Jan 21, 2013

The $1,000,000 Gift That Keeps On Giving!

Spotlight Date:
January 22, 2013
Download Original]" class="imagefield imagefield-lightbox2 imagefield-lightbox2-spotlight_thumb imagefield-field_spotlight_photo imagecache imagecache-field_spotlight_photo imagecache-spotlight_thumb imagecache-field_spotlight_photo-spotlight_thumb">Leonard and Sophie Davis Endowment Fund

The Leonard and Sophie Davis Endowment Fund was established in 2009 thanks to the generosity of their son Alan Davis and his wife Mary Lou Dauray. Alan contacted the School of the Arts Foundation to ask if he could take a tour and learn more of his late parents’ interest in the Dreyfoos School. It was a wonderful meeting resulting in a $1,000,000 endowment gift. Each December, in perpetuity, 5% of the fund’s value is distributed by the Foundation to provide the art areas at Dreyfoos with funding for supplies and equipment. The December 2012 disbursement was nearly $60,000!

In 1997, Leonard and Sophie Davis contributed $100,000 to the School of the Arts Foundation to name the stage in memory of Clyde Fyfe the late Director of the Palm Beach County Regional Arts Productions. They also supported the establishment of the school’s Clyde Fyfe Music Library and were supporters of many of the schools other events and needs.
Ms. Dauray, is herself a painter and a supporter of the arts and arts education. In December she visited the visual arts department and was invited to observe a few student juries. She was enthralled with the students work and their depth of knowledge.
Over the past two years, funds from the Davis Endowment have provided the Communications Department with cameras, tv production studio upgrades and supplies; the Music Department with music, speakers, computer software and consumable supplies, the Visual Arts and Digital Media departments with MacBooks, software, art supplies and cameras, the Dance Department with costumes, music and equipment and last, but not least, Theater upgrades to the sound and lighting systems in Meyer Hall.
Philanthropists Leonard and Sophie Davis were among Palm Beach’s most prominent supporters of the arts. It’s wonderful to have their son continue their legacy.
Establishing a named endowment fund is a wonderful way to support the ongoing needs of the Dreyfoos School. After a supporter makes an endowment gift, the principal is deposited in an investment account, and only the endowment’s annual income is used for the donor’s chosen purpose. So, if a donor makes a $500,000 endowed gift, a set percentage of the interest building off that amount goes to the chosen department each year. Endowments last forever and touch many lives as the principal grows over time.
Please call the Foundation at (561) 805-6298 for more information about how you can set up a named endowment.
Check out more Student Spotlights, Alumni Spotlights or Donor Spotlights.