Designated Funds are established by donors to support one or more of their favorite nonprofit organizations. Many organizations receive crucial annual support from these funds.
Anonymous #26 Fund
Susan Atseff Fund
In memory of Susan Atseff, family and friends began this fund to construct and assure the ongoing maintenance of the pocket park at Salt Springs Road and East Genesee Street.
Dr. Gerald S. Bers Memorial Fund
Dr. Gerald S. Bers was a Cooperstown dentist whose family established this fund to continue his support of the Cooperstown Boy Scout Troop 1254.
Boys & Girls Club of Syracuse Endowment Fund
The Boys & Girls Club receives annual contributions from this fund established by a supportive donor.
George J. & Kathryn H. Buchholtz Fund
Mrs. Buchholtz maintained a donor-advised fund during her lifetime. Upon her death it became a designated fund that benefits the Rescue Mission, Salvation Army and Boys & Girls Club of Syracuse.
Dorothy Calingaert Fund
Created in 2008 under a Charitable Remainder Trust Agreement upon the death of Dorothy Calingaert, this fund has been designated to benefit radio station WCNY.
CONTACT-Syracuse Endowment Fund
The future support of CONTACT-Syracuse will continue to be enhanced by an endowment created by a faithful benefactor.
Edwin F. and Delores P. Davis Fund
Delores, a 43-year employee of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Central New York, and Edwin, a Korean War veteran who worked for the Esselte Corporation for 45 years, were married for 32 years and last lived in Manlius. Delores volunteered for many nonprofit organizations and was very involved in the local community. When she passed away, her will set forth the formation of this fund in her and her late husband’s name. The fund annually supports four local organizations where Delores volunteered during her lifetime—Carriage House Foundation, Hope for Bereaved, Crouse Health Foundation and Aurora of CNY.
Frances P. DiBella Fund
Ms. DiBella, owner of the Palace Theatre, established this fund to generously support Blessed Sacrament Church, St. Peter’s Roman Catholic Church and Salvation Army.
Mary Louise Dunn Fund
Ms. Dunn left a generous provision in her will to support her favorite charities: Onondaga ARC, Rescue Mission, Salvation Army, Syracuse Symphony and Syracuse Stage.
Margaret Early Designated Fund
Margaret Early was a long time friend and benefactor of the Community Foundation. Before she retired in Gainesville, Florida,Margaret dedicated her life to teaching—first to students in the Syracuse City School District and then to student teachers at Syracuse University and the University of Florida. Her love for education was apparent throughout her life. The day that she passed away last May, her scholarship fund at the Community Foundation awarded over $126,000 to six graduating seniors of Fowler High School. Her will established a new designated fund that will provide grants to two organizations that she loved—the National Society for the Study of Education and the National Council of Teachers of English.
Paul M. Engle Fund #2
Paul Engle, a retired father of five, has been a fundholder with the Community Foundation since the 1990s. Paul serves actively as a volunteer for a number of organizations, making six trips to Louisiana and Mississippi to help rebuild after Hurricane Katrina. His new fund will provide
grants to 10 named charities after his death, primarily in the human services field.
Everson Museum Endowment Fund
Recognized worldwide for its collection of ceramic works and locally for its diverse exhibits of art and culture, the Everson Museum is an appreciative recipient of annual funding from this endowment, established by Dorothy C. Witherill.
Falcone Family Community Endowment Fund
Michael J. and Noreen R. Falcone took advantage of a 2006 federal law allowing Individual Retirement Account owners to share the resources of their retirement savings by giving directly to charity without first recognizing it as income. Several local not-for-profit organizations now benefit from their generosity.
Curtis & Toni Feldmann Skaneateles Historical Society Fund
The Skaneateles Historical Society receives annual support in the names of Curtis and Toni Feldmann, long time residents and contributors to the village.
Margaret and Roland Fragnoli Fund #2
The Fragnolis established this fund with a direct distribution from their IRA account. This not only allowed them to avoid taking their mandatory distribution into income, but also provides consistent support to charities they care about in the Cortland community for years to come.
Rodney L. Keech Trust Fund and Belle Keech Trust Fund
Rodney L. and Belle Keech of Cleveland Heights, Ohio, established two trust funds to provide lifetime income for several individual beneficiaries and charitable organizations. The Community Foundation receives a portion of the income, which also benefits the Folts Home and the Earlville Free Library.
Pamela Ball Kettell Memorial Fund
Barbara Reynolds established this permanent fund in memory of her friend, Pamela Ball Kettell. Annual distributions support the DeWitt Community Church music program.
Russell A. & Joan S. King Fund #2
Russell and Joan King, fundholders at the Community Foundation for more than ten years, established this fund to benefit the Dewitt Community Church. Members of the congregation for over 50 years, the Kings will use this fund to provide support to an organization that is very close to their hearts.
George & Luella Krahl Fund
George and Luella Krahl established this fund in 2007 with the net cash proceeds of their liquidated second-to-die life insurance policy. Distributions will be directed toward specific organizations concerned with health, science and music education.
Margaret McAlpine Ladd Fund
Col. James Von K. Ladd established this fund in the memory of his wife. Funds will be distributed to the Margaret McAlpine Ladd Scholarship Fund at Hood College.
Marvin Lewis Memorial Fund
The family of Marvin Lewis established this fund in 2003 to benefit the Ontario Bible Conference Camp, providing opportunity for others to benefit from its natural inspiration for years to come.
