied the environmental community to establish the Russell W. Peterson Urban Wildlife Refuge and Environmental Education Center.

A former president of the Girl Scouts of the Chesapeake Bay Council, Ms. Williams recently led the effort to establish Delaware’s first platinum-certified “green” building, the Lynn W. Williams Science and Education Center for the Girl Scouts, which opened in Hockessin in 2010.

“The lasting impact of Lynn’s service to Delaware is truly remarkable,” said Fund for Women Chair Laura Day. “Between her work for the Girl Scouts, the Delaware Nature Society, and innumerable other environmental causes, Lynn has created important science and nature educational opportunities for generations of girls.”

Fund for Women Unveils New Brand The Fund for Women also unveiled a sharp new brand this winter. This beautiful logo speaks to the power of collective philanthropy, as diverse people combine their resources to make a larger impact on girls and women around the state.

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The Next Generation: Growing in Giving The Next Generation of the Delaware Community Foundation has successfully launched a Southern Delaware chapter!

TNG – Southern Delaware elected an outstanding panel of officers: Kim Willson, president; Jason Adkins, vice president; Christy V. Wright, secretary; and Brian Ellis, treasurer. The group, which already has about 40 members from Kent and Sussex Counties, has selected child mental health as its grant focus. TNG – Southern Delaware held its first fundraiser on Feb. 8 at Bethany Blues in Lewes.

Meanwhile, Next Gen North presented a record $37,000 in 2012-2013 grants at an award ceremony on Feb. 6, bringing its total giving to $227,000 since its inception in 2004. This year’s recipients are: • Delaware Adolescent Program, Inc. – $7,500 to support a fitness and healthy and affordable eating program.

• Delaware Nature Society – $5,000 to support a partnership with Urban Promise school focusing on fitness and food education.

• Girls on the Run – $10,000 to provide scholarships for girls to participate in this program, which promotes healthy bodies and body image.

• Henrietta Johnson Medical Center – $7,500 to help fund the PHAT program, focusing on healthy eating and activity at Eastside Community Schools.

• YMCA – $7,000 to support the Eat Play Live program at the Brandywine YMCA.

Alexis Martin vo luntee re d at the annual Fall Family Fe stiva l, one of the grou p’s two major annual fun drais ers. The even t is he ld at Rams ey ’s Farm on the first Satur da y of Oc tob er ever y ye ar.

This is the second and final year Next Gen North has focused its grantmaking on programs combatting childhood obesity. For the next two years, grants will target programs supporting Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics (STEM) education programs.

Youth Philanthropy Board: High School Students Gain the Experience of Giving The 61 high school students on this year’s DCF Youth Philanthropy Boards are hard at work reviewing applications and making site visits in order to select the 2012-2013 grant recipients.

In Kent County, the YPB will award $10,000 in grants to programs that enhance the lives of individuals with intellectual or developmental disabilities.

Every year, the DCF sponsors a YPB in each Delaware county to encourage young people to become more involved in philanthropy.

Each board, composed of high school students, is allotted a pool of money to give as charitable grants.

The New Castle County YPB will award $15,000 in grants to college and career readiness programs for students in grades 7-12 that include a mentoring component; and to out-of-school programs for students in grades 6-8 promoting athletic activity and healthy lifestyles.

The students learn about philanthropy and effective grantmaking, study youth issues in their neighborhoods and schools, solicit grant proposals, and award grants to those they determine to be most deserving. All grants will be awarded in the spring.

The Sussex County YPB will award $10,000 to programs that provide support for teens dealing with various issues (e.g., bullying, pregnancy, substance abuse) and programs that pertain to environmental issues.

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Meeting Community Needs

Forever STRONG Foundation’s Gift to Support Cancer Research Honors the Memory of Jack Langseder In October 2009, 13-year-old Jack Desmond Langseder died after a two-year battle with Ewing’s sarcoma, a rare form of bone cancer. Today, Jack’s family is keeping his legacy “Forever STRONG” through the Jack Langseder Forever STRONG Foundation fund they created at the Delaware Community Foundation.

This summer, the Hockessin family gave $25,000 from the fund to support research being carried out by the Nemours Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders. The family established the fund shortly after Jack’s death and raises money primarily through “Jack’s 5K” each September.

Jack (far right) by honored their son ily fam er sed ng F. La The undation at the DC rever STRONG Fo Fo the ing lish ab est

“Despite his illness, Jack chose to live each day to the fullest, right up until his passing,” said Jack’s mother, Meghan. “He stayed very active throughout his treatment and embodied the phrase ‘Livestrong.’ Through Jack’s fund at the DCF, we’re raising money for research that we hope will help other children with cancer live fuller, longer lives. That helps us keep Jack’s legacy and his passion for life ‘Forever STRONG.’”

