Fond du Lac, Wis. (November 9, 2020): The Fond du Lac Area Foundation announced today it has received its largest single donation in organizational history to date – an estate gift worth more than $3.8 million used to establish the Jim and Jackie Marcoe Fund.
“We are honored to recognize this gift from Mr. & Mrs. Marcoe. It is spectacular to receive our largest gift in the same year we are celebrating our 45th year in existence,” said Joe Braun, executive director of the Fond du Lac Area Foundation. “Being able to carry out donor’s wishes exactly the way they envisioned and to create a fund that will allow their name to live on forever, in the community Jim grew up in, is so special and what the Foundation exists for.”
The fund was established as the result of a legacy gift made after the passing’s of Jim and Jackie, per the wishes of their will.
Jim was born and raised in Fond du Lac and graduated from St. Mary's Springs Academy. Jackie was born and raised in Paris, France. They met in France while Jim was serving in the Air Force and were later married in Fond du Lac. They lived most of their married life in Southern California and loved to
trout fish, camp and travel. Jim and Jackie owned several successful small businesses and Jim also enjoyed mentoring business owners, photography, and researching genealogy.
Jim always felt a strong connection to his roots in Fond du Lac. This planned gift was made in appreciation for all he received during his school years at St. Mary's Springs Academy. Jim and Jackie never had children, but their wish was to benefit deserving students of Fond du Lac with scholarships and tuition assistance for many years.
The Fond du Lac Area Foundation will administer and invest the Marcoe’s estate gift so that it will grow over time, while also annually distributing funds to St. Mary’s Springs Academy, the designated beneficiary selected by Jim and Jackie.
"Jim was a proud member of the St. Mary's Springs Academy class of 1948, and together with his wife, Jackie, recognized the indelible impact their life's work could have on the students at Jim's alma mater. A gift of this magnitude provides significant resources, thereby creating additional opportunities for students, over the lifetime of the Academy," says Stacey Akey, St. Mary's Springs Academy President.
Akey continued by saying “recognizing the increasing challenges faced by our families in making private education affordable, we are extremely grateful that the Marcoe's chose to invest their legacy in our youth, providing us the ability to increase access to a high quality Catholic education. With great pride, we partner with the Fond du Lac Area Foundation in honoring the life's work of Jim and Jackie Marcoe and the transformative impact they are making now and for generations to come."
The Jim and Jackie Marcoe Fund will exist in perpetuity at the Fond du Lac Area Foundation and is the most recent addition to the organization’s more than 400 funds and over $50 million in assets. The gift comes at special time for the Foundation as they celebrate their 45th year of serving the philanthropic needs of Fond du Lac County.
For more information about legacy giving through the Fond du Lac Area Foundation, visit www.fdlareafoundation.com/leavealegacy.
