Patton Family Giving for Good Forever Fund
Sue Patton and her two sons, Joey and Blair, have a longstanding tradition to celebrate Kindness Day. Kindness Day commemorates the birthday of Sue’s daughter, Megan, who passed away when she was only ten days old. Megan would have been 34 years old the year this fund started. Sue decided to start a Named Unrestricted Fund at the Madison County Community Foundation in honor of her.
Sue considered the name of the fund for several months and was ultimately inspired by the recent video that begins to tell the story of Madison County Community Foundation. The video features children and the pinnacle phrase, “When you give, you give for good, forever.” When Sue watched the video, she knew that she wanted to name her fund Giving for Good Forever. “This encompasses everything I believe in,” Sue says. “This fund will eventually make a difference for meaningful projects and grant requests, focusing on doing good. There are many good people doing good things. Organizations have great ideas that address needs and funds like this one are a vehicle that can help organizations forever.”
Sue is certain that Megan would have been a wonderful philanthropist. This is certain, given the example of her mother. Sue is always looking for ways to give back to her community, whether that is through financial sacrifice or giving of her time and energy. Currently, Sue volunteers with the Citizens Chapter of Best Buddies in Pendleton. She provides leadership and spends time with her own Best Buddy on a regular basis. Sue is the treasurer for S.U.R.E. (Standing Up for Racial Equity) and serves with Madison County Pride. She is also the Financial Director at the Madison County Community Foundation.
Sue is a believer in the idea that everyone can be a philanthropist and that every gift, no matter the size, makes a difference. Sue was able to start the fund now largely because of the 2:1 match that is currently available. She will do monthly contributions to build the fund and also is grateful to the contributions from others that have already been made to the fund. “I see all of the good that the Foundation does for so many organizations across Madison County helping them achieve their goals, whether that is cultivating art education, or working with marginalized people to help them move forward.”
