FROM THE PRESIDENT:

What is in a name? - Organizational identification, organizational personality, organizational goals and intent, at least all of these things. The Tompkins County Foundation has had a unique identification, since its inception in 1945, until like-minded organizations formed to serve our community's needs through added grant making. It was only natural that the geographic identification, i.e., Tompkins County, should be used in their names also.

In 2007 the Board of Directors proactively decided to take action to counter the community's confusion by selecting a name that reflects our goals and intent as well as our location. We looked at the Foundation's rich and diverse history of support, its solid, well-managed financial history, and the record of its generous benefactors. Our deliberations resulted in the name "Legacy Foundation of Tompkins County."

Legacy literally means (1) money or property bequeathed to someone by will and (2) something handed down from a predecessor, or from the past. We are in the business of collecting and managing money or property bequeathed to us. And our rich history of prudently making grants from these bequests and gifts to improve our communities' "quality of life" is the "something handed down" by each preceding board of directors through the years. This definition is not only important to our Board of Directors, but also provides meaning to the individuals who have made past bequests, i.e., they have left their legacies for the betterment of the community.

As you read the account of our 2007 grants in the appropriate website pages, you will note its diversity, which is consistently a mark of our history. We plan to be the cornerstone of philanthropy for many years to come, and want to make sure the community understands the mission of the Foundation and the impact it makes on the communities in Tompkins County.

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