The Dauphin and District Community Foundation received a donation of $507,088 from the estate of Peter Sklepowich. He left his entire estate to charity, with half going to DDCF, a quarter to the Heart and Stroke Foundation, and the rest going to the Canadian Cancer Society.
DDCF Executive director Kit Daley was amazed when she heard about the donation.
I was so deeply moved that this extremely generous man planned ahead and left his estate to charities. I get emotional about it, even now, because I never had the opportunity to thank him in person, and to let him know what an impact this will have forever.
The money will help DDCF provide an extra $20,000 to the community next year, and that number will keep growing according to Daley.
It was such an incredibly generous gift and it will have a lasting impact.
Jason Beyette of Johnston and Company Law Office is handling the estate, and he talked about why Peter chose the foundation.
He wanted to leave a significant bequest to the DDCF, he enjoyed the part of the foundation that left the principle untouched and only the interest earned off the principle would be distributed in the community, so the gift is everlasting.
Jason will be working closely with the foundation to create fields of interest funds within the foundation. You can learn more about the foundation and what they do in the community here.