Post by macintosh on Dec 23, 2010 20:48:18 GMT -5
Charities surprised by $6M from E. Ind. couple
December 20, 2010
RICHMOND, Ind. —
Several charities have been surprised by sharing in more than $6 million in donations from an eastern Indiana couple's estate.
Marlowe and Patricia Kluter of Richmond designated 13 churches, schools and charities to split 90 percent of their $7 million estate.
Marlowe Kluter was a loan officer at the former First Federal Savings and Loan and Patricia Kluter was a teacher for the Richmond Community Schools. They were married for 51 years, with Marlowe Kluter dying in 2007 and his wife last month.
The couple bequeathed the money to 13 area charities, a gift that has put an exclamation mark on the meaning of philanthropy during the holiday season, said Bob Bever, the attorney for the Kluter estate.
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"This is the largest (estate) I have had where such a significant amount of the whole pie was going to charities," Bever told the Palladium-Item. "They had no immediate family. She thought they would all be able to spend it as they deemed best for the purposes of their organizations.
"Everyone without exception was appreciative and surprised because they had led such modest lives," he said.
The largest donations of $700,000 each are going to five organizations -- Albany United Methodist Church in Albany, First English Lutheran Church in Richmond, Richmond Symphony Orchestra, United Way of Whitewater Valley and Wayne County Foundation.
Gifts of $525,000 are going to the Reid Hospital Foundation and Indiana and DePauw universities; $350,000 to Alpha Omicron Pi sorority and Kappa Sigma fraternity; and $175,000 to Meals on Wheels, the Indiana Chapter of the Arthritis Foundation and the Alzheimer's Association.
The gifts come with no restrictions and will be allocated to the organizations during 2011, Bever said.
He said the Kluters were "astute" with their money. "They actually increased their wealth greatly through the stock market," he said.
For many of the beneficiaries, the donations equal a year's worth of fundraising -- including the United Way of Whitewater Valley, which raised $750,000 last year for its annual campaign.
Randy Kirk, president of the Reid Foundation, said the Kluters were longtime donors.
"To meet them in a casual setting, you would find them to be very quiet and unpretentious people," Kirk said. "They would certainly not want any spotlight shined upon them."
www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-ap-in-coupleslegacy,0,4638310.story
December 20, 2010
RICHMOND, Ind. —
Several charities have been surprised by sharing in more than $6 million in donations from an eastern Indiana couple's estate.
Marlowe and Patricia Kluter of Richmond designated 13 churches, schools and charities to split 90 percent of their $7 million estate.
Marlowe Kluter was a loan officer at the former First Federal Savings and Loan and Patricia Kluter was a teacher for the Richmond Community Schools. They were married for 51 years, with Marlowe Kluter dying in 2007 and his wife last month.
The couple bequeathed the money to 13 area charities, a gift that has put an exclamation mark on the meaning of philanthropy during the holiday season, said Bob Bever, the attorney for the Kluter estate.
Chicago Shopping: Your home for personalized holiday shopping deals >>
"This is the largest (estate) I have had where such a significant amount of the whole pie was going to charities," Bever told the Palladium-Item. "They had no immediate family. She thought they would all be able to spend it as they deemed best for the purposes of their organizations.
"Everyone without exception was appreciative and surprised because they had led such modest lives," he said.
The largest donations of $700,000 each are going to five organizations -- Albany United Methodist Church in Albany, First English Lutheran Church in Richmond, Richmond Symphony Orchestra, United Way of Whitewater Valley and Wayne County Foundation.
Gifts of $525,000 are going to the Reid Hospital Foundation and Indiana and DePauw universities; $350,000 to Alpha Omicron Pi sorority and Kappa Sigma fraternity; and $175,000 to Meals on Wheels, the Indiana Chapter of the Arthritis Foundation and the Alzheimer's Association.
The gifts come with no restrictions and will be allocated to the organizations during 2011, Bever said.
He said the Kluters were "astute" with their money. "They actually increased their wealth greatly through the stock market," he said.
For many of the beneficiaries, the donations equal a year's worth of fundraising -- including the United Way of Whitewater Valley, which raised $750,000 last year for its annual campaign.
Randy Kirk, president of the Reid Foundation, said the Kluters were longtime donors.
"To meet them in a casual setting, you would find them to be very quiet and unpretentious people," Kirk said. "They would certainly not want any spotlight shined upon them."
www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-ap-in-coupleslegacy,0,4638310.story