Jack, who received treatment at Nemours A.I. DuPont Hospital for Children, was an active eighth grader at Brandywine Springs School in Wilmington. He was a member of the National Junior Honor Society and diligently completed his schoolwork at home when he could not attend school. Jack loved sports, and he continued to play baseball for the Piedmont Little League in Hockessin, even during treatment.

Jack participated in a clinical trial using a drug first validated in Nemours’ laboratories as being effective for Ewing’s sarcoma.

The experimental treatment enabled him to do many things that may not have possible for him otherwise. Today, researchers have moved on to the next phase of clinical testing with this class of drug, and the Langseders’ gift will help support that trial.

“Jack was a brave and wonderful boy. We miss him every day,” Mrs. Langseder said. “We know he would be proud of what we’re doing to help find a cure.”

For more information or to make a gift to the Forever STRONG Foundation, visit www.4evrstrong.org. To learn more about how you can honor a loved one through a fund at the Delaware Community Foundation, contact David Fleming at dfleming@delcf.org or 302.504.5224.

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AAEFD The Delaware Community Foundation’s African American Empowerment Fund of Delaware (AAEFD) held its annual meeting in December and provided members with an update on the status of its $100,000 loan to the Friends of Hockessin Colored School #107.

Leonard Sophrin, a member of Friends of HCS#107C, and AAEFD Chairman Tony Allen review draft blueprints for renovation of the historic school building.

AAEFD Chairman Dr. Tony Allen and other board members have been working with the Friends and the Hockessin Community Center (HCC), which is the property owner. The groups are working to develop a plan to restore the historic structure, which played a pivotal role in the Supreme Court’s 1954 Brown v. Board of Education decision, and enable the HCC to return to its community work.

At the meeting of the AAEFD, Dr. Allen described plans to renovate the property to accommodate both organizations, which would enable the Friends to preserve and promote the history of the school and the HCC to operate from its long-time home. The next step is to develop a fundraising plan and a strong case statement, which will underscore the historic significance of the property and the reasons to restore it.

Scholarships Available …thanks to People Who Care about education The DCF is accepting applications for college scholarships funded by generous donors who care about education. Each year the DCF awards approximately 400 scholarships to students all around the First State. The deadline to apply for most scholarships is April 1.

Students can apply for the vast majority of the DCF scholarships by completing a single application. The application, compendium of available scholarships, and application guidelines are available at www.delcf.org/scholarships.

For more information, contact Richard Gentsch, 302.571.8004 or rgentsch@delcf.org.

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THANK YOU, FRIENDS! The Delaware Community Foundation is fortunate to have many longtime Friends, including some who have supported us since our inception in 1986. These Friends remind us of our community’s confidence in the DCF as an important institution in Delaware’s nonprofit community.

We are also fortunate to have many Friends who made an annual gift for the first time in 2012, and these supporters energize us in a different way – by attesting that we remain timely and vital as our community changes.

T​ ogether, the contributions of our longtime and new Friends are enabling the DCF to continue our core activity of managing donors’ charitable funds, while also expanding our mission to: • Provide leadership in Delaware’s nonprofit community • Facilitate collaborations among nonprofits to enable them to maximize resources • Engage new philanthropists today and cultivate the next generation The DCF operates on a tight budget and keeps fees low so we can send more dollars directly to charitable causes. This means we depend on gifts to our annual Friends Campaign to support a small, but vital, portion of our annual operations.

If you are one of our generous Friends, thank you!

I hope that we may count on your support in 2013.

If you are considering becoming a Friend of the DCF for the first time, we would be happy to answer any questions about how your gift will be used to directly improve the lives of Delawareans.

Yours,

John Hawkins, Chair DCF Development Committee

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Chai Gadde: A Passionate Advocate for Giving

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s a child growing up in India, Chai Gadde watched his parents as they cared for others, offering food and comfort to the underprivileged, sharing without question, giving without hesitation.

“My father was a humanist and an altruist, and my mother sacrificed a lot for my family,” said Mr. Gadde, now a Hockessin resident and pharmaceutical entrepreneur. “They taught me about the need to look out for the community, especially the underprivileged. I saw that it was both a responsibility and a joy to them.”

Today, Chai and his wife, Neelu, are nurturing this commitment to giving in their own children, 11-year-old Nithya and 5-yearold Rohan. This fall, the Gaddes added a hands-on experience to the children’s lessons in caring by establishing the Gadde Family Foundation at the Delaware Community Foundation.

