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Donor Stories
A CEO Who Left His Family's Company To Follow His Heart
Tom Bloch was CEO of H&R Block, the world’s largest tax-preparation firm, and the son of the company's founder. He was making $1 million a year, but something was missing. After much soul-searching, Tom resigned to become an inner-city math school teacher in Kansas City.
Then one night, Tom was surfing the Internet and became worried about the very low youth volunteer participation rate — a concern he shared with his wife, Mary. They transformed their worry into an effort to fuel student volunteerism. Together they founded the Youth Service Alliance of Greater Kansas City.
This is just one of the many charitable passions Tom and Mary have supported through the Thomas M. and Mary S. Bloch Philanthropic Fund, established in 1981 at the Greater Kansas City Community Foundation. They enjoy helping all of their favorite charities — including universities, the arts, and their synagogue — in an organized and easy-to-manage way.
The Generosity of Many Does the Most Good
ImpactKC. That's the name of a group of professionals who are dedicated to encouraging young people in Kansas City to join together and make a difference in the community.
The team is made up of individuals who pool their money to make an impact. The Greater Kansas City Community Foundation is the behind-the-scenes support system for the ImpactKC Fund, established in 2004. This allows the group to focus on learning about the needs of our region and putting its dollars where they really count.
Each year ImpactKC reviews grant applications from nonprofit organizations and hosts meetings dedicated to expanding the membership's community knowledge and access to volunteer opportunities.
Setting aggressive annual goals to raise a significant amount of money for charitable causes enables ImpactKC to leverage the strength and power of a team, well beyond the sum of its individual parts, through fundraising, education and volunteering.
Double Play: Charitable move keeps Royals in Kansas City
Ewing Marion Kauffman loved baseball. He also was deeply committed to giving back. A carefully crafted estate plan reflected both of these passions. Ewing's gift of the Kansas City Royals baseball team created a regional benefit so compelling that it marked the first time in history that the Internal Revenue Service had approved a charitable deduction for the gift of a major league sports team. The Greater Kansas City Community Foundation, in turn, helped 32 other donors establish funds to ensure the team's stability prior to its sale.
Reflecting his passion to help others, Ewing established the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation in the late 1960s to advance education and entrepreneurship. In addition, the Ewing M. Kauffman Fund for Greater Kansas City and the Royals Fund were established at the Community Foundation. The Royals Fund received its last contribution in relation to the Royals succession plan in 1997.
Among Ewing's many legacies was his inspiration to other donors to think creatively about giving assets other than cash and marketable securities to their favorite charitable organizations. Whether the charitable gift is real estate, closely-held stock, or a baseball team, visionary donors and "alternative assets" are a winning combination for the community.
Our Community Comes Full Circle
In 1983, a grant from the Hall Family Foundation helped establish the Hispanic Development Fund to build an endowment for programs that foster expression of Hispanic culture and improve the quality of life for Hispanic families in Greater Kansas City.
One year later, the Hispanic Development Fund created a scholarship fund for students of Hispanic descent who are pursuing a college education. Since its inception, the fund has awarded more than 4,000 scholarships, totaling more than $3 million.
"The Hispanic Development Fund's Scholarship Program continues to be one of the few local scholarship programs in the country that consistently award more than 80 scholarships each year," said Ramon Murguia, Hispanic Development Fund Board Chair. "We are proud that our scholarship fund has contributed to the success of many, and we plan to continue investing in our community’s future by providing support for education."
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