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Faithful Leaders
The Church of the Nativity in south Fargo has been the spiritual home for Ron and Marlene Hoffart, their children and grandchildren, for many years.
Over time, Mr. and Mrs. Hoffart’s appreciation for the parish and their relationship with the people of Nativity grew tremendously. Several years ago they helped with a parish project known as Nativity Anew, and in addition were instrumental in another project which brought a new parish home and storage building to reality.
In 2006 a new project was percolating at the parish, Nativity Anew II. Hoping to provide leadership and inspiration to the parish, Mr. and Mrs. Hoffart decided the time was right to spearhead this project by providing the lead gift.
They created the Ronald and Marlene Hoffart Charitable Fund with the Foundation. A truly inspiring lead gift, in the amount of $1 million, was used to establish this donor advised fund with the Foundation.
Initially the gift will be used to benefit everyone at Nativity and Nativity School, through the Nativity Anew II program. However, a portion of the fund is permanently endowed, and will continue to benefit the Fargo-Moorhead area community forever.
North Dakota State Sen. Tim Mathern, former Nativity Administrator and a close family friend, said the Hoffart’s cherish their relationship with Nativity. “Ron and Marlene, at both a spiritual and personal level, have a very special bond with the people, staff and wonderful priests at Nativity,” said Mathern. “As their longevity at Nativity grew, they knew they wanted to do something in return for all the people and clergy who have made Nativity such an outstanding parish.”
Father Dale Kinzler, who recently completed a 12 year pastorate at Nativity, is one of those special people the Hoffarts have come to appreciate so much over the years. Father Dale was one of many to be inspired by Ron and Marlene. “On behalf of the parish community,” he said, “I am truly awed and grateful to receive this lead gift to stir us onward in the work we are doing to enhance our facilities and the service it will enable us to provide.”
The Hoffart Fund is one of many component funds at the FM Area Foundation which have been established by donors who have a remarkable devotion and passion to their churches. Combining that devotion with a donor advised fund for general community needs is an example of the flexibility provided by our community foundation to donors with varying charitable wishes.
Faithful leaders like Ron and Marlene Hoffart enjoy seeing their donations work today, and inspire others to become involved in projects like Nativity Anew II. At the same time, their legacy will live on forever with their charitable donor advised fund.
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Beyond Dollars & Cents
Going beyond the dollars and cents of charitable giving usually brings insights and perspectives on the unique lives we all live. The Foundation offers a special brand of flexibility to donors, allowing them to establish charitable funds which can serve their many unique but personal passions.
A perfect example of this symmetry between a donor’s life and a charitable fund is the Raer Family Fund.
Elsie Raer, a longtime friend of our Foundation, died in August of 2006, at age 89. In her estate planning process she created the Raer Family Fund.
In 1912 a young German couple, Carl and Charlotte Raer, came to the United States with their two young daughters, Charlotte and Gertrude. A few years later their daughter Elsie was born.
The three sisters lived together their entire lives, mostly in Fargo and the Detroit Lakes area. Through mutual agreement the sisters agreed that the two older women would maintain and care for the household while Elsie pursued an education. Elsie was awarded her undergraduate degree at Minnesota State University-Moorhead and her Masters Degree at the University of Southern California. She returned to Fargo to teach physical education at NDSU.
Elsie and her sisters cared deeply for each other and for several distinct and unique charitable causes: their church, Pontoppidian Lutheran Church in Fargo; their German heritage; the care of animals (virtually all photos of the sisters included a family dog), and the preservation of regional history. As they grew older, they researched, studied and developed a passion for elder care education and the concept of “care for the caregiver.”
Elsie was the last surviving member of her family. A bequest in her will establishes the Raer Family Fund, to honor the memory of her parents and the three sisters. The bequest to the Foundation, valued at over $1.8 million, will provide annual distributions for operating support and scholarships as follows:
· to the Cass County Historical Society for the care and upkeep of the Raer Family American Pressed Glass Collection at Bonanzaville
· to the Becker County Historical Society for operating support
· to the Becker County and Polk County Humane Societies for operating support
· to students within a 100 mile radius of Fargo, who pursue a nursing degree, with preference to applicants currently employed at Bethany Homes in Fargo and Eventide in Moorhead
· for scholarships for Concordia College nursing students
· for scholarships for students attending the Concordia College German Language Village camp
· to Pontoppidian Lutheran, a one time gift to be directed to the special needs of the elderly within the congregation.
