Pathways to Understanding
How ACF’s unique vantage guides donors’ giving
Bill and Lisa Powers were both raised in St. Lawrence County, in families of modest means. Bill’s dad was a coach, teacher, and high school principal and his mom did not work outside the home. He is the oldest of eight kids and would not be surprised if his family was the recipient of support from local charitable organizations. “It was a time when people helped other people quietly, giving what you could, when you could,” Bill says.
The couple’s backgrounds and volunteer work with local charitable organizations have given them a keen sense of North Country people and their needs. They did not hesitate when we asked them to join our Pathways to Opportunities Campaign to secure the resources our neighbors require for stable, abundant lives. As Lisa says, “We are lucky, and we do not forget where we came from.”
Bill and Lisa see common cause with Adirondack Community Foundation, especially our shared commitment to educational pathways and basic needs. Lisa, a retired teacher, knows how difficult it can be when kids arrive at Kindergarten unprepared to learn and socialize. She understands how lonely it can be for new parents and loves the Birth to Three Alliance’s investment in mothers and other caregivers. That passion continues beyond early childhood into the importance of reading proficiency by third grade, which they believe can do a lot to break the cycle of generational poverty.
Bill often says that Adirondack Community Foundation is in the “catbird seat,” recognizing our unique vantage into where the needs and opportunities are. After a successful business career, the family considered establishing a private foundation, but recognized that a donor advised fund (DAF) was a great vehicle for achieving their philanthropic goals. “It’s easy and allows you to spread out your giving over many years. It also allows you to focus on what matters most — the grantmaking,” Bill says. After they learned more about Adirondack Community Foundation, they transferred their existing commercial gift fund to us.
They also made a direct gift to Generous Acts and enjoy reading the open call applications to see where a grant from their DAF can leverage our funding, what the foundation calls co-giving. They had never even heard of the hamlet of Whallonsburg, but they loved The Grange’s proposal for a children’s winter inside playground, so they funded it.
Bill is deeply involved with North Country Ministry, a key social services agency meeting the basic needs of people in the southeastern Adirondacks. Through their DAF, Bill and Lisa made a grant to support the No More Learning Gap program, a collaboration between North Country Ministry, the Glens Falls YMCA, and North Warren Central School that provides enrichment activities throughout the summer months.
Lisa volunteers with Hudson Headwaters Health Network (HHHN), and she loves the collaboration between Adirondack Community Foundation and HHHN through the creation of the Upstream Fund, which helps us all “to look beyond medicine at the social determinants of health, making this one of the most exciting and impactful partnerships in the region,” she says.
Bill and Lisa let us know that the Foundation is a part of their estate plans, making them a Campaign trifecta: giving to Generous Acts, establishing a DAF, and leaving a legacy to secure a brighter future for our communities now and for generations to come.
