Landwirth Foundation assets go to The Community Foundation for Northeast Florida and Western North Carolina
The Community Foundation for Northeast Florida announced that the Trustees of the Fanny Landwirth Foundation have converted their private family foundation to an advised fund at The Community Foundation for Northeast Florida and one at the Western North Carolina Community Foundation in Asheville, NC.
The Fanny Landwirth Foundation was established in 1982 by Henri Landwirth in memory of his mother, who was killed in the Holocaust. Henri survived, and devoted himself to improving the lives of those in need. Henri created the Fanny Landwirth Foundation to help ensure that the pain and agony of the innocent victims of the Holocaust is never forgotten. Sadly, Henri Landwirth passed away on April 16, 2018. The Fanny Landwirth Foundation has contributed more than $10 million in the past 35 years to numerous nonprofit organizations addressing critical needs in communities where Trustees live.
In an effort to streamline administrative requirements and simplify grantmaking activities, the Henri Landwirth Family Endowed Fund has been created at both of the community foundations. The Trustees will continue to make grants in Northeast Florida and Western North Carolina in line with their family’s values and areas of interest:
- Safety-net services
- Jewish causes
- Holocaust remembrance and awareness programs
- Efforts to reduce prejudice, bigotry, and hate
- Programs addressing elder care, including, but not limited to, elder care education
- Programs that provide comfort, solace, joy, and respite to individuals with disabilities, serious, chronic or life-threatening illnesses and their families
“We are so honored to be a part of the next chapter in the Landwirth family philanthropy,” said Nina Waters, president of The Community Foundation for Northeast Florida. “Henri was a hero in so many ways, and his charitable legacy in creating Give Kids the World Village and Dignity U Wear cannot be underestimated. We look forward to this partnership with the Landwirth family to continue his work in perpetuity.”
Converting private foundations into funds at community foundations is a common practice, particularly among family foundations, many of which do not have paid staff to manage operations. As a private foundation, trustees are required to meet federal requirements for annual grantmaking, oversee the investment of the assets, file annual tax returns and a host of other tasks.
Once the assets are given to a community foundation, these requirements either disappear or become the responsibility of the community foundation. By creating an advised fund, the donors may continue to exercise their philanthropy by recommending grants from the fund to the organizations of their choice.
At this time the family is not accepting applications for recommendations for funding; instead, they will be contacting organizations in their communities to discuss funding opportunities.
