Endowment Stories
Colonel Frank C. Wood
An Endowment for the Common Good
Colonel Frank C. Wood was a war hero who spent 30 years traveling with the U.S. Army but always came home to San Diego. The Colonel requested that most of his estate be used for the exclusive benefit of San Diego charities after his death, bequeathing nearly $2 million for this purpose. The Colonel Frank C. Wood Memorial Fund supports an extremely broad range of causes, including education and youth services, arts programs, environmental conservation, scientific research and healthcare, to name a few.
Since 1983, over $2.6 million in grants – a greater amount than Colonel Wood originally gifted – has been distributed from this endowment. The broad purpose of the fund allows it to address community needs that were unknown in Colonel Wood’s day and time. Flexible and perpetual, Common Good Funds like this one provide for the emerging needs of the community today and far into the future.
Historical Gift: $1.7 million
Date of Gift: 12/29/1982
Current Value: $3,507,170*
Grants: $3,789,746*
*As of 3/31/2010
Mollie Hunter
A Designated Endowment
Contemplating what to gift the city that had given her so much, Mollie Hunter stumbled upon her answer during a walk to San Diego’s downtown library. Witnessing a dreadful sight – a tattered and torn California State flag flying in front of the library – she dashed inside and offered to buy a new flag. Named in memory of her late husband, the Dell Hunter Memorial Flag Fund makes certain that fresh American and California State flags are always soaring outside San Diego’s main library.
Historical Gift: $4,005
Date of Gift: First gift was $2000 in 1981
Grants: $9,503*
*As of 3/31/2010
James and Geraldine Bertelsen Scholarship
In 1946, when James and Geraldine Bertelsen were married, they hoped to begin a family. They remained childless, but their love for children never diminished. Upon their deaths, the Bertelsens left their estate – composed mainly of the value of their home – to establish a scholarship fund at The San Diego Foundation in their family name. Since then, scholarships have been granted out for students at USD, Marquette University, Loyola Marymount and Notre Dame.
Historical Gift: $419,468
Current Value: $518,606*
Grants: $321,500*
*As of 3/31/2010
Major Reuben H. Fleet Advised Endowment
The Fleet family legacy was built on the accomplishments of Major Reuben H. Fleet, an aviation pioneer who believed in basic virtues such as personal integrity, self-reliance, love of country, and respect for truth.
The Reuben H. Fleet Space Theatre and Science Center in Balboa Park is just one of many legacies left behind by this innovative community leader. He organized the first air mail for the U.S. Postal Service in 1918, helped develop the turbo-supercharger for airplane piston engines, and organized the leading airline that became Pan American.
In 1923, Major Fleet founded Consolidated Aircraft Corporation, later renamed Convair, which became a division of General Dynamics. Three weeks before Pearl Harbor, he sold his stock interest for $10 million. He then established the Reuben H. Fleet Foundation to assist high school students in completing their college education, and supported science-based initiatives that focus on knowledge, research, and the creation of intellectually challenging programs for youth.
In 1985, the Reuben H. Fleet Foundation became a fund of The San Diego Foundation. Three generations of Fleets have served as advisors to this endowment, including Susan Fleet Welsch (daughter), Sandra Fleet Honnen (daughter), Sally Fleet Johnson (daughter), David Daniel Fleet (great grandson), and Lori Fleet Martin (great granddaughter).
The family continues its philanthropic involvement at The San Diego Foundation. Susan Fleet Welsch, an estate planning attorney, has referred many of her clients to The San Diego Foundation. In her own words: "There are tax advantages in participating in a community foundation and the minimal management fee is a considerable cost savings over staffing a family foundation.”
Susan echoes her father's wisdom: "Site inspections have taken my family and me to places we never would have seen had it not been for philanthropy. If we had remained a private family foundation, we wouldn't have been exposed to all the many needs in San Diego."
Through the Fleet endowment at The San Diego Foundation and the philanthropic involvement of Major Fleet’s descendents, the legacy of the Fleet family lives on.
Historical Gift: $8.57 million
Date of Gift: 1985
Current Value: $20,020,256*
Grants: $13,564,717*
*As of 3/31/2010