Photo by Erich Camping

Honoring Parents and Supporting Community

Lauren D. Frank’s Planned Giving Story

In honor of her parents, Lauren Frank’s legacy gift will establish the Bernard A. and Barbara L. Frank Fund. Bernard, known as Buzz, was committed to civil rights and active in the community, serving as a member of the ACLU and on the board of the Pittsford Library. When Buzz passed away, Lauren’s mother Barbara became a docent. “Volunteering at the Memorial Art Gallery gave my mom a sense of purpose and connection during a tough time,” says Lauren.

Lauren wanted her parents’ names to continue in Rochester and to support the things that they loved. “They gave my siblings and me a beautiful life,” Lauren says. “And they gave it to us here.”

In her will, Lauren stipulated that the fund will invest in the Community Foundation’s arts and culture and racial equity and social justice broad field of interest funds, to reflect Barbara and Buzz’s passions.

The second part of Lauren’s legacy gift involves the Bright Horizons Fund, which she and her partner Annette Miller started together. They created the fund to support organizations that use peaceful means and interfaith cooperation to achieve their work, like the Center for Teen Empowerment and the M. K. Gandhi Institute for Nonviolence. Lauren says, “I have total confidence in the Community Foundation to adhere to our wishes and put our dollars to work in the community.”

Lauren spent the eight years leading up to retirement working at the Community Foundation, so she’s no stranger to the inner world of gifts and grantmaking. Lauren has continued to give through the Community Foundation in retirement, saying that she appreciates how today’s Foundation staff help her stay informed about giving opportunities that resonate with the fund’s purpose.

The work Lauren is proudest of from her time at the Foundation is helping to start the LGBT+ Giving Circle, something she says came about through the encouragement of former President & CEO Jennifer Leonard. Thanks to generous collective giving , this group established and continues to grow a $340,000 endowment to support the community today, and in perpetuity.

The actions Lauren put in motion through her career and philanthropy will continue investing in the people and places she cares about, forever.

Learn more about planning your legacy.