Some 60 charities will receive the first payments from a foundation created by long-time banker Bill Stroecker by the end of the year, the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner reports. The former president of First National Bank of Fairbanks created the Stroecker Foundation before his death at age 90 on Nov. 8, 2010. Stroecker was born in the Golden Heart city in 1920 and spent his life there. He was known for being active member of the community.
The charities will receive $500,000 by mid-December, half of the $1 million "interim distribution" payments approved by a Fairbanks Superior Court Judge. While the amount of the endowment is not known, under federal tax rules, the foundation will distribute 5 percent of its value every year once its operations are in full swing.
Many of the first donations will be given to charities that Stroecker actively supported throughout his life, such as the Salvation Army, and many of the organizations are located in Fairbanks. The names and amounts of the donations will be announced when they are disbursed, according to Don Dennis, presiding officer of the foundation.
The members of the foundation board will determine the distributions on the stipulation that the money not go to any organization that Stroecker "would characterize as left wing or greenie."
Read more at the News-Miner.