CityView Magazine

A foundation to build on Dr. Lucille Hutaff had the vision – John Raper helped get it started. A lawyer, he had handled the sale of the Hutaff family’s interests in the Coca-Cola Company in Fayetteville and Dunn. Hutaff wanted to take part of the money and use it to establish a community foundation. As the saying goes, the rest is history. “Dr. Hutaff was very hands- on,” Raper said of the group’s beginning, “but she did not want to be on the board. She wanted a group of people who were interested in the city and county and could make things happen and help solve problems.” As the first president, Raper picked a board of community leaders that he believed would help accomplish Hutaff’s goals. By 1980, the group was ready to have an announcement luncheon, but Hutaff wanted to stay in the background. “I had to do some real talking to get her to let us make a public announcement of her gift,” Raper said. She finally agreed after he told her, “It will be helpful in raising money if people in the community know about such a generous gift.” A few days after the announcement appeared in the newspaper, a couple came to Raper’s office and asked him to draft their wills. They had no children and were interested in leaving their money to the foundation when the last of them died. When that occurred some four years ago, the foundation received almost $1.5 million from their estate. The foundation operated as a volunteer organization out of Raper’s law office for the first five years. During the early years, the foundation was able to make grants of some $75,000 annually. Last year, the foundation awarded more than $1.5 million in grants. “Considering the time, the size of Dr. Hutaff’s gift was one of the largest made to a charitable endeavor that people knew about,” Raper said. “I think she would be very proud of how the foundation has grown.”CV 56|Winter 2008/2009 Memorial Fund in memory of her husband. “Fayetteville has been good to us, and we needed to be good to Fayetteville and give back some of the resources we have gained by owning and running a business here,” she said. The fund, she said, is something that will live on forever, “and I’m very pleased about that.” Some remember the foundation in their wills, including Ella Smith Downing who left more than $1 million to be used for scholarships for students attending colleges special to her – Methodist University, Duke University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Hundreds of students have benefited from Downing’s bequest. For 15 years, the Summertime Kids Endowment Fund has supported programs that provide not only recreational and learning opportunities for children but in some cases nutritious meals as well. Holmes describes the program as a “safety net for kids in the summer.” A thousand children were involved in this year’s programs, and a fund- raising effort is underway with hopes of doubling that number in 2009. Overseeing the work and investments of CCF is a board of 20 directors, all donors to the foundation and community leaders. The current chairman is Sammy Short. “I’ve been on the board for nine years,” he said, “and I’ve gained a lot of confidence in the foundation and Mary and the staff. ... It makes me confident as a donor.” Fayetteville is one of 700 community foundations in the country and was the second to be certified in North Carolina. It has earned the National Standards Seal, signifying that it has met rigorous demands and demonstrated its commitment to financial security, transparency and accountability. Administrative endowments take care of operating costs so that 100 percent of a donor’s gift goes to charity. CV     E H R  Q S F N O E R A T T I UE !

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