He also said the city will move to narrow Washington and Jefferson boulevards downtown.In an otherwise tough economic year, four area institutions will receive an impressive gift to help get them through the financial doldrums.
The Edward D. and Ione Auer Foundation, a private charitable organization, again will give $1 million each to the Allen County Public Library Foundation, the Fort Wayne Children’s Zoo, the Fort Wayne Philharmonic and Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne.
This year’s money will be distributed in four installments; the first $250,000 was distributed to each organization Thursday.
Last year, the Auer foundation announced its plans to give $1 million to each of the four organizations over 10 years, according to Katherine Moenter, foundation grants director. This is the second year the foundation has distributed the endowment funds.
"These are four great organizations, and the hope is they will do great things (with the money)," Moenter said. "We want the wealth to spread throughout the community."
Each year, the organizations can invest or spend 5 percent of the Auer endowment, Moenter said. The foundation puts few restrictions on the use of the funds but asks that the organizations report back to the foundation at least once a year.
Ione Auer, who died in 2007 at the age of 103, indicated her fondness for IPFW, the zoo, the library and the philharmonic in her estate documents, Moenter said.
In a 2004 interview with The Journal Gazette, Auer, whose husband was a Lincoln National Life Insurance Co. executive, attributed her fortune to hard work and a frugal mind-set. She also emphasized her belief in helping the community.
Leaders at each of the four organizations expressed gratitude at receiving the funds.
"We’re very excited and honored to have been selected for a gift of this magnitude," said J.L. Nave, president and CEO of the Fort Wayne Philharmonic. "These gifts don’t come but once, maybe twice, in a career, if you’re lucky. I think the generosity and the commitment on behalf of Mrs. Auer is touching."
Nave said the Philharmonic used the 5 percent of the $1 million it received last year to support musician salaries and pay for educational programming. He said the money helped the Philharmonic host free concerts for Allen County’s fifth-graders and allowed the group to send musicians into Head Start classrooms. The Philharmonic plans to use the money in a similar fashion this year.
IPFW Chancellor Michael Wartell said the university invested last year’s money in its unitized endowment and has not yet spent it. When it does, he says, the money will go strictly toward scholarships for academically qualified students in need.
"It will make students’ lives a lot easier," he said.
Jim Anderson, director of the Fort Wayne Children’s Zoo, said he plans to use this year’s funds to make an array of physical repairs to the zoo.
"For 2009, we would like to improve the facilities and the experience for the half million people that visit each year and the 1,000 animals that live here," he said.
Last year, Anderson said, the money was used to replace an alligator filtration system, fix the sea lion exhibit, produce maps and print and distribute an annual teacher’s resource guide.
The Allen County Public Library Foundation will use the grant money to support its genealogy department, according to Allen County Public Library Director Jeffrey Krull.
The library has the largest public library genealogy collection in the nation.
"The long-term strategy is to use the income from the endowment to support ongoing operations of the genealogy center, such as staff expenses, purchasing materials, digitizing collections and purchasing databases," Krull said.
"It’s a national and international resource. And we thought the Auer funding would be ideal to create a high profile for the genealogy center and to encourage other people who use the collection to support it as well."
According to probate records, Ione Auer’s estate was worth $49.5 million in December 2007.
The foundation, which is to distribute gifts for 15 more years, also funds other organizations and accepts concept letters quarterly, Moenter said.
As the Auer endowments grow in the next few years, the four organizations will be able to make larger annual draws.
As opposed to one-time donations that can be rapidly spent, endowments let recipients receive income over a number of years, because the principal is preserved and interest is earned.