Elsie Raer and her sisters never thought of themselves as philanthropists. But the Raer Family Fund, so generously established by Elsie, puts the spotlight on philanthropy and the role which the Fargo-Moorhead Area Foundation can play in fulfilling family dreams and vision.
A young German family of modest means comes to America in 1912. Nearly 100 years later their youngest daughter takes steps to assure that the legacy of that family will live forever, perpetually helping nonprofit organizations and students in the Fargo-Moorhead region.
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Legacy of Public Service
Nearly 15 years have passed since his death, but the name, persona and legend of Senator Quentin Burdick continue to be a part of life in North Dakota.
Quentin Northrop Burdick was born in Munich, N.D. in 1908, and grew to manhood in the Williston area, graduating from Williston High School. He then attended the University of Minnesota, graduating with a law degree in 1932.
He played Big Ten football at Minnesota, teaming up as a blocking back for another legend, future Hall of Fame running back Bronko Nagurski. Sen. Burdick was fond of saying that he majored in football while in college, and minored in law, earning his law degree between games.
After college he practiced law. He lost six elections before being elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1958, and he was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1960, where he served North Dakota until his death in 1992.
During this legendary 34 year career in public service, Sen. Burdick worked with tremendous devotion on behalf of the citizens of North Dakota, making sure that North Dakota programs and projects received their fair share of the federal budget. At the same time he championed the cause of the little guy. “I’ve tried to respond to the needs of the ordinary person,” he once said. “Mostly poor people. And I think my record will bear that out.”
Jocelyn Burdick, Quentin’s wife who completed the remainder of his term as Senator upon his death, established a memorial scholarship fund with the Foundation in 1994. The Quentin N. Burdick Memorial Scholarship Fund was created with gifts from Mrs. Burdick as well as memorial gifts from family, friends and supporters.
The scholarship award is given annually to a North Dakota high school graduating senior. The primary criterion for the award is that the student has manifested accomplishments in, as well as demonstrated an interest in, public service. Academic accomplishments are also considered. Although not a requirement, preference is given to students who plan to attend a North Dakota institution of higher education.
Since its inception this fund has awarded scholarships to twelve students from ten different North Dakota communities, helping them attend college and pursue a career in public service. While none of them majored in football, it’s certain that the scholarship help given to these young people would please Sen. Burdick. These and future scholarships insure that his legacy of public service will live on forever.
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So Daniel Will Outlive Us All
Daniel Haga and his dad got up early November 27 to go deer hunting. They were eager to see how they would do during black powder muzzleloader season. A few weeks before Daniel had shot his first mule deer in the North Dakota Badlands, so he was feeling lucky.
Just as the sun poked over the horizon, they arrived at the spot they planned to start their hunt. It was time to see what the day would bring. But first, they had to pass through a gate.
Todd handed the muzzleloader to 14-year-old Daniel, while he opened the gate. Then, at the instant Todd turned to retrieve the gun, it went off and the .50 caliber load struck Daniel. Horrified, Todd gathered Daniel into his arms, placed him in his vehicle and raced the 25 miles to Minot in hopes of finding someone who could save his son’s life.
But Daniel died. And the loss was enormous, for his parents, Todd and Deb; for his twin brother, Darren; his sister, Lindsey; and hundreds of other relatives and friends. Always smiling, always joking around, friendly to all, Daniel was the kind of kid everyone enjoyed being around and now he was gone.
In the weeks that followed Daniel’s death, his family thought of ways to honor his memory. Eventually those thoughts led them to establish the Daniel T. Haga Memorial Scholarship and connect it with the Hazen High School football team.
An avid young sportsman, Daniel’s passion — after hunting — was football. His dad remembers him playing in the backyard as a little boy, then joining fifth and sixth grade teams, and finally suiting up in junior high. He loved the game and that’s what inspired the Haga family to link his scholarship to the sport.
With the help of the Foundation, the family devised a selection process involving seniors on the Hazen football team. Selection isn’t based on athletic ability or academic merit. The family hopes the teammates will select an individual who has integrity and a joy for life. “Daniel lived each and every day to its fullest and had a zest for life, adventure and fun,” Deb Haga says. “We hope each recipient has that same zest and that they will help keep Daniel's memory alive as they pursue their goals and dreams.”
