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Stonington Free Library
20 High Street
P.O. Box 232
Stonington, CT 06378
Phone - 860.535.0658
FAX - 860.535.3945
E-mail -
stonlib@stoningtonfreelibrary.org
News
A Conversation with Joyce Pandolfi
Interview By Pam Ognisty
Congratulations on your new role as
President of the SFL Board of Trustees.
Our patrons would love to get to know
you better. Have you always been
involved in your community?
Yes, in ways that will sound familiar to many
of you. As my husband, Francis, and I raised
our family in Westchester County, I focused
my volunteer efforts on the organizations most
in tune with our lives. When our three sons
were young, I was active at their schools and
also served as a member and officer of the
area Junior League. In the years leading up to
our move to Stonington, I devoted most of my
volunteer time to serving as a trustee and
ultimately President of Teatown Lake
Reservation, which is a large nature preserve
and environmental education organization in
northern Westchester.
It sounds like you have terrific
experience. What brought you to
Stonington?
When my husband retired five years ago, we
moved to Stonington full-time so we could live
in a village setting and he could pursue his
love of sport fishing. Our three sons are now
grown. The youngest just graduated from
college and the eldest is married. Two are
living in New York City, and the third lives in
Nashville, Tennessee. They all enjoy coming,
often with friends, to visit us in Stonington.
How did you begin your involvement
with the SFL?
Living in Stonington gave me a wonderful
opportunity to run my needlepoint business
and volunteer in the community all within
walking distance of our home. For several
years I helped out with events for a variety of
Stonington organizations while I took time
deciding where to focus my energies as a
volunteer. When I successfully sold my
business last year, I decided I now had the
time to become more involved with the
library. It is a priceless resource wrapped up
in a beautiful historic building, serving
everyone, young and old, who walks in its
doors. I have also been very impressed with
the professional staff and Board of Trustees
and their mutual dedication to maintaining
and improving this gem of a library.
Serving as
President of
the Board of
the SFL is a
big job.
What
do you see as
the main
challenges of
the position?
One of my main
goals is to
promote the
library in the
community and
make sure all of
our Town of Stonington residents know about
the library programs that will benefit and interest
them. The more our patrons use the library,
the more we hope to gain in volunteerism and
financial support, from the Town of Stonington
as well as individuals. Raising funds through
our Annual Appeal is essential to run our dayto-
day operations, as costs continue to rise. I
also hope to continue to build our group of
volunteers, recruiting new members, using
their time effectively, and recognizing their
generous efforts. There certainly is a lot to do,
and I’m looking forward to the challenge.
Brief History of Philanthropy in America
Sources: Arizona Grantmakers’ Forum, Wikipedia
Volunteers built America. They stood their ground at Concord, pledged their lives to independence in Philadelphia, raised the barns and churches and firehouses and libraries that marked the journey West.
Ordinary men and women charted an untraveled course, since the cultures our forefathers left behind spoke not at all of helping one another, volunteerism, or of sharing ones wealth for the betterment of the community.
History records that the United States was about philanthropy before it was a nation. Volunteers called it “begging’ when, in 1643, Harvard conducted what is believed to be the first fund drive. It raised 500 pounds and was thought a ‘great success.” Every year since, volunteers have asked, and donors have responded.
The modern notion of philanthropy was articulated by Andrew Carnegie, who, in an essay titled ‘The Gospel of Wealth published in 1889, gave birth to the idea that the rich should, instead of ‘leaving their wealth to their families, administer it as a public trust during life.” It might well come as a surprise to read Carnegie’s feelings toward the estate tax. “The growing disposition to tax more and more heavily large estates left at death is a cheering indication of the growth of a salutary change in public opinion. Of all forms of taxation, this seems the wisest.” The Carnegie essay prepared the way for John D. Rockefeller, Sr., who in 1891 hired staff to help manage his philanthropic enterprises. The stat-c of New York chartered the Rockefeller Foundation in 1913.
