Bringing A Legacy to Life

A donor-advised fund allows a generous spirit to continue giving.  Just ask Josh Richardson’s family.

By Gene Rebeck | Photography by John Linn

Josh Richardson was killed in an auto accident in 2005 at the age of 23. But his generous spirit lives on in and around Elk River, where he grew up. That’s because shortly after his death, his family partnered with the Initiative Foundation to create the Josh Richardson Family Fund to raise money and give to local causes.

Last December, the fund donated $9,000 to turn the lobby space of the Independent School District 728 office building in Elk River into a gathering space featuring a coffee cart. “Students, families, businesses and others will use that space to gather, to collaborate, to partner on ways to help our district and communities continue to flourish,” said Superintendent Dan Bittman, who has championed the project.

The coffee business will be supported by students with special needs, Bittman said. “This program allows them to be successful in our community—through volunteering, through work. We will work on everyday skills such as laundry, dishes, and what it’s like to live on his or her own. This is an opportunity for these students who are 18 to 21 to learn skills such as customer service, working on inventory, providing correct change.”

The Josh Richardson Family Fund is a donor-advised fund, which works much like a foundation. Through the Initiative Foundation partnership, though, the family doesn’t have to go through the trouble of establishing a separate legal nonprofit organization.

It’s an approach that allows the Richardson family to focus on the types of projects Josh himself would have applauded.

Impactful Donations

“Josh was always one of the guys who went to bat for the underdog—kids who hadn’t had the same opportunities and family life that he had,” said his father, Brad Richardson, president of Christian Builders and Remodelers, a Rogers-based residential construction firm. “He always gravitated towards the arts and creative people.”

A couple of weeks after his son’s funeral, Richardson’s boss and father-in-law, Chuck Christian, came over and said, “We need to create something in his honor.” Soon thereafter, the Josh Richardson Family Fund was launched. Its first fundraising event was a golf tournament. “It has just blossomed from there,” Richardson said.

The Josh Richardson Family Fund typically tries to donate to one project so that “it’s somewhat of an impactful donation,” Richardson said. The fund generally makes grants between $8,000 to $10,000 annually, all to area causes. While Richardson said it’s “difficult to summarize” the types of projects the fund supports, each grant is geared “towards the betterment of kids,” including the arts, camps and learning opportunities.

Case in point: When the Elk River Star Lab Planetarium’s projector stopped working a few years ago, the Josh Richardson Family Fund provided a $5,000 grant to fund a replacement. “That’s where we fit in,” Richardson said. “We handle manageable expenses to allow good things to continue—or to begin.”

By establishing a donor-advised fund, Josh Richardson’s family can remain centered on raising funds and making grants. Meanwhile, the Initiative Foundation handles the management side. As Richardson noted, “We can focus on raising funds and not worry about pitfalls along the way.”

And that’s just one advantage of having a donor-advised fund.

Focus on Philanthropy

A donor-advised fund is “an alternative to starting your own private foundation,” said Kristin Ackley, community philanthropy manager for the Initiative Foundation. The Initiative Foundation has been facilitating donor-advised funds for two decades. The Foundation handles “all of the legal and organizational logistics,” she said. “The donors are able to simply make the donations to their fund and then recommend grants out of it. They don’t have to worry about having boards and bylaws and regular meetings. They can focus on the philanthropic side.”

Ackley cites other advantages. “You can maximize your deduction by being able to put larger lump sums in one year than you might give out in that same year,” she said. “So it provides you the opportunity to give a larger contribution at one time and protect the deduction status for that year—and it enables you to make grants over many years. It gives you a lot more flexibility and planning.”

Donor-advised funds also can invest their contributions. “You wouldn’t be able to do that if you were just making charitable contributions directly to the organization,” Ackley said.

Yet another advantage: the opportunity to engage your children in philanthropic habits. Brad Richardson’s wife, Robin, helped set up the Chuck Christian Community Spirit Fund, a donor-advised fund that honors her late father, who passed away in 2013. “Their intent is that his grandchildren will become the fund’s representatives and carry on his legacy of giving back to the community,” Ackley said.

The Initiative Foundation also helps donor-advised funds by connecting them with philanthropic opportunities. Last December, Ackley introduced the Richardsons to Bittman, who explained the goals of District 728’s coffee service program. The fact that it would help special-needs kids “clinched the deal for us,” Richardson said.

The Josh Richardson Family Fund has made a two-year commitment to support the coffee-cart project, which will allow the district “to fund almost two-thirds of the total project costs,” Ackley said. The project is expected to be up and running this spring.

The coffee service will provide for a welcoming environment for families, students and visitors “similar to what a Caribou or Starbucks might look like,” Bittman said. Since district funds can’t be used for such a purpose, the coffee service “would not be possible without the support of donations and people like the Richardsons,” he added.

DONOR-ADVISED FUNDS:

A Philanthropic Option

A donor-advised fund can provide an easy way for families and others who wish to maintain a philanthropic legacy. The minimum requirement is that the fund “has a plan to get to $20,000 within three years,” said Kristi Ackley. Visit ifound.org/ways-to-give/start-a-fund/ to learn more or to contact a member of the Initiative Foundation team to learn about ways in which we can help you meet your philanthropic goals.