Giving Story

Keiller Family Fund:
Having an Impact Through a Community Foundation

Like their parents before them, Al and Jo Keiller worked hard to provide for their children and teach them to be caring, responsible adults. Feeling blessed by the rewards of their work, they wanted to share their good fortune with family, friends, and a number of nonprofit organizations with which they had been involved over the years. But they were frustrated that they weren’t able to do more, given their busy lives. “We didn’t know how to support these causes beyond a donation here and there and by serving on their boards. It never seemed like quite enough,” says Jo. Upon retirement, they decided to look for a way to do more. Advice from their financial advisor and their lawyer brought them to the Hartford Foundation for

The beauty of a donor-advised fund is that it provides three things that are important to the Keillers. First, says Jo, “We wanted the money to grow, not just be given away.” Second, the fund allows them to have a say in how their money is used. And third, it offers them the opportunity to involve their children at some point in the future. The Keillers gave considerable thought to the many organizations they have supported over the years. The common thread, they discovered, is that they all focus in one way or another on issues of tolerance and diversity. The Keillers have thus decided to focus their fund on promoting understanding and eliminating racism. Using one of her favorite metaphors, Jo explains, “This fund is just a seed. But you never know what fruit it can bear.”