Fund helps those with 'least of nature's goods'

Ottawa Citizen
November 15, 2006
By Louise Rachlis
Citizen advertising features

The William H. Kelly and Nora Hickson Kelly Fund at the Community Foundation of Ottawa is a way that 95-year-old Bill Kelly felt he could most help the community.

"I had some money left that I could use, and I figured that I needed to put it where it could do the most good," says Mr. Kelly.

A retired deputy RCMP commissioner, he says "the thing that appealed to me at the Foundation was that my donations can continue after I pass away. I found that the Foundation was well managed and that I could rely upon them to do what I wanted them to do."

He says his funds can be directed by him to the causes he wants, "and the charities I want to receive the donations. That will continue as long as the Foundation holds up, and I think it will hold up for some time."
He and his wife Nora, who passed away a year ago, wanted the people who have "the least of nature's goods" to benefit from his charitable giving - "battered women, women's homes, children with few start-up opportunities. My wife was very keen on the organizations we had donated to."

He says with the Community Foundation "one can safely feel that any donations will be dealt with efficienty and honestly, once one becomes a member."

The Community Foundation can also deal with "my commitments in other parts of Canada," he says. "That was quite an asset. I've got a number of commitments, half of them outside the local area."

He advises others to take part in a charitable program, "and this is the best that you can find. I'm very satisfied by the way they have handled my donations since I approached them three or four years ago. It's a considerable administration task when you have a number of charities, and it's a big help that the Foundation looks after that for you."

© Ottawa Citizen 2006