Foundation

The Kiwanis Foundation of Washington, DC

In 1943, our then-President Ray Garrity conceived the idea for a Kiwanis Foundation of the District of Columbia.  Begun by a once-a-year appeal and voluntary "in memory of" contributions, our Foundation provides us with the opportunity to give back to the community and to support our orthopedic clinic.

Several years later, the Foundation wisely began taking out life insurance policies on many of our younger members.  That program, supplemented by the foresight of Ansel Mills (the little-known inventor of the mechanical belt which feeds modern machine guns), has enabled our Foundation to grow to the point that we can fund our Kiwanis Orthopaedic Clinic and our many community service activities.

That is not to say that the Foundation rests on its oars.  It has an active board of Kiwanis Directors, which acts in conjunction with our staff of expert investment counsellors and the Endowment & Foundation Services group of SunTrust Bank, Inc.  This has resulted in a highly effective investment policy, which has multiplied its assets into a multi-million dollar foundation, and is also designed for future growth.

Proving that Jack does not have to be a dull boy while raising funds for the foundation, the Club, in conjunction with the KiWives, has an Annual Fundraiser Benefit which continues to provide the Foundation with seed money for our diversified activities.  The Fundraiser Benefit provides our members with varied and sometimes unique social occasions, ranging from black-tie dinner dances to country-type hoedowns.  We are living proof that raising money doesn't preclude a Club from having a lot of fun at the same time.