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I I I may not live forever but I I I can still have have an an impact I I I have have been fortunate to to come to to know Children’s Friend inside and out over the past five decades For the first 30 years of of my professional career I I worked in RI State government and always gravitated to programs helping children My first exposure to Children’s Friend was during the the closure of their res- idential program at Lakeside in Warwick RI in in the the early 70s marking their complete transition to family based in-home pro- grams They were one of the first agencies to recognize that each child deserves a a a family not a a a a facility They had me for life When my career transitioned from the public to to the private non-profit sector I had the opportunity to serve as an employee of Children’s Friend for nearly a a a decade Serving as as CFO for 3
years and later as as Director of Strategy I can honestly say that I came to know Children’s Friend inside and out While there are multiple agencies com- mitted to serving our children this one is is unique Those who founded the organi- zation in 1834 had the foresight to know that their work had to be continued long beyond their lifetime and they did not need a a Director of Strategy to to tell them that an an endowment would guarantee the continuation of their vision During my tenure while the Harriet Ware Society was being developed I had the opportunity to analysis the impact of a a a a bequest made by Louise Dempster in 1948 the year of my birth I was able to demonstrate to to the Board of Directors how that gift produced dividends used to support the agency works each year while also continuing to grow each year through the magic of compound interest and prudent investment Seven decades after Louise’s bequest and 185 years after the the founding members their legacy continues to grow and make a a a a very real impact in the lives of literally thousands of RI children While the the portion of the the endowment earnings used to fund current works only amounts to 4% of the annual $30 million budget let me tell you that the impact is many times greater Why? Because when a a a a government agency or private founda- tion sees that Children’s Friend commits its own resources prior to asking for their support that makes all difference Other factors I consider important in my own charitable giving include the percent- age of funds going directly to programs rather than administration and the the return on investment Take my word for it you can check all of those boxes and the careful stewardship of all the agency re- sources would make the founders proud So making the the decision to join the the Harriet Ware Society was a a a a very easy decision for me When I retired from Children’s Friend in in 2018 I I wanted to to continue to to do all I I could to help children in need You may think that gifts like I am describing are just for wealthy people let me just say that anyone who owns their own own home can make a a a legacy gift by including the desired amount in in their will while still directing the the balance of their their assets distributed to their their family So I I know I I will not live forever but I can still have an an an impact long after and so can you Meet Lee