Lowcountry Food Bank Foundation and Endowment established to support long-term viability of organization
October 6, 2021
The Lowcountry Food Bank announced today the establishment of the Lowcountry Food Bank Foundation and the Patricia S. Walker Endowment to provide a permanent, sustainable source of income to supplement annual dollars raised by the Lowcountry Food Bank. The creation of the new 501(c)(3) Foundation was unanimously approved by the Lowcountry Food Bank Board of Directors in fall 2020.
The Endowment is named in honor of Pat Walker, who retired as President and CEO from the LCFB in January of 2021, leaving a legacy of unmatched growth and service to the Lowcountry community.
The Foundation enables the Lowcountry Food Bank to further expand access to healthy food and increase its capacity to reach more people in outlying areas of the 10 coastal counties of South Carolina it serves.
The Foundation will donate investment earnings annually to the Lowcountry Food Bank and serve as a dependable source of income that will provide perpetual support to the organization’s mission to lead the fight against hunger in our community.
The Endowment will fund critical programs and needs, including senior and child hunger programs, mobile food distributions and emergency food in times of natural disaster and crisis.
All Foundation estate gifts will be invested in the Endowment to grow in perpetuity. The Endowment provides Lowcountry Food Bank Foundation supporters “a gift that keeps on giving” and provides a vehicle for a bequest to the endowment in their will as a legacy.
Donors may include the Lowcountry Food Bank Foundation in their will or trust, make a tax-wise gift with a beneficiary designation, or generate annual income through a charitable gift.
The Endowment has been established with an investment corpus of more than $1 million. Donors who include the Foundation in their estate plans are recognized as members of the Lowcountry Food Bank Free Plate Legacy Society, which provides public acknowledgment of their donation.
“The Lowcountry Food Bank Foundation is an innovative way to further increase our capacity to serve our food-insecure neighbors,” said Nick Osborne, Lowcountry Food Bank President & CEO. “The Foundation supports our mission to lead the fight against hunger now, and empowers our work for years to come – ensuring our neighbors have access to healthy food when they need it most. Although we would rather foresee a future without hunger, we must secure our ability to feed our food-insecure neighbors – regardless of what the future may hold.”
The inaugural Lowcountry Food Bank Foundation Board of Directors are as follows: Pat Walker, Retired, Lowcountry Food Bank – Chair; Tom Jeffries, Retired, Quoizel – Vice Chair/Treasurer; Sue Reynolds, Retired, The Citadel – Secretary; Aaron Brewer, Founder – Category 4 Capital; Tyler Condon, Financial Advisor – Morgan Stanley; Monifa Ellington, Community Relations – Ingevity; Dr. Bob Kahle, Managing Director – Kahle Strategic Insights; Steve Swanson, Co-Founder – Automated Trading Desk; Henry Tisdale, Retired – Claflin University; and Ex-Officio Lowcountry Food Bank Foundation Board Members Nick Osborne, President & CEO – Lowcountry Food Bank and Monica Scott, Chair – Lowcountry Food Bank Board of Directors. The role of the Foundation Board is to manage the endowment fund effectively to help fund the mission of the LCFB. The Foundation Board has no role or participation in annual giving or development efforts other than supporting planned giving.
For more information, please contact Brenda Shaw, Lowcountry Food Bank Chief Development Officer at [email protected] or 843-747-8146, ext. 104.
About the Lowcountry Food Bank: Feed. Advocate. Empower.
The Lowcountry Food Bank serves the 10 coastal counties of South Carolina and distributed more than 39 million pounds of food in 2020. The Lowcountry Food Bank help fight hunger by distributing food to nearly 300 partner agencies including on-site meal programs, homeless shelters and emergency food pantries. The Lowcountry Food Bank advocates on behalf of those who experience hunger and helps empower people to make healthy and nutritious food choices. For more information, go to the Lowcountry Food Bank website at lowcountryfoodbank.org
