Donor Stories

Carl and Jean Gortzig

Planned Giving

Jean and Carl Gortzig

Jean and Carl Gortzig have long been active community volunteers and know firsthand the importance of “planned giving” as part of their overall philanthropic strategy.When designing their own estate plan, Jean and Carl partnered with the Community Foundation and their professional advisor, attorney John Hinchcliff. Their wills include a gift to the Foundation that will be used as directed in a “memorandum of understanding.” This agreement with the Foundation honors the Gortzigs’ wishes for a portion of their gift to be used for the Community Foundation’s general charitable purposes and a second portion for its Women’s Fund. As the Foundation matures and needs change, Jean and Carl retain the flexibility to revise the memorandum of understanding without having to change their wills.

Sandra and Carman Hill

Commitment

Carman and Sandra Hill

Carman and Sandra Hill contribute to a long list of organizations each year. A financial planner with the MassMutual Financial Group for fifty years, Carman knows the importance of estate planning. “The Community Foundation enabled us to establish a ‘donor advised fund’ that will make grants to our selected charities as long as we live, plus one more generation, and thereafter as advised by the Community Foundation’s Board of Directors. “The money stays in Tompkins County…we like that,” they said.

In addition, the stock we gave had a large gain. When we gave it to the Community Foundation, there was no capital gains tax. We also have a large income tax reduction, and it takes money off the top of our estates, reducing that tax too.

Soon after graduating from the Cornell College of Agriculture in 1949, Carman made Ithaca his home. He has been active in the Rotary Club, the United Way, Family and Children’s Service, Hospicare, and the Ithaca Memorial Society. “Thirty-five years ago, a group of women leaders asked me if I would help them start Planned Parenthood of Tompkins County. They felt they needed a man to help raise money” said Carman. “I agreed because there was and still is a strong demand for the services and care given by them. Planned Parenthood is at the top of our list”.

Carman and Sandy place a high value on education. Sandy was a teacher of Home Economics/Home and Career Skills for twenty years at the South Seneca Central School district. Now retired, she volunteers her teaching skills and talent at the Enfield Elementary School. She loves children, talks with them, and they gather around her. Carman served on the Ithaca City School District Board of Education from 1961 to 1971. They are pleased to give to the Ithaca Public Education Initiative.

“Ithaca has been good to us,” said Carman and Sandy. They are thankful that they have been able to leave this place a bit better, and with the Community Foundation some of their works will continue on and on.

Nan and Layel Ridenour

Inspiration

Layel and Nan Ridenour

Layel and Nan Ridenour were looking for a way to do their charitable giving yet remain involved in the decision making process. They found the answer with a Donor Advised Fund (DAF) at the Community Foundation of Tompkins County.

Since 1878, generations of the Ridenour family had farmed the homestead in Hicksville, Ohio. Layel and Nan Ridenour were no exception. Guided by both a strong moral obligation to be close to Layel’s parents and care for them in their later years, and by Nan’s love of country life and values for raising their own children, they returned to the farm in 1947 and spent the next thirty-five years raising crops, poultry, and beef cattle. Nan also returned to elementary school teaching in 1957, and taught for 16 more years before retiring in 1973. Their leadership roles in the church, Rotary, various farm organizations, and 4-H Clubs were a few of the many ways they expressed a lifelong commitment to family and community.

They celebrated their sixty-fifth wedding anniversary before deciding to sell the farm in Hicksville and settle in Ithaca in 1999 to once again be near family. With a longstanding history of community involvement in their hometown of Hicksville, and after a lifetime of careful saving and investing, Layel and Nan chose to keep their hard earned dollars working…for them, their family, and their special community interests.

The Ridenour Family Fund was established in the spring of 2002. When asked why he decided to set up a DAF with the Community Foundation of Tompkins County, Layel replied, “It was the logical thing to do. It was easy to start our DAF. We are able to use the earnings to assist deserving organizations, both in this community and back in Ohio.”

Layel and Nan immediately used their Fund to assist in the restoration of the historic Huber Opera House in downtown Hicksville. They have also donated to the Ithaca Breast Cancer Alliance. Locally, a gift to Hospicare of Tompkins County was established in memory of Nan, who passed away in March 2002. Layel passed away in 2008.

Their son and daughter continue the family’s philanthropic values in making a difference, both in Ohio and in Ithaca. Layel and Nan have shown by example how life should be led. Their love of family and desire to be of service to their community has been an inspiration not only to their family but to all who knew them.