Community Foundation Grants of All Sizes Matter

Hampton Roads Community Foundation grants don't always have to be huge to make a big impact. Here is just one example:

Our office enjoyed a visit this week from a group of southeastern Virginia citizens who participate in a Cerebral Palsy of Virginia adult day program. The enthusiastic visitors included the Cerebral Palsy staff. Everyone was on a thank-you mission before enjoying an afternoon of bowling.

They stopped by our Norfolk, Virginia office to surprise us with a lovely plant in a pot they had decorated. The reason? They just wanted to say thank you for a $2,100 grant from The Laura Turner Fund, which our community foundation administers. The grant paid for adjustable tables to make it easier for participants to work on projects at a height that is best for them. The tables are used in both the day program and summer camp that will be starting soon.

We are delighted the grant is helpful and that we could award it in the name of Laura Turner. This field-of-interest fund was started in 1997 by the Louise W. Eggleston Center (now Eggleston Services).


Cerebral Palsy of Virginia visitors get to know some of our foundation staff members.

 

$1.6 Million Gift Highlighted in Newsletter

Click here to read the newsletter.

Philanthropist Joshua P. Darden Jr., who died in January 2014, left a $1.6 million bequest to the Hampton Roads Community Foundation.

The Virginia Beach resident's  parting gift was to donate his Individual Retirement Account to create an unrestricted fund -- the kind he championed as a member of the community foundation's board for 27 years/

Read more in Good Tidings, the spring 2014 newsletter of the Hampton Roads Community Foundation.

Charles Syer Will Benefit His Community Forever

Charles Syer IV was a newly retired banker in 1996 when he accomplished two goals in life at age 65:

• Becoming a "free agent" not tied down by home ownership.
• Doing something charitable to benefit his community forever.

He accomplished both by connecting with the Hampton Roads Community Foundation.

Charles Syer

Charles, who for 30 years had managed foundation investments for the trust department at what is now Suntrust Bank, donated his Norfolk, Virginia condominium to the community foundation. The proceeds from its sale created the Charles Syer Fund. This unrestricted fund has provided grants to numerous nonprofit organizations in southeastern Virginia since 1996. Syer also arranged for a future bequest to the community foundation expand his charitable fund.

Charles, who lived in a Virginia Beach retirement community after selling his condominium, died on May 6, 2014 at age 82. His family designated the Charles Syer Fund of the Hampton Roads Community Foundation to receive memorial gifts.

Charles was a Portsmouth, Virginia native who lived most of his life in Norfolk after graduating from Princeton University and Harvard University. He was an Army veteran who enjoyed reading and the arts. For him an unrestricted fund at a community foundation in his home region made good sense.

"I liked the idea that the foundation is a long-term, ongoing and for the whole general area," he said. "As time goes by, organizations that are worthy during one period may change. With the foundation there is flexibility. The organization is steered by a group of local people who have demonstrated they are responsible and capable of using money intelligently."

Donations to the Charles Syer Fund will help an array of nonprofits in the Hampton Roads region of Virginia. To make a charitable gift please:

• Click here to donate online. Please specify that your gift is in memory of Charles Syer.
• Mail a check to Hampton Roads Community Foundation, 101 W. Main Street, Suite 4500, Norfolk, VA 23510. Please designate your gift in memory of Charles Syer.

Click here to view Charles Syer's obituary.