Fostering Community Programming in Perpetuity

Valarie Shultz-Wilson, the current vice chair of The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven’s board of directors, has been a champion of civil rights and an advocate for the local nonprofit sector for more than three decades. It is her understanding of civic power and community partnerships that led her to include The Community Foundation in her will.

“I know the power of philanthropy and giving,” says Shultz-Wilson,” and I know where I want my resources to go, to be able to help foster the programs in our communities in perpetuity. I can't think of anything more important than the work of The Community Foundation, and I feel that a bequest was the way for me to have the greatest impact.”

For Shultz-Wilson, legacy and philanthropy are part of her family’s ethos.

“My little granddaughter is a philanthropist. She's 11 and has just started middle school. She always has causes that she's trying to raise money for, and my mother was the same way.”

In addition to The Community Foundation, Shultz-Wilson has left a bequest to the Urban League of Southern Connecticut, where she was president and CEO for over a decade.

“The first third of my life was about learning, the middle third was about earning, and now it's about returning,” says Shultz-Wilson, reflecting on her philanthropic journey. “That's at the forefront of my mind with every decision I make regarding philanthropy, and how I spend my time, talent and treasure.”