Pressured by the increasingly obvious need for charity in a post war economy, legislation in 1921 finally brought lax relief in exchange for personal giving. Since then, giving has increased steadily, from an estimated $1.7 billion in 1921 to more than $200 billion a year today; more money than many nations produce as a gross national product.
In fact, one of America’s major industries has grown up around philanthropy. In 2003, it included more than 965,000 charitable tax-exempt organizations, employing in the millions, generating hundreds of billions in revenues, harnessing the volunteer efforts of more than 90 percent of the US adult population. The transfer of wealth in the United States will exceed $41-trillion over the next 50 years. And, perhaps the most remarkable thing is that the US is the only country on earth where philanthropy is accepted as the cultural norm.
As they go about their work, grantmakers are compelled to ask, as did Andrew Carnegie, “How best to use this wealth?” Perhaps the ultimate answer was given a few months ago by Warren Buffett, on the announcement, of his plans to contribute approximately 10 million Berkshire Hathaway Class B shares to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (worth roughly $30.7—billion, making it the largest charitable donation in history). “I view myself as a capital allocator above anything else. My primary responsibility is to allocate capital to businesses with good economics and keep their existing management to lead the company. These were the principles I used in deciding to make this gift to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.”
The gift may be outsize, but the source is no surprise. In the US, individual giving exceeds gifts from corporations and foundations by an amazing factor of five.
Capital Campaign
Thanks to all our generous donors for putting the Campaign well past our ambitious goal of $750,000
Diamond Bookmark
($100,000 and over)
Mr. & Mrs. Alexander J. Roepers
Platinum Bookmark
($50,000 to $99,999)
Mr. & Mrs. W. Soons
Gold Bookmark
($25,000 to $49,999)
Mrs. Helen Brewster |
Mr. & Mrs. Howard A. Fromson |
Silver Bookmark
($10,000 to $24,999)
Mr. & Mrs. Samuel Chapin |
Mrs. Landine Manigault |
Bronze Bookmark
($5,000 to $9,999)
Mr. & Mrs. Michael Adair |
Mr. David Rathbun |
Silk Bookmark
($2,500 to $4,999)
Anonymous |
Mr. & Mrs. John Guyol |
Leather Bookmark
($1,000 to $2,499)
Mr. & Mrs. John W. Ackley III |
Mr. & Mrs. Walter Johnsen |
Linen Bookmark
($500 to $999)
Anonymous |
Mr. & Mrs. John William Kam III |
Velvet Bookmark
($499 and under)
Mr. & Mrs. Robert Y. Abramson |
Ms. Sarah Larkin & Mr. Peter Heyniger |
Matching Gift Companies
Goldman, Sachs & Co. |
“The Campaign for a Future that Builds on the Past”
Final Report
By Helen Brewster, Honorary Chair
In 2003, after going through engineering reports, cost estimates, timetables and what seemed to be endless study, the Board of Trustees of the Stonington Free Library decided to launch a Capital Campaign, with the goal of raising $750,000 for a much overdue new roof and much needed repairs to other parts of our architectural gem; as well as adding to the Library’s endowment to insure its continued service in the future.
Many warned that $750,000 was an overly ambitious goal, but the Campaign Chairpersons, Penny and Doug Lind, Peter and Eileen Jachym, Anna Maria and Wright Palmer, felt that the community recognized the value of the Library—particularly its programs for young people—and would fund it accordingly.
I’m delighted to say the Chairs were right. Thanks to your support we have met the goal and tacked on almost $50,000 extra. On a personal level, I couldn’t be more pleased and grateful, because I believe that a library is the most important public institution in any community. And speaking as Honorary Chair of the Campaign, I can assure you that everyone connected with the Library—staff, volunteers, trustees—shares my feelings of admiration and respect for your wondrous generosity. “The Campaign for the Future that Builds on the Past” is an achievement we can all take pride in. Inside is a list of donors to the Campaign. (The list of donors to the 2005-2006 Annual Appeal is posted in our Annual Report, released in July. Copies are available at the Library.)
This page was last updated on Monday, October 27, 2008 .
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