Couple Put Knowledge of Community to Work

In 1999  Ann Scarafia, as president of the Posey County Community Foundation's board, called on neighbors to tell them about a matching grant incentive being offered at the time by the Foundation through Lilly Endowment.  Talking to her neighbors about the reasons to begin their charitable giving while they were alive caused Ann to begin thinking about her own situation.

Ann and her husband, Bob, had already made the decision to include the Foundation in their will, but the idea of giving sooner began to form.  In addition, Ann's father, Alfred Pfister, had died earlier in the year, and they could use a portion of the inheritance for their gift, honoring his memory as well.  The Scarafias chose to create a donor-advised fund called the Scarafia-Pfister Family Fund.

The Scarafias have named their children as advisors to the fund, and they have put the fund to use in an interesting way.  The amount available for granting each year is equally divided among the family advisors who, after careful study and consideration, select the nonprofit organization that best matches their own charitable interests.

The Scarafias feel that the fund has provided the whole family with a valuable experience.  Not only are they more aware of the value of giving but they also take a hands-on approach to learning about the needs in their community.  "The idea that this fund will be around through our children's and their children's lifetimes, and beyond, is very appealing," said Ann, "and we couldn't be more pleased that their desire to serve the community mirrors our own."

Ann and Bob both come from families of very modest means and consider themselves in the middle class economically.  "We always thought that philanthropists had to be millionaires," said Ann, "but we've learned that, through the Foundation, anyone can be a philanthropist."