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National
Philanthropy Week

November 16-20, 2020

Mission-Driven Philanthropy 

The ACTEC Foundation, the philanthropic arm of The American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC) is pleased to celebrate National Philanthropy Week and the donors who have made important Trusts and Estates programs possible. The Foundation allocates funding for programs that provide professional development and scholarships for efforts that include legal education, educational support, public initiatives, legal publications and a student editorial board for the Maurice A. Deane School of Law at Hofstra. The Foundation also encourages civic engagement of individual Fellows of ACTEC through programs and activities that serve the general community.

To recognize the impact of its philanthropy, The ACTEC Foundation developed Voices of The ACTEC Foundation, a video series created to share stories of those who have participated in Foundation programs supported by Fellow donations. The videos offer donors a unique perspective on the positive effect of their gifts and will continue to be shared with Foundation donors and the general public throughout the remainder of 2020.

Toni Ann Kruse and JP Lee, graduates of the Dennis I. Belcher Young Leaders Program

Intestacy Laws research by Professor Danaya Wright and her research team of law students

Tye J. Klooster, the first winner of The Mary Moers Wenig Student Writing Competition

Wills for the Underserved Program, a critical program serving communities in need

The following programs and initiatives were supported by The ACTEC Foundation in 2020:

  • The ACTEC Foundation provided a $23,000 grant to the Commons Law Center in Oregon for the purpose of leveraging estate planning for Portland’s communities of color and low-income communities experiencing displacement. The grant is helping to advance the Commons’ Homeownership Asset Preservation Program by funding a position for a recent law school graduate to work on the project as a legal resident. The project was instituted as a partnership with Portland’s African American Alliance for Homeownership (AAAH), a Hud-certified nonprofit aimed at increasing homeownership and economic stability for African Americans and underserved individuals by improving access to home-buyer resources and education.
  • A $70,000 grant from the Foundation will support the production of podcasts for professionals, ACTEC Trust and Estate Talk, and a video series, the ACTEC Family Estate Planning Guide, that offers families insight into the fundamentals of wills and trusts, providing an educational resource to encourage planning for families of all means.
  • The ACTEC Diversity, Equity & Inclusivity Committee is producing a series of podcasts and videos supported by a $7,000 grant from The ACTEC Foundation.
  • The ACTEC Foundation granted support for the Dennis I. Belcher Young Leaders Program, developed to foster scholarship and education in trusts and estates, promote diversity and inclusivity and encourage the development of potential ACTEC Fellows. Participants in the program receive tuition-free attendance at the ACTEC-ALI/CLE webinars, financial support to attend ABA/RPTE Section Meetings, and invitations to attend regional and state ACTEC events.
  • The ACTEC Foundation granted support for the Mary Moers Wenig Student Writing Competition, created to encourage and reward scholarly works in the area of trusts and estates. Honoring the late Mary Moers Wenig, a member of ACTEC’s Legal Education Committee and a law school professor for over 30 years, writing competition entries are judged by members of ACTEC’s Legal Education Committee who are law professors teaching in the area of trusts and estates and practitioners teaching as adjuncts in the trusts and estates field. The Mary Moers Wenig Competition has awarded over $142,000 over a 15-year period.