A Faith-Based Friend Serves Many

In April 2020, an estate attorney in New York contacted the Geneva Foundation. The attorney was executing the wishes of her client, who had a trust and passed away with instructions to distribute the entire trust to four Chicago area, faith-based not-for-profits whose mission it was to serve vulnerable older adults (One was to be Presbyterian, one Catholic, one Lutheran and one Jewish).

Lisa Schiro, Senior Director of Development, informed the attorney that at that time, Presbyterian Homes had served older adults for over 100 years. In fact, Presbyterian Homes was founded as a “home for the elder poor.” While we look different now, our charitable intent has always remained the same.

Some of those who reside with us face an uncertain future. Not simply from economic downturns, they’ve become “vulnerable” for many reasons, none of which had anything to do with being irresponsible. They are usually those who worked hard supporting themselves or their families all their lives but could not set aside enough to save for retirement or faced a debilitating and savings-depleting disease.

Those helped with this funding are simply older adults who, by no fault of their own, find themselves in retirement without enough savings to keep up with rising costs. Sometimes, even the most careful, prudent and conservative financial planning can fall short when given unforeseen circumstances.

The attorney was satisfied that Presbyterian Homes would be one of the four recipients and inquired if Lisa could provide her with the names of three other charitable organizations that would satisfy the other 75% of the distribution. Lisa suggested three other organizations: one Catholic, one Lutheran and one which was Jewish.

In May 2023, Presbyterian Homes, together with the Catholic, Lutheran and Jewish organizations each received 25% of the trust. With those distributions, $320,000 was put to work by the Chicago area faith-based organizations that work daily to help vulnerable older adults, and the wishes of the donor were satisfied and many were served with the generosity.

Presbyterian Homes is always seeking partnerships for charitable endeavors. Your ongoing kindness will help sustain services for a greater pool of people coming to us for help. Thank you. Contact Lisa M. Schiro, CFRE at (847) 979-3922 or lschiro@presbyterianhomes.org to learn more.