Fund Established in Honor of Dianna Risk

The MJHS Peer Counseling Endowment in Honor of Dianna Risk was established with gifts in honor of and in memory of Dianna. Mrs. Risk was a Madison Junior High counselor who instituted some innovative programs for her students, such as Bully Busters and Camp Win-Win where students are trained to be peer counselors. Much loved by her community, she passed away in November following a long battle with pancreatic cancer.

The endowment was started by two of her friends, Nancy Bear and Kathy Huffman. Dianna had asked them to be sure that there was enough money to pay for Camp Win-Win next summer and they said they would. (Camp costs about $5,000 for food, supplies and overnight lodging. The adult trainers volunteer their time.) What they really did was look for gifts to build a $100,000 endowment, grants from which should cover the cost of Camp Win-Win annually, so that Dianna’s work would continue to support the youngsters she “loved to the moon and back.” They didn’t tell Mrs. Risk about the endowment until it had reached $35,000 shortly before her death, and she was thrilled. It gave her great peace of mind to know that the program would continue without the hassle of having to raise funds to pay for it every year.

Camp Win-Win is a summer training program for 35 to 40 eighth graders, chosen by their classmates, where they are provided learning opportunities and experiences for the development of student leaders into effective advocates for the prevention of violence and drugs in their school and community. The students are provided with skills in the area of self-esteem, assertiveness, communication, bully prevention and healthy alternatives to drug use. They then spearhead the Peer Counseling Program for the entire student body during the school year. Mrs. Risk trained more than 300 students since she began the program eight years ago. 

In Mrs. Risk’s words: “Inspiring a core group of student leaders to accept responsibility for what is happening within the school can be a rewarding experience. Training at Camp Win-Win allows the transition of decision-making ownership for school related decisions from an adult level to that of a student leadership level. I do believe our school is a safer place because of our program.” 

Dianna Risk touched more lives than she probably realized. As of January 31st, the Foundation has received 438 gifts totaling more than $98,800 for the MJHS Peer Counseling Endowment in Honor of Dianna Risk. It is clear that a lot of people “loved her to the moon and back."

Scarlett Cline Goode leaves a gift to her brother's scholarship fund

In 1966, tragedy struck Jay & Blanche Cline when their 20-year old son, Joseph, was killed in an automobile accident two months before he was to graduate from Indiana University.

Joseph was an honor student at IU and absolutely love learning. To honor their son, Jay & Blanche established the Joseph V. Cline Scholarship. Its purpose is to annually award scholarships to Madison Consolidated High School graduating seniors who “contributed substantially to the student body and demonstrated a spirit of wholesome cooperation that has enriched the esprit de corps of the class and the school.” In addition, they donated a silver bowl to the school to be engraved annually with the scholarship recipient’s name.

Jay and Blanche passed on, leaving Joe’s sister, Scarlett Cline Goode, as the only immediate member of Joe’s family. Over the years, the Community Foundation sent her correspondence about Joseph’s scholarship and in November of 2004 the Foundation received the sad news that Scarlett had passed away at the age of 56 with cancer.

According to Frank Goode, Scarlett’s brother-in-law, Scarlett had promised her parents before they died that she would keep the family farm in the family. And she did. She bequeathed the proceeds of the sale of the farm - $634,000 – to Joe’s scholarship. This will have a tremendous impact on Madison’s graduating high school seniors: The annual award since the scholarship was established was less than $1,000. In May of 2007 two scholarships for $12,000 each will be awarded.

Talking to people who knew Jay, Blanche, and their two children, the words generous and kind are often mentioned, so it is no surprise that Scarlett continues that family tradition today and far into the future.

The Bill and June Nighbert Charitable Fund

is not an endowment. Instead, the Nighberts are using the fund principal to make their usual donations to charity and intend to add to the Charitable Fund when the balance gets low.

Bill and June Nighbert have simplified their charitable giving. They set up the Bill and June Nighbert Charitable Fund, a nonpermanent fund, in the Foundation. They are using the fund principal to make their donations to charities and intend to add to the Charitable Fund when the balance gets low.

The Charitable Fund is easy to use. They just let the Foundation know what charities they would like to support in what amount and the Foundation takes care of paperwork and check writing. Because the Foundation sends the Nighberts quarterly fund reports, they can also easily tell what has been given to whom and how much is left to give away. “This is such an easy way to handle our charitable giving that I encourage others to set up a Foundation Charitable Fund,” said Bill Nighbert.

(An added benefit for them is that Mr. and Mrs. Nighbert started the fund with a gift of appreciated stock. They received a charitable deduction for the full market value of the stock at the time of the gift and did not have to pay capital gains taxes on its appreciation.)

Brok continues to be kind to others

Five-year-old Brok Hensler died in an accident in 2002. He was Megg’s big brother and Paula and Chuck Hensler’s son. The family turned their devastation into hope by donating Brok’s organs and setting up an endowment in the Community Foundation that benefits children.

Brok was all boy. Whatever his father was doing, he had to be there to help. He loved playing basketball and T-ball at the Lide White Boys & Girls Club, horses, playing with his tractors and dump trucks, camping and just being outdoors.

The Henslers were surprised at how generous people were when Brok passed away. The family used the many memorial gifts they received to establish Brok’s endowment, the focus of which is children. Grants from the family advised fund built Brok’s T-Ball Field at Lide White Boys and Girls Club, sponsor basketball and tee ball teams, helped Canaan Elementary School buy some playground equipment and many other things that help children.

