Site Search

For Janet Howland and her husband Jay Gorud, giving has always been a family affair. Janet grew up in a family where generosity was part of life — her parents regularly gave their time and money to causes they believed in, and their example shaped her deeply.

Janet's father, Allen, served on numerous boards well into his retirement, sometimes flying back to Rhode Island from his winter home in Florida just to attend a meeting. Her mother, Kay, was equally devoted, volunteering and serving on many boards. “It wasn't just a commitment of money,” Janet recalls, “but a commitment of time, passion, and care for other people.”

When Janet moved to California in 1976 — on a whim, she laughs — she carried that spirit with her. She built a career, a marriage, and a life in the Bay Area, all while volunteering with nonprofits and supporting causes close to her community. When her father passed, her mother created four individual donor-advised funds at the Rhode Island Foundation for Janet and her three siblings, deepening both the family's philanthropic legacy and their relationship with the Foundation.

Now, Janet and Jay have established their own legacy fund at the Rhode Island Foundation — a designated fund that directs support to two organizations in California doing vital work: the Chronicle Season of Sharing Fund, which helps community members with emergency assistance for rent and healthcare, and The Alameda County Community Food Bank, addressing the persistent and pressing challenge of food insecurity. Both organizations reflect a conviction that Janet and Jay hold deeply — the need for food, shelter, and basic human dignity is real, urgent, and universal.

When Janet and Jay began taking required minimum distributions from their retirement accounts, they wanted a thoughtful, lasting way to direct those resources, one that didn't require them to manage investments or conduct endless due diligence on their own. With the Rhode Island Foundation already a trusted partner in their philanthropic journey, the decision to establish a legacy fund there was an easy one. The Foundation's flexibility meant that Janet and Jay could support the organizations they cared about in California without restriction, while their investment continued to grow and contribute to the Foundation’s broader endowment that supports Rhode Island communities.

"It took a weight off my mind," she says of working with the Foundation to designate their granting to organizations she and Jay trust, knowing that support will flow to these nonprofits for years to come. Janet and Jay also plan to one day pass their donor-advised fund, along with the values behind it, to their son, continuing their legacy of generosity. As Janet notes, the most fundamental human needs don’t disappear. And in this family, neither does their commitment to help.