The family believes Daniel would be pleased his scholarship is supporting a football player each year. And they take comfort in knowing that through this ongoing gift, “Daniel will outlive us all.”
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The Perfect Gift
Babies have their own sense of timing. They’ve never heard of “textbook” deliveries. And they can be pretty tough on their mothers. No one knew these truths better than Dr. Robert Bushell.
A specialist in obstetrics and gynecology with the Fargo Clinic (now Meritcare), Dr. Bushell spent thousands of hours in the unpredictable world of newborns and new mothers. That’s why Elizabeth “Libby” Bushell wanted to remember her late husband with a gift to the Meritcare Family Birth Center.
When she started the Bushell Family Charitable Fund in 1991, Libby specified that gifts from the fund were to support projects or people in the medical profession. Over the years she’s used the fund to provide financial aid for the Children’s Hospital at Meritcare, the Alzheimer’s care units at Bethany and Eventide homes and more.
A few years ago, Dr. Thomas Herzog, OB-GYN Managing Physician Partner at MeritCare, suggested a project she'd been hoping would come along someday. With a $50,000 gift, she could help the Family Birth Center purchase a computer software system called OB Trace Vu.
OB Trace Vu records a mother's contractions, her baby's heart rate and other vital signs, and can be used to chart things like IV starts. Best of all, the information it gathers can be viewed not only on a laptop in the mother's room but on any computer connected to the system, whether it's at the nurse's station down the hallway or in the physician's home across town.
Now all moms-to-be in active labor, the nursing staff and physicians in MeritCare Family Birth Center benefit from this remote monitoring system. Libby is thrilled she could directly support the practice her husband was part of from 1963 until his death in 1980. And she's convinced he would think it's a wonderful investment.
She’s also taken great pleasure in providing scholarships for medical students. The Foundation does the groundwork, contacting medical schools, finding appropriate candidates and collecting letters of application. The scholarship is renewed each year of medical school, as long as the student remains in good standing.
“My goal is to find a student who would be unable to go to school if they didn’t have help,” Libby says, and she enjoys it when recipients stay in touch. “I like that the process is personal. It’s very satisfying and very important to me.”
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Preserving that Which is Good
Art and Mildred Glasow are still taking care of their church. If the roof needs repair or if the congregation decides it’s finally time Goshen Moravian had a reception hall, the Glasows will be there – in spirit – providing financial support.
Art and Mildred grew up on farms near Durbin, North Dakota, and first met at joint Sunday School picnics hosted by Goshen Moravian and neighboring Canaan Moravian Church. They were married at Goshen Moravian. And it was from this church that they were buried: Mildred in March 1997 and Art in November 2005.
They could have been called “pillars” of the church, if they had ever stood still. Mildred was active in Women’s Fellowship, brought food to potlucks, sang in the choir. Art was always working on something, fixing the furnace, polishing the windows, tending the flowerbeds, repairing whatever needed fixing. They were both regulars in the adult Sunday School class, where Mildred often contributed to the discussion and Art sat and listened.
The Glasows knew they wanted to leave something to their church, but if Goshen Moravian closed — as small rural churches too often do — they wanted to make sure their generosity continued to serve the area where they had worked the land and earned their living. So David Piper — friend, neighbor, long-time accountant and church board member — helped the Glasows set up the Art and Mildred Glasow Fund through the Fargo-Moorhead Area Foundation. They made an initiating gift of $20,000 and now a pending sale of land will increase their fund many fold.
The Glasows had no children, but Piper says the couple’s family thinks it’s wonderful the Glasows found a way to support the 128-year-old church and, potentially, the surrounding community.
“Mildred and Art were genuinely concerned about the church and keeping it operating,” Piper says. Now if repairs are needed or if the pastor needs to be paid, the funds will be available. And even if the congregation of 110 dwindles to nothing, the Glasows' goodwill will continue to meet other crucial needs in the community they loved.
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The Ronald and Marlene Hoffart Charitable Fund
The Quentin N. Burdick Memorial Scholarship Fund
Daniel T. Haga Memorial Scholarship