Brok’s parents were comforted when they learned that Brok’s heart stayed in Indiana and the rest of his organs were helping people across the country. Paula and Chuck didn’t take any time to decide about organ donation because Brok was unselfish and cared about others, and this was one more way he could do this. Paula is still amazed at his thoughtfulness because he was so young. For instance, on a visit to the Indianapolis Children’s Museum he wanted to throw a penny into an exhibit that demonstrates the power of gravity. Other children were watching the exhibit, too, and when his mother gave him a coin, he said “But what about the other kids? They need one, too!”

Brok Daniel Konkle Hensler will live forever through grants from his endowment because of our community’s generosity, and because of his parents’ desire to help Brok continue to be kind to others.

Mary Hoefling leaves a legacy

Mary Hoefling provided leadership in the best of possible ways by making a difference through example. Mary loved helping people. Up until her death at the age of 83, the lifelong Madison resident spent her time volunteering with the Lanier State Historic Site, Madison Railroad Station and the Jefferson County Historical Society, reading to grade schoolers and singing in the choir of her church.

Mary was a member of the Women of the Moose, the Retired Senior Volunteer Program, the Madison High Alumni and a charter member of the Pilot Club.

A poet by nature, Mary loved to be involved in the community, an "active participant." Her enthusiasm and encouragement touched everyone that worked alongside Mary to make the place she called home an even better place to live and work.

Mary derived joy in helping others and that is leadership that truly makes a difference. Through the Carl J. and Mary M. Hoefling Endowment that she established in the Community Foundation by bequest, she and her late husband Carl will continue to make a difference in Jefferson County for generations to come.

Dr. Marcella Modisett wants to provide her favorite charities with a steady source of income

Dr. Marcella S. Modisett and her late physician-husband, Jack, touched many lives during their long careers as family physicians in the area. Though retired for some years, she continues to care for her community through active involvement in many Jefferson County service organizations, including the Board of Health, the Community Foundation, the Jefferson County Historical Society and Kentuckiana Girl Scouts.

"More than 50 years ago, my husband, Jack, and I came to Madison with a few personal possessions, an old second-hand car and great hopes. For several months, we had to take turns making house calls with that car. Yes, doctors did make house calls then.

We raised our children here in Jefferson County in an environment that was healthy and good to us. Over the years, our family used the school systems, the county and city governments' services, the fire departments and the hospital.

We became part of this community, and it became a part of us. Both Jack and I felt the need to return something to the people and the community that had nurtured our family and given us fulfilling careers.

I had previously put the Kentuckiana Girl Scout Council and the Jefferson County Historical Society in my will. Then the Community Foundation began offering Charitable Gift Annuities.

Jack and I bought some stock early on. Over the years it went up in value and if I had sold it, the capital gains taxes would have taken a big chunk of it. It was an easy decision and a simple matter to make a gift right away that will go to the Council's and Society's endowments when I pass on, and it's also nice to receive some extra income each year.

The Community Foundation's mission will have a long-term impact on my community. I am happy to tell others how the Community Foundation can help them to be sure their charities have a steady source of income long after we and our families are gone."

The Wallis Family gathers each year to decide what they would like to fund

Mrs. Mary Goode Wallis was one of the first people to use the new Community Foundation. "It's so easy and convenient," states Mrs. Wallis. "They take care of all the details. All I have to think about is how I want the money used to benefit the community."

Mrs. Wallis established the Don R. Wallis Memorial Endowment, an unrestricted fund. She also set up the Wallis Family Endowment, a family advised fund. "Every year during the holidays when the family all gets together, we decide what we want our fund to do that year. I have six adult grandchildren, and it's really helped teach them about the importance of giving and sharing."

In past years, grants recommended by the family from the Wallis Family Endowment have benefited the Youth Shelter, Girls Inc., Habitat for Humanity and Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Jefferson County. "Our family has been here over 150 years. I can't think of a better way to give back to the community that has given so much to us."

The Madison Consolidated Schools Educational Foundation provides a dependable source of funds for extracurricular academic activities

In October of 1994, the Madison Consolidated Schools (MCS) Educational Foundation Fund was established at the Community Foundation. Since then, the Fund has had a significant impact on the Madison Consolidated School system. To date, it has awarded over 70 grants, totaling more than $40,000, to all ten of Madison's schools.

The MCS Educational Foundation Fund evolved from the work of an organizing committee who began to discuss how to provide a dependable source of funds for extracurricular academic activities in the Madison Consolidated Schools. After determining that this source should be independent of the school system and should provide a tax deduction for any contributions made to it, the natural fit seemed to be establishing a fund in the Community Foundation.

The Fund's purpose is to promote educational excellence in the Madison Consolidated Schools by providing funds for educational activities which extend beyond the basic curriculum and for which funds are not available through the usual tax sources. The MCSEF Fund has provided annual support of the academic competition teams at MCHS. It has also funded a competitive grants program each spring and fall in which all Madison schools are eligible to apply.

The MCS Educational Foundation Fund has two components: an endowment fund, where only the earnings of the fund can be expended, and a non-permanent fund, which can be expended in its entirety.

Since it was established, the Fund has developed a broad base of supporters. This has been due to the hard work and dedication that the Educational Foundation members have put into assuring the Fund's success.