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 Public Giving, their local community foundation, where they learned about the donor-advised fund as a way to help them achieve their charitable goals. Jo says it was comforting to discover “that we didn’t have to be millionaires in order to be focused, effective givers.” The Keillers met with staff and were impressed. “At first, I thought the Foundation only made big grants to big things. I was afraid our efforts and funds would get lost. But they have their finger on the pulse of what’s going on. They’re able to help us with some of the foot work so that our charitable dollars have a real impact.”