|
 Barbra and Paul Andrisani’s
Journey to Starting a DCF Fund
Community service and charitable giving have always
been an important part of the lives of Barbra and Paul Andrisani.
She is President of the Board of St. Anthony in the Hills and a
Board member of the Ministry of Caring and other organizations. He
is on the Board of West End Neighborhood House, St. Anthony of Padua
Parish Education Fund and the University of Delaware Alumni
Association. Together they contribute to many of the causes that are
meaningful to them; and they have planned for the future by
providing for charities in their wills.
But for several years Paul had the sense that their
charitable giving should be more organized, and that the provisions in
their wills should not be restricted to charities that exist today. He
wanted to allow for the changing needs of the community, and also to
entrust his children and grandchildren to meet community needs as they
change in the future.
It was a combination of circumstances that led the
Andrisanis to the DCF, and they each have their own reasons for
believing that a community foundation is the best place to carry out
their charitable giving, today and in the future. The couple shared
details of their “journey” with the DCF, displaying a great deal of
enthusiasm about their decision to establish the Andrisani Family
Charitable Fund, a donor-advised fund.
At first, they considered starting their own private
foundation. “However, we learned about the many complications and
expenses involved,” Barbra says, “ and we didn’t want to leave a
foundation to our children that would be a burden to them.”
They also looked into commercial mutual fund companies
that offer charitable funds. Paul liked what he saw and decided this
would be an efficient and economic route. In fact, it was his first
choice until he learned more about some of the benefits of community
foundations.
Barbra contacted the DCF because she knew Mary Hopkins,
DCF Director of Gift Planning, from their work at the University of
Delaware (Barbra was Director Alumni Relations from 1989 – 1993). Barbra
was impressed by the value the DCF adds to donor-advised funds by
“educating us as donors and identifying worthwhile organizations to
support.” However, this service was not important to Paul. He was
looking for more benefits from the Foundation and needed to be better
convinced of the value their fund would receive.
When Paul learned that the Foundation encourages people
to give for the benefit of the community and to create permanent
charitable funds – and that individuals he respected had funds at the
DCF – he began to see the DCF in a new light. He was sold on the idea
when he recalled a Wall Street Journal article that laid out the wisdom
of community foundations.
“What really sets the DCF apart in my mind is that it
supports raising funds for important causes in the local community by
encouraging others to do as we have done,” Paul notes. “By raising
awareness and funds for Delaware causes – in addition to assessing
community needs, professionally managing funds, and handling all legal
and administrative matters for donors – the DCF adds value in ways that
no outside fund could ever rival.”
The Andrisanis are pleased that the principal of their
charitable endowment fund is there in perpetuity, allowing them to
recommend donations on an ongoing basis without ever depleting the fund.
Another advantage of having a donor-advised fund at the DCF, notes
Barbra, is involving the next generation. “Our three children can see
what’s of value to us and the way we make decisions about charitable
giving.”
Paul adds, “Those of us who have benefited in our youth
from the philanthropy of others, as practically all Delawareans have,
should want future generations to do likewise, and the DCF adds value by
promoting that concept.”
The Andrisani children are Nathan and Danielle, both
attorneys, and Damian, a resident in Orthopedic Surgery. They grew up
with an appreciation of the advantages they had and an awareness of the
disadvantages of others, their mother says. They are advisors to the
Andrisani Family Charitable Fund and will have the opportunity to make
charitable allocations in the future.
Paul J. Andrisani, Ph.D., brought 30 years of experience
as an economist to his search for the most efficient way to achieve his
philanthropic goals. He is Professor of Management at the School of
Business and Management, Temple University, and also operates a thriving
consulting business. Barbra Frank Andrisani has worked as a research
associate for Paul’s business, and in the 1980s was a teacher and
principal at St. Catherine of Siena School in Wilmington. In February
2000, the Andrisanis were recognized for their collective volunteer work
by Catholic Charities with the Award for Outstanding Service to the
Community.
Barbra and Paul Andrisani are pleased that their journey
to organize their charitable giving ended with a fund at the DCF. “I
wish we had found the Foundation ten years ago,” says Paul. “The DCF
really cuts through all the paper work and makes it simple. And I had
not been aware of how a person like me could benefit from the DCF, while
at the same time helping the community.”
The DCF is proud to include Barbra and Paul Andrisani
and their family in our family of fund holders. The Andrisani Family
Charitable Fund will help current and future generations of Delawareans
lead a better life. |