Herbert Lourie Memorial Fund
In 1987, one of our community’s most beloved surgeons and civic leaders was murdered. Within months, the doctor’s family, friends, patients and colleagues pooled their contributions to establish the Herbert Lourie Memorial Fund. Since 1989, this permanent fund, in conjunction with Syracuse University’s Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, has sponsored an annual lecture series on health policy in Dr. Lourie’s memory.
Peter Mermer Memorial Fund
This fund was established in 2007 to honor the memory of Peter Mermer, a math teacher and athletic director at Knox Memorial Central School. Because of his passion for Edwards-Knox Athletics, it will be used to benefit the Edwards-Knox Central School Cougar Athletic Booster Club.
Phyllis M. Newland Fund
Phyllis worked tirelessly to provide literacy training to people with a wide variety of needs. Her great passion for this work and clear vision of how to best serve her students was reflected in her desire to establish this fund in support of the organization she founded, The Learning Place. The Learning Place is a neighborhood center-based literacy provider in Syracuse.
Park Central Presbyterian Church Memorial Endowment Fund and St. Paul’s Cathedral Endowment Fund
The remainder of the Margaret, Beulah & John C. Marsellus Fund was used to establish these two endowment funds, making the Marsellus family’s support of these religious institutions enduring.
Robert & Dorothy Riester Fund for Stone Quarry Hill Art Park Preservation
One of the highest locations in the Cazenovia area, the great stone hill, now known as Stone Quarry Hill Art Park, was thoughtfully shared by the Riesters with the community, preserving it as a source of inspiration for creating and enjoying all forms of art. For the continued protection and maintenance of this community legacy, this fund was established by Mrs. Riester in 2003.
Lettie H. Rohrig Fund
Lettie Rohrig, at the suggestion of her attorney, provided a charitable bequest to the Community Foundation in 1998. Although from modest means, Ms. Rohrig’s generosity provides support for the Syracuse Symphony Orchestra and the Syracuse Opera Company in perpetuity.
John A. Santelli Fund
Created in 2008 upon the death of John Santelli, this fund will receive the residual of his estate. The distributions from this fund are designated to benefit several local charities.
Harvey M. & Helen H. Sass Endowment Fund
Established in 1980, this fund provided income to the donors during their lifetimes through the Pooled Life Income Fund. Since 1991, income has been shared equally by the Muscular Dystrophy Association of America and Planned Parenthood of the Rochester/Syracuse Region.
Ralph Myron Sayer & Sophrona Davis Sayer Endowment Fund
Sophrona Davis Sayer, a graduate of Madison High School and Syracuse University, was employed as an accountant at Colgate University for more than 33 years. Sophrona was an avid coin collector and was a member of several local coin clubs to further enjoy her hobby. The remainder of her estate established this fund in her name and that of her late husband, which is designated to benefit four organizations in the Madison area.
Emojean and Leonard F. Schmidt Designated Fund
This fund was established in 2007 to annually support six faith-based charities favored by the donors.
Lowell Smith Circle of Courage Fund
Lowell Smith’s many friends and colleagues watched the courage with which he fought the awful disease, ALS. This memorial fund, created in 2005, benefits the ALS Association of Central New York, the LEAD New York Program, and Heifer Project International.
Craig D. Stephens Memorial Fund
“Grateful for Craig’s full life, for the many joys he provided his friends and family in his all too short forty-five years, and for his countless wonderful friends who made his life so rewarding,” Craig’s family established this memorial fund to benefit Hospice of Central New York.
Stohrer Family Fund
Established by bequest in 1999 from the estate of Evelyn G. Stohrer, this permanent fund supports two charitable causes in the Central New York community.
Louise B. Tuttle Local Mission Fund
Louise’s four children—Dick, Forbes, John and Sally—established this permanent fund in her memory. The fund will match distributions made to area charities by her beloved Park Central Presbyterian Church.
Gail J. Weinstein Memorial Fund
Gail, Director of Paramedic Training at SUNY Upstate’s Department of Emergency Medicine, passed away unexpectedly in 2008. Her determination, hard work and passion for teaching contributed to the growth and education of emergency medical service and medical professionals in CNY. This fund was established in her memory by her friends and colleagues at Upstate. Each year an award is made for student training in the fields of paramedic or emergency medical services.
Carol N. Weiss Fund
This fund was established by Carol Weiss’ son to honor her memory. Carol strongly believed in her daughter-in-law’s commitment to the Syracuse City School District. This fund will be used to benefit the Syracuse City School District Foundation.
Whitmore Christian Fund
This fund was created by bequest of Marian F. Whitmore to primarily benefit the First Baptist Church of Baldwinsville, as a source to match funds raised by the church.
Witherill Fund for Cazenovia College
Witherill Fund for LeMoyne College
Witherill Fund for Syracuse University
On July 3, 1998, Central New York lost one of its biggest supporters, Dorothy Crouse Witherill. She cared deeply for the greater Syracuse community and unstintingly supported institutions and organizations concerned with education, human services and the arts. Her will provided for an unrestricted bequest to the Community Foundation. In recognition of Mrs. Witherill’s long-time support of educational institutions within the area, the Community Foundation’s Board established permanent funds to support these institutions of higher learning which will provide annual gifts to each as a reminder of her largesse.