Akron Children’s Hospital President and CEO William Considine and his wife, Rebecca, have established a fund with the Akron Community Foundation, hoping to give back to parts of the city that they say gave them so much.
The Rebecca D. and William H. Considine Family Fund of Akron Community Foundation was created in December with a gift of more than $500,000 in appreciated securities, the foundation said.
“Our hope is to support youth, Akron Children’s Hospital, the schools we attended, Red Cross, Boys & Girls Club, Rotary Club, the arts community ... all of those organizations that had a role in making us who we are today,” said William Considine, who has served as head of Children’s Hospital since 1979.
“We feel blessed we can do this,” he said.
A donor-advised fund is an alternative to establishing a private trust.
The donors decide which groups will receive grants from the fund and the community foundation does the paperwork, in the donors’ names.
The foundation said donor-advised funds, which can be started with as little as $5,000, streamline charitable giving. Donors get a charitable tax benefit at the time they start a fund, and they can add to it at any time.
“Many people don’t realize this tool exists, so when people like Bill and Becky Considine start a donor-advised fund, it goes a long way toward educating the public of its value and benefits,” Akron Community Foundation President and CEO John T. Petures Jr. said. “We are grateful for their trust and generosity.”
Considine said people should not read anything into the timing of the establishment of his and his wife’s fund.
The couple, learning from their experiences with their own parents, have been working on an estate plan and the donor-advised fund is part of that, he said.
Considine grew up in South Akron. Rebecca Considine grew up in West Akron.
“We’re proud of the Akron people,” he said. “And we want to be supportive of the good leadership that’s part of it.”
Amanda Garrett can be reached at 330-996-3725 or agarrett@thebeaconjournal.com.