Lona Jupiter of San Francisco included TNDC in her estate plan in a way as straightforward as she is. She named TNDC a partial beneficiary of her 401(k) retirement plan. “All I had to do was ask for a new beneficiary designation form,” she said. “I got TNDC’s tax identification number, filled out the form, and sent it to the plan manager. It took less than an hour.” Her husband, Harry, also signed the form before a notary, giving his spousal consent.
Lona joined TNDC’s Board of Directors in the early 1990s. A former Wells Fargo Foundation board member and public relations professional, she joined TNDC’s development committee to help raise private dollars. It wasn’t until last year, though, that she found out “there were creative ways to contribute besides writing a check.” As a member of TNDC’s newly formed Planned Giving Committee, she learned of the simplicity and tax benefits of retirement plan designations to charity. She found the paperwork easy, and directing tax-vulnerable funds to TNDC satisfying. Retirement funds, notoriously vulnerable to estate and income tax when passed to heirs, go to TNDC tax-free.
Lona chose TNDC because she believes in its work and permanency. “I have a lot of faith in TNDC’s management, including the new management,” she said. “The fact that the City of San Francisco works in partnership with TNDC gives me the feeling of permanence and credibility."
She also admires TNDC’s staff. “People who have their skills in housing development could be making a lot more elsewhere.”
Believing in TNDC
Lona first heard of TNDC from San Francisco attorney Charlotte Siggins, whose daughter, Elizabeth, was working with the Bay Area Women ’s and Children’s Center in the Tenderloin District. “Charlotte recruited me to TNDC’s board,” she said. One of her duties was to survey TNDC’s residents. “We asked them what more we should be doing. They had minor complaints, but mostly were very pleased to have a home.”
She likes the way TNDC has stuck to its mission of serving the poor. “We don’t want to gentrify the neighborhood,” she said. “TNDC provides a gateway neighborhood to help people on the way up or down. Our job is to give them a place that’s clean and safe.”
An Inspiration to Others
Lona’s late husband of 39 years, San Francisco columnist Harry Jupiter, had written a profile of TNDC’s former Executive Director, Brother Kelly Cullen, years ago. The column inspired a TNDC bequest. Now, Lona also wants to inspire bequests, but adds some practical qualifications. “Choose an organization you know, trust, and have worked with,” she said.
TNDC is pleased to enroll Lona Jupiter as a member of its Homes and Hope Fund which honors those who have remembered TNDC in their estate plan. For information on the Homes and Hope Fund, call Director of Fund Development Ken Sommer at (415) 358-3946.
