The Legacy for Justice recognizes major and planned gifts

by  Nancy Kinnally

A. Hamilton Cooke

A year after launching a new major and planned giving initiative, The Florida Bar Foundation lists commitments from 41 individuals, organizations, and companies whose gifts will help support the organization in a lasting way.

The Legacy for Justice is a new giving society that recognizes those who have included the Foundation in their estate planning, made a pledge or gift of $10,000 or more, or successfully solicited such a gift from others, and those who have directed a similar cy pres award to the Foundation. Under the cy pres doctrine, the courts can approve a cy pres award in the settlement or class action case or out of unclaimed funds to a charitable organization.

Maria Henderson, an insurance consultant at Akerman Senterfitt and president-elect of the Foundation, was among the first members of The Legacy for Justice. In addition to providing significant financial support for the Foundation each year, she has put the Foundation in her will.

“Having been involved in The Florida Bar Foundation for many years, I feel confident that my bequest will be used wisely and effectively,” Henderson said. “It’s also the organization whose mission I care about the most.”

The Foundation’s mission to provide greater access to justice is implemented through grants that expand and improve representation and advocacy on behalf of low-income persons in civil legal matters, improve the fair and effective administration of justice, and promote public service by making it an integral component of the law school experience.

The Foundation’s mission is also dear to Jacksonville estate planning attorney  and past Foundation president Ham Cooke, who — with the full support of his wife and children — has put The Florida Bar Foundation in his will, along with several other organizations that provide services to the poor.

“The Foundation’s work is particularly appealing to me,” Cooke said, “because you get so much bang for the buck. Generally, about 90 percent of your gift is used to provide services. And that’s really important. I’ve seen other charities where you worry that a disproportionate amount is going to administrative costs, and I know that the Foundation makes the dollars stretch as much as possible to provide services benefiting poor people.”

As class counsel in a suit involving tiny overcharges applied to a large class of consumers, Tampa’s John Yanchunis recommended The Florida Bar Foundation as the recipient of a cy pres award, given the impracticality of locating all the members of the class and refunding them what would have amounted to less than 4 cents each.

“Since the injury arose from a consumer class action, and The Florida Bar Foundation has as its charge the funding of legal services for people who can’t afford it, I thought it would be the closest connection to the way in which the injury to the class arose,” said Yanchunis, a past director of the Foundation.

Some of the other giving vehicles through which people can make major or planned gifts that would qualify them for membership in The Legacy for Justice are named endowment funds, outright gifts and pledges of $10,000 or more, gifts of retirement assets and life insurance, charitable trusts.

Rod Petrey, a past president of the Foundation, member of The Legacy for Justice, and Florida Trend’s 2011 Floridian of the Year, established a charitable gift annuity with the Foundation.

“The Foundation is very near and dear to me,” said Petrey. “It does spectacularly good work for legal justice.”

Furthermore, Petrey said he knew he could be confident in the Foundation’s wise use of his contribution.

“The funds are well-invested and well- supervised. You know it’s going to be spent for very good works that are related to the legal profession and help lawyers fulfill duties to the community.”

Members of The Legacy for Justice are recognized on The Florida Bar Foundation website and in its electronic newsletters, as well as through an annual listing in the News.

The Legacy for Justice is part of the Foundation's major and planned giving program, developed over the past four years by Tim Bachmeyer, former director of development for the Foundation.

"We are grateful to Tim for bringing his extensive knowledge and experience to the Foundation and helping us develop new giving programs that will play an important role in our fundraising efforts for many years to come," said Jane Curran, the Foundation's executive director. "That will be his legacy."

For more information about the Legacy for Justice, contact Jane Curran at (800) 541-2195 or jcurran@flabarfndn.org

See a list of members of The Legacy for Justice