Russell King and his late wife, Joan “Jiggy” King, were longtime supporters of a number of local charities in the community that they called home since their college days at Syracuse University. Russ and Jiggy were married in 1952 and returned to Syracuse to make their permanent home here after Russ completed his service in the Navy during the Korean War.
After his military service, Russ was busy growing the family business – King & King Architects – while Jiggy was working hard at the task of raising the couple’s four children, including a set of twins. Despite their busy lives, they both found time to give of themselves in support of a number of causes dear to their hearts. They gave of their time through countless volunteer hours and of their resources through monetary gifts to everything from their church to wounded veteran organizations.
In the late 1990s, the couple opened a donor-advised fund with ys to help manage their charitable giving. They have used the fund to support annual gifts to more than two dozen charities. They saw opportunity to expand their giving when legislation was approved to allow for a ‘qualified charitable distribution’ from their Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs). Though the funds are not able to be added to their donor-advised fund, the Kings opted to establish two designated funds with us.
The most regular gifts that were made from their donor-advised fund are now made from their designated fund, freeing up their donor-advised fund money to support their other priorities. The designated fund is a flexible tool that can even be endowed to provide long-term support to a favored cause. Russ and Jiggy, in consultation with their tax advisor, determined that this strategy was right for them.
