August 23, 2021 | Stories
When Joe Bunk first toured Rainbows United, he felt a strong desire to help the children he encountered. These interactions sparked the beginning of his philanthropic journey.
“During his career as a CPA, he saw the needs in the community,” said Donna Bunk, Joe’s wife. “He acted upon it by sharing his time and knowledge with numerous nonprofits.”
Soon after, the couple found ways to support local nonprofits in Wichita. They developed a keen interest in helping Rainbows United; Quivira Council, Boy Scouts of America; and the Wichita Art Museum. Joe’s passion for these organizations grew as he served on their executive boards, but his involvement was cut short when he lost his battle with cancer in 2015.
Donna wanted to continue Joe’s commitment to helping his favorite charities carry out their missions.
“For many years, our intentions have been to gift the nonprofits Joe was most dedicated to serving,” she said. “Our thinking was the nonprofits near and dear to us would become our posterity.”
After consulting with her accountant and the staff at WF, Donna saw an opportunity to expand her giving through her Individual Retirement Account (IRA) and determined a designated endowed fund was right for her. She used her IRA Required Minimum Distribution (RMD) to establish the Joe and Donna Bunk Fund at WF. This strategy allows Donna to fulfill her RMD requirements, lower her taxable income and use her IRA charitable rollover to make unrestricted, unending gifts designated to these three nonprofits.
Based on Donna and Joe’s long history of giving to Rainbows United, Boy Scouts of America and the Wichita Art Museum, the designated endowment fund provided a way to not only honor Joe, but to permanently support the causes that he cared about in Wichita–forever.
“Many times I, as well as clients, heard Joe say things like, ‘Cash in the bank is always a good thing’,” said Donna. “In my mind, establishing an unrestricted and unending endowment with WF is similar to always having cash in the bank for the nonprofits. There is no doubt Joe would be pleased.”
