Giving Stories

Giving Stories - Our Heritage, Our Future

Eve Grace's Bequest
Native Oregonian Eve Grace had an innate appreciation for Portland and for parks. She watched things change in the Portland metro area, and like many of us she saw the inherent value that parks afford a community.

Eve was a loyal patron of her own community center and its programs. She was a registered nurse who loved learning and put herself through school. She was a proponent of programs that served the community and began making monthly donations to the Portland Parks Foundation after receiving a mailing in 2005.

Eve had a niece and nephew whom she remembered in her will, but had no children of her own. By putting Portland Parks Foundation in her will, Eve ensured that many children for years to come would benefit from park programs offered by Portland Parks & Recreation.

With Eve’s generous gift, the Portland Parks Foundation established an endowment fund that will serve Portland’s parks now and long into the future.

Karen's Will
For Portland Parks Foundation Board member Karen Spencer, there were two parts to the decision to include Portland Parks Foundation in her estate planning.  The first part is one most of us find difficult:  getting around to making a will in the first place.  As Karen said, “If anyone is relying on you for anything, you should have a will.”  And she feels strongly that our community relies on each of us.

When she began to ponder her bequests, she thought of many wonderful and deserving causes, each of them serving specific small segments of society. But while watching families gather and play at a fountain one day, she was struck by the tangible benefits Portland’s parks bring to the community.  She saw the great need right here at home. Having worked with the Foundation for so many years, she knew that the organization gets things done and makes donations go a long way toward making our parks do so much for so many.

This, Karen realized, was a way she could make her bequest bring good to Portland far into the future.  And, as she put it with a chuckle, “It’s my last way of being bossy.”

Before making signficant decisions about giving, we ask that you check with your financial advisor about your how to best attend to your charitable giving goals.