Mary Holmes, Executive Director, said, “The big difference in this year was a large gift from the estate of William F. Bethune.” Bethune died September 9, 2017. The community foundation received $8,350,402.67 from the estate and an additional $222,740.22 from a charitable remainder trust. “This is the second largest gift in the history of Cumberland Community Foundation. We are honored to continue Mr. Bethune’s legacy.”
Mr. Bethune’s legacy gift will support many causes:
- The William F. Bethune Fund received $4,175,201.34 to be used as determined by the community foundation’s board. The community foundation will accept grant applications from qualified charities and award grants to the best projects every year, in memory of Mr. Bethune.
- The William Frederick Bethune Fund for Art Scholarships received $2,087,600.67. Annually, this endowment will distribute to Methodist University to be expended for scholarships for students in the arts department.
- The William Frederick Bethune Fund for the Arts received $2,087,600.66. Annually, this endowment will distribute to Methodist University for support of the arts department.
- The William F. Bethune Charitable Endowment for Dorothy Spainhour School received $222,740.22. Annually, this endowment will distribute grant support for programming at the Dorothy Spainhour School on Hull Road in Fayetteville, NC.
In 1998, the late Bobby McCoy, a community leader and friend of Mr. Bethune, told him how the community foundation could steward his hard-earned assets after he passed. McCoy knew about Mr. Bethune’s desire to help many different charitable organizations and thought the community foundation was the best fit for his needs. Holmes and Bethune met once in 1998 and again in June 2007. “Those were our only two meetings. He was a very private person and did not want a lot of attention. We respected that. He just wanted to leave a legacy and do good things for our community. We are happy to be part of his legacy.”
As an endowment, none of Mr. Bethune’s gift will ever be spent. The gift will be invested and the income from the investment (dividends, interest, market appreciation) will be awarded every year for the charitable purpose. Annual distributions from income to local charities will range from $350,000 to $450,000. “Mr. Bethune was thrifty. He liked that CCF would never spend a penny of his gift and his gift would live on forever,” Holmes said.
In the fiscal year that will end June 30, 2018 the foundation’s other asset growth came mainly from gifts to nonprofit endowments managed by the community foundation. Nine new designated endowments were created:
- William Frederick Bethune Fund for Art Scholarships
- William Frederick Bethune Fund for the Arts
- William F. Bethune Charitable Endowment for the Dorothy Spainhour School
- The Rev. Barney and Donna Davidson Endowment for UMCOR
- Mary Yarborough Moorman Memorial Endowment
- Susan Nimocks and James Cameron MacRae Endowment for FAPS
- The CPL Daniel F. Mehringer Memorial Endowment for the Airborne & Special Operations Museum Foundation
- Sarah H. O'Hanlon Endowment for FAPS
- Riddick and Gillie S. Revelle Endowment for the Fayetteville Symphony Orchestra
“It was a great year made possible by many people – donors, volunteers, and our staff. Endowments live forever. This is good for our community,” Holmes said.
Cumberland Community Foundation is a 501c3 charitable organization that is audited and accredited. The foundation manages over $88 million in charitable assets, the sum of more than 500 charitable funds created by donors. For more information visit
www.cumberlandcf.org or call 910-483-4449.