Published: October 07, 2008 11:43 pm            

$2 million bequest will fund education

Money to Community Foundation will provide scholarships and help at-risk youth.

The Community Foundation of Howard County has two new funds, totaling about $2 million.

The money will be used to provide scholarships to Howard County students and fund programs for at-risk children.

Ron Harper, the foundation’s executive director, said the funding is from the estate of Susanna “Sue” Hough, who had supported many charitable programs in the community during her life.

He said during several years in discussions with foundation officials, Hough decided she had two interests she wanted to promote: Supporting Howard County students going to Indiana University Kokomo, the Purdue University College of Technology at Kokomo and Ivy Tech Community College in Kokomo; and supporting programs for at-risk children.

After her death, she left $2 million to the foundation to establish the Hough Scholarship Fund, which supports any graduate of a Howard County high school who is attending one of the three county institutions of higher education; and the Hough Endowment, which will provide grant funding to organizations that work with at-risk children.

Harper said the funds are invested, and each year, part of the earnings will be used for scholarships and grants, and part will go back into the fund for growth.

In normal times, he said, a $1 million fund would produce about $40,000 per year, and because the principal is not touched, it is always there.

He anticipates it will be about a year before the funding is available for the scholarships and grants, because the funds will have to be invested and earn the money to give away.

The scholarship will be administered by the foundation’s scholarship committee, he said, and it is not limited only to traditional-aged college students, because Hough “expressed that maybe there might be some single moms who might have decided they want to go back to school,” and older students have fewer scholarship options available.

Harper said Hough sets an example of how to plan ahead to give back to the community after death.

“As the foundation is growing, more and more folks are coming to us asking for help. They want to give back to the community and ask us to help them figure out what is the best way. We’re very glad to provide that help.”

        

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