Ruth and Ted Rohrabaugh Field-of-Interest Fund: Simple As ABC

For 45 years, Ruth Rohrabaugh taught first graders the ABC's of life and learning. Ruth taught our community a similar lesson in the basics of charitable giving. In her case, it was a music lesson.

Ruth and Ted Rohrabaugh loved their community, and they were very generous to it, having amassed a significant estate through Ted's investments. When Ted passed away in 1993, Ruth continued to look for ways to give, even beyond her lifetime. Their good friends Thomas Hooper and Rose Pendergast, who would later represent the Rohrabaugh estate, recommended giving through the Unity Foundation.

Ruth liked the advantages. Professional, third-party management guaranteed that her wishes would be met into perpetuity. It would reduce potential taxes on the estate and unbeknownst to her, matching grants would make her dollars go further. Unity gave the Rohrabaugh estate more Power for Good. Tom Hooper said, "It just made a lot of sense to give to Unity."

Ted and Ruth had many interests; one in particular was enjoying the Michigan City Municipal Band concerts at Washington Park. So field-of-interest funds proved a perfect fit. This type of fund supports education, family services, the arts, environment and many other needs.

Ruth passed away in 2001, and the Rohrabaugh legacy continued. The estate established, through Unity, the Ruth and Ted Rohrabaugh Fund for the Michigan City Lakefront Amphitheater. It will be used primarily for the purchase of music, which is becoming increasingly expensive. The first grant was issued in 2004.

The estate also made a $73,200 grant, facilitated by Unity, to the Washington Park Bandstand Restoration and Maintenance Fund. The Marquette Questers, who for many years had been struggling to raise money to restore the historic bandstand, will finally realize their dream. Additional funds have been endowed to help maintain it for generations to enjoy. Anyone can make a donation to an established fund that they would like to support.

The lesson from Ted and Ruth Rohrabaugh is simple: Unity makes giving easy, and especially beneficial. That's music to the ears of a grateful community.