The Gaddes’ fund will focus on charities dedicated to education, children, senior citizens and health. Each year, as the Gaddes’ fund yields money for charitable grants, Nithya and Rohan will help decide what organizations and causes to support.

“We want to teach our children to give with their hearts,” Mr. Gadde said.

“There’s a quotation that I first came upon when I was a young man, and I have tried to live by it ever since: ‘I shall pass through this world but once. Any good therefore that I can do or any kindness that I can show to any human being, let me do it now. For, I shall not pass this way again.’ I hope my children will share this value throughout their lives.”

Mr. Gadde, a pharmacist by training, is the owner of Independent Pharmacies and CEO of Biotek reMEDys, a specialty pharmacy company that he started last year. He credits his success to a model he has dubbed “compassionate capitalism,” which means putting people first, whether it’s customers, vendors, or employees.

“For example, if a person comes into the pharmacy and doesn’t have the money to pay for their medicine, we work with them to pay when they can,” he said. ~ Continued on next page

Chai Gadde – shown here with daughter Nithya, wife Neelu, and son Rohan – is working to create a closer alliance between the DCF and the Hindu Temple of Delaware.

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Investment Report While this type of informal charity is important, Mr. Gadde said, the Delaware Community Foundation helps individuals and organizations make strategic decisions that maximize the impact of their charitable gifts and evaluate their impact.

By Valerie J. Sill, Investment Committee Chairman Written January 15, 2013 The DCF Investment Portfolio outperformed the policy index by which we evaluate our performance for both the calendar year and quarter ending December 31, 2012. For the calendar year, the positive 12.0% bettered the 10.3% policy benchmark return, and the return for the quarter October 1, 2012 through December 31, 2012 was 7.0%, compared to the 6.8% benchmark.

As we look forward to 2013, the conclusion of the U.S. elections and the ECB’s commitment to vigorously protect the euro has mitigated some of the vulnerability. These visible and tangible events may have made it easier for investors to embrace the

A pharmacist by training, Chai Gadde is the owner of Independent Pharmacies and CEO of Biotek reMEDys.

“DCF gives structure to giving. Its funds touch the community directly, and donors can see the positive outcomes of their donations,” said Mr. Gadde, who is a member of the DCF’s grants committee.

During the 19 years he has lived in the First State, Mr. Gadde has been a generous donor of his resources, knowledge and talents. He is deeply involved in fundraising for various community organizations, in Sanford School, which his children attend, and in Delaware’s Indian community.

Among his work, Mr. Gadde is spearheading an effort at the Hindu Temple of Delaware to create a closer alliance between Delaware’s Indian community and the DCF. He recently brought his fellow members of the Temple’s Board of Trustees together with DCF President and CEO Fred Sears. The group set a goal of getting more members of the Temple involved with the DCF as volunteers, board members and donors.

“Many of these folks have been here for decades. We owe a lot to the community, the state and the country,” Mr. Gadde said. “People give, but I’d like to see them become more involved in the Delaware community and to be more structured about their giving. The DCF can help them do that.”

idea that risks are diminished. Many of the same risks remain embedded in the market.

We remain in a very low-rate environment, where the cost of maintaining portfolio protection is high, as is the opportunity cost of being underinvested. There are several things that could potentially trigger significant market volatility in 2013. The most acute of these triggers will arrive in the first quarter, when the debt ceiling and spending sequestration discussion will take place.

The DCF portfolio is positioned for further volatility, with the potential for the portfolio hedges that dampened results in 2012 to protect the investment program in 2013. Following periods of credit spread compression and sharp upward movement by equity markets, it is crucial not to try to capture more of the directionality of the market by reducing portfolio hedges and allocating away from lower net exposure managers in favor of higher-beta positions. We believe we increase the likelihood of long-term success by remaining disciplined to a thoughtful policy portfolio during both rising and falling markets.

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New Funds

A Birthday Gift of Giving: The Brooks Fellowship Fund For Raina Harper Allen’s birthday this year, her husband Dr. Tony Allen gave her a gift that will last forever, even outliving herself, their children, and generations to come.

July 1, 2012 through January 15, 2013

America’s State Parks Foundation Fund-Kansas Brooks Fellowship Carleton and Blanche Carey Child Help Foundation Fund Cloutier-Valenti Legacy Scholarship Fund Collabagala Charitable Fund Coastal Concerts Endowment Fund Common Cause Delaware Endowment Fund Builder Create 1 Dream Foundation Fund Delaware 4-H Foundation Fund Family Counseling Center of St. Paul’s Fund Friends of Potters Field The Elizabeth A. Garrigues Financial Aid Fund HMH Fund Builder Fund Paula Hust Gift Annuity Fund 2012 Gadde Family Foundation Let The Kids Play

MidAtlantic Food & Wine Feast Charitable Fund Milford Public Library Operations Reserve Fund Next Generation Fund of Southern Delaware

Charitable giving is a way of life in the Harper-Allen family.

