Planned Giving

LYNNE SHERWOOD: LEAVING A LEGACY

Lynn SherwoodLynne Sherwood, one of our community’s brightest lights, left us suddenly, and far too soon, in January 2016. Born in Grand Haven in 1941, Lynne traveled far and accomplished much in her lifetime. Grand Haven High School’s Valedictorian in 1959, she left for Stanford University and a degree in economics with honors … then on to Harvard, where she was among the first class of women to earn an MBA from its School of Business in 1964. For the next 33 years she built a distinguished career on Wall Street, retiring as vice president of Goldman Sachs. In 1997, she returned home to live in Spring Lake, care for her parents Marion and Ruth and sister Mary Ann, and take an active role in the management of JSJ Corporation. She served as the Corporate Secretary of JSJ from 1997-2005, when she was elected Chairman.

Lynne’s keen mind and loving heart fired on all cylinders, powering the many boards and organizations she served and/or led, including JSJ Foundation, Grand Haven Area Community Foundation, Michigan Colleges Foundation, Alma College, Spring Lake District Library and Grand Haven Rotary.  

To Greater Ottawa County United Way, Lynne was a creative, engaged community champion. She had no official title, but no campaign ever began without first seeking her input, nor ended without the excitement of sharing the results with her. From her we learned much, especially about the power of leverage to boost results. In addition to her generous annual leadership donation, hers was the genius behind the Tri-Cities Lighthouse Leadership Challenge. Over 13 years, her annual challenge match of $30,000 raised more than $1 million in new and increased leadership level donations from Tri-Cities residents. One donor at a time, $1 a week became $10 a week. Indifference became engagement. Good became great.

Thanks to the Sherwood Fund advisors, Lynne Sherwood will forever be a member of the Beacon Society of Greater Ottawa County United Way’s Lighthouse Leadership Circle. Her annual gift to her community, like her light, lives on, through the Lynne Sherwood Fund for Greater Ottawa County United Way, an endowed fund of Grand Haven Area Community Foundation.

Like Lynne, you can LIVE UNITED forever when you include in your estate plan a bequest to the Greater Ottawa County United Way LIVE UNITED Forever Fund at Grand Haven Area Community Foundation or The Community Foundation of Holland/Zeeland.
 

CLICK HERE to view the Planned Giving brochure.
 

Please contact Allyson Huttenga at (616) 610-2270 or ahuttenga@ottawaunitedway.org to discuss our planned giving options and the LIVE UNITED Forever Fund. Thank you!