Endowment Fund

Endowment Fund

The endowment fund provides an opportunity to make a lasting gift to your community. Each year, Friends of Medina County Parks purchases supplies, materials, and more to support programs and events. In recent years, the nonprofit group has also helped fund land acquisition, the purchase of a 15-passenger van, and an outdoor picnic shelter at the Chippewa Yacht Club. Tax-deductible contributions to the endowment fund give Friends the flexibility to underwrite a number of park district initiatives. Since only the earnings from the fund are used, your support goes on forever.

You may support the endowment online or by check, made payable to Friends of Medina County Parks. Mail to:

Friends Endowment Fund
6364 Deerview Lane
Medina, OH 44256

Partnership with the Cleveland Foundation

Friends of Medina County Parks partners with the Cleveland Foundation to manage its long-term  investments. This partnership strengthens Friends’ funds management and helps ensure long-term financial stability through investment of dollars for future benefit. With oversight from Friends Trustees and the Investment Committee, the Cleveland Foundation stewards the funds and ensures that each dollar multiplies over time to generate returns for Friends.

The Cleveland Foundation, the world’s first community foundation, is classified as a public charity and exists to manage funds by donors for the benefit of a specific cause. By virtue of the creation of the funds, Friends gains access to the foundation’s large investment pools and proven track record of more than a century of nonprofit investment management.

The Cleveland Foundation manages the Board-Restricted Endowment Fund, the Brown-Trump Homestead Long-Term Management Fund, and the Brown-Trump Homestead Capital Improvement Fund. The Board-Restricted Endowment Fund will provide an annual allocation for the Friends to assist the park district with improvements and programs. The Brown-Trump funds were created for the funding designated to benefit the property on Medina Road that was donated to Friends. Growth in the funds will continue to provide for the management and improvement of the property.

All gifts to the Friends funds are tax deductible per Internal Revenue Service guidelines. More nuanced gifts such as appreciated securities or planned gifts such as charitable gift annuities, charitable remainder trusts, and charitable lead trusts may also be accepted. Interested individuals may contact Friends or reach the Cleveland Foundation’s Advancement Team at 877-554-5054 for a personalized consultation.

Each gift to these funds will make a difference as it is invested to meet the Friends areas of greatest need for tomorrow.

Gienke Estate Donation

Friends of Medina County Parks, Inc. received a gift from the estate of Mary Gienke in the amount of $1,122,795. The largest cash gift made to Friends to date, the majority of the funds were directed to the Endowment Fund. Roy and Mary Gienke were long-time residents of Medina County. Roy was born in Valley City. He served in the U.S. Army during the Korean Conflict. After graduating from Kent State University with a Master of Arts in Education, Roy spent his entire career with Highland Local School District, where he taught, coached, and was principal at the elementary and middle school levels. Mary was born in Columbus and grew up in the shadow of The Ohio State University. She received a Bachelor of Arts degree from OSU and moved to Cleveland where she worked in business administration for the Glidden Company. It was while living in Cleveland that she met Roy. The couple moved to Medina to be near the Highland Local School District. Upon Roy’s retirement, they lived out their lives in the Western Reserve Masonic Community. Both Roy and Mary were active in St. Matthew Lutheran Church in Medina, and Roy was active with Kiwanis Club of Medina.

Friends of Medina County Parks Vice President Bob Thompson and Medina County Park District Director Nathan Eppink accepted the check from the executor of the estate, William Haueisen, nephew of the Gienkes. “This gift will make a significant impact on the support Friends of Medina County Parks can provide to the park district. It will be witnessed by Medina County residents for years to come,” Thompson said of the gift. According to Eppink, gifts such as these provide welcome support for the park district. “As the park district works to provide additional improvements for the benefit of Medina County residents, support from the community will enhance what can be accomplished,” Eppink said.