Tony surprised Raina by establishing a fund in her honor at the Delaware Community Foundation. Through the Brooks Fellowship Fund, (Brooks is a family surname) Raina and their children will be able to make charitable gifts each year to the causes they care about.

“I created the Brooks Fellowship Fund to honor Rai and her special commitment to motherhood and our family,” Tony said. “Rai chairs the fund, and our children, AJ, Naomi and Jacob, are the directors. Dad is just a fan and an ongoing supporter.”

The Brooks Fellowship Fund is an endowed fund, which means that the Allens will be able to allocate a portion of the interest earned as charitable grants each year. By allowing the principal to grow, the Allens and their descendants will be able to make grants in perpetuity.

Raina and the children have not yet decided what causes they will support through the Brooks Fellowship Fund. With kids ranging in age from 3 to 20, expect a wide range of interest areas.

Don and Lois Richards Charitable Fund Steel Band Project Fund Such As I Have Foundation Fund Suiting Warriors Fund Sussex County Natural & Historic Treasures Project Fund Tina Memorial Fund Workforce Connection Operating Fund Andrew N. Yatzus Scholarship Fund

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To discuss opening a fund or planning your legacy gift at the DCF, contact David Fleming in New Castle County at 302.504.5224 or dfleming@delcf.org, or Hugh Leahy in Southern Delaware at 302.856.4393 or hleahy@delcf.org.

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“We see it as a great way of teaching each of our children about the lifelong responsibility of giving back,” Tony said. “I am sure our youngest will want to do a canned food drive for Clifford the Big Red Dog.” Raina said she was deeply moved by Tony’s gift because of their powerful love for their children and their commitment to raising them to be caring, giving members of the community.

“Of every role I play – wife, daughter, employee, church member, community activist and more – I love being a mother more than anything,” Raina said.

“By establishing this fund, Tony has given me a wonderful tool that will help me share our family’s values with the children by actively involving them in charitable giving,” she said.

“There’s nothing more important to me.”

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Tatiana Copeland Gives $100,000 to Specialisterne Fund ~ Continued from cover

Specialisterne (“The Specialists” in Dutch) was founded in Copenhagen in 2004

by Thorkil Sonne. Specialisterne is an innovative nonprofit company that provides IT consultancy services and employs primarily individuals affected by autism.

“We are touched by Mrs. Copeland’s gratitude and fondness for Denmark, and honored that Specialisterne is the beneficiary of her goodwill toward our home country,” said Mr. Sonne, whose family is in the process of moving to Delaware.

“Like all of us, adults with autism need and deserve the dignity and self-sufficiency that comes with meaningful employment,” Mr. Sonne said. “We work with employers to help them maximize the unique skills of autistic individuals and create environments in which they can succeed.”

“Her warmth and generosity exemplifies much of what we have seen among Delawareans, and that is why we are particularly pleased to become part of this community.”

Specialisterne is working to create one million jobs worldwide, and interest in the organization has grown strong in the United States. At the encouragement of Governor Jack Markell, Mr. Sonne and his family decided to move from Denmark and make Delaware their new home and establish the Specialisterne Fund at the DCF. Thorkil Sonne is moving his family from Denmark to Delaware, where he established the Specialisterne Fund at the DCF.

Mrs. Copeland’s fund will specifically help the Sonne family relocate from Denmark to Delaware and begin their new life in the U.S.

“My being able to help with the move was very meaning ful to me,” Mrs. Copeland said. “It’s as if I’ve come full circle with what happened in my life.”

The fund opened at the DCF in March 2012 with gifts from the Longwood and Welfare Foundations, and opened its U.S. headquarters at the Community Service Building in Wilmington in June. Mrs. Copeland’s gift brings the Specialisterne Fund that much closer to its goal of raising $1.3 million in Delaware.

Tatiana Copeland

To learn how you can support the Specialisterne Fund and other causes that matter, contact David Fleming at dfleming@delcf.org or 302.504.5224.

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Give a Gift, Get an Income?

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Through a Charitable Gift Annuity (CGA), you can make a sizable gift to your favorite charity – whether it’s your church, your alma mater, or another nonprofit organization – and still take care of your family’s needs. As an added bonus, the older you are, the bigger the immediate taxdeduction, the higher the lifelong income, and the more of that income that’s tax free.

To find out if a CGA is right for you, contact David Fleming today at dfleming@delcf.org or 302.504.5224.

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