Like many families in 2008, the economic downturn brought real-life challenges to Ryan and Reshma Block, both in their careers and on the home front. They had just adopted their young daughter and knew they had to shift, but didn’t know how. From the downturn, they saw an upswing. A friend introduced them to a simple concept: Give away what you want to receive. The courageous couple tried it. Within a few months, they opened a fund at the Orange County Community Foundation, made their first few grants and things started to change. OCCF helped them turn their giving mentality into a philanthropic strategy and today they are giving away more than ever through the Block Family Foundation.
Find Your Passion
Legacy Fund
What’s Your Legacy?
A legacy fund ensures that your philanthropic vision lives on. With careful planning, you can structure your gifts to accomplish philanthropic, family and financial goals in the present and build a legacy that will grow for generations to come. By planning a legacy gift during your lifetime you sow seeds of generosity that will bear fruit for generations. It’s a lasting way to give, share and grow.
We live simply and want others to live more fruitful lives. We’re fortunate to be in a position where we can think about our legacy—and establish a gift that will sustain the work of organizations we believe in.
Sowing Seeds of Good
John and Mary Karyl Thorne
For the Thornes, their 66-year marriage has always involved sharing a passion for giving back. After spending more than three decades in Hawaii supporting community nonprofits, John and Mary Karyl Thorne are back in Orange County, where they continue their legacy of giving. “About 30 years ago, we made our first gift to the Hawaii Community Foundation to support basic human services, food banks and culturally important causes, including public radio and television. When we returned to Orange County, we weren’t familiar with the local nonprofits, so we reached out to OCCF for guidance.”
The Thornes knew they wanted to continue supporting similar nonprofits doing the essential work of human services and working to solve hunger, along with public programming and others. But they needed help in identifying local organizations and in setting up a legacy gift. “OCCF was remarkably insightful and proactive in aligning our passions to fund organizations and causes that are important to us—ones we wanted to sustain as long as possible to make a real difference.” Today, the Thornes will continue to support these important causes—even after their lifetimes—through a legacy gift that will fund local organizations including Second Harvest Food Bank of Orange County, Big Brothers Big Sisters and Goodwill.
Keeping the Music Alive
Jane Deming Fund
In 1995, the estate of Jane Deming established an endowed fund at OCCF with $779,625. The fund was designed to continue Jane’s lifelong support of music, education and therapeutic services for troubled families and youth. Since then, the Jane Deming Fund has granted more than $866,000 to programs including KidWorks, the Philaharmonic Society of Orange County and the Pacific Symphony’s Class Act music education program, which puts professional musicians in classrooms throughout Orange County. Today, the funds balance exceeds $925,000, reflecting growth of more than $145,000, even after $866,000 in grant distributions. We know this would be music to Jane Deming’s ears.
Building A Living Legacy
Block Family Fund
