Bay Area Legal Services meets challenge to establish Richard C. Woltmann Endowment
Bay Area Legal Services has met a matching challenge to create the Richard C. Woltmann Endowment at Community Foundation Tampa Bay. Created in honor of former President and CEO Richard “Dick” Woltmann’s 43 years of leadership, the endowment ensures long-term access to justice.
Bay Area Legal Services has met a $250,000 matching challenge made by an anonymous donor who pledged up to $500,000 to create the Richard C. Woltmann Endowment at Community Foundation Tampa Bay.
Created in honor of former President and CEO Richard “Dick” Woltmann’s 43 years of leadership, the endowment ensures long-term access to justice.
“Bay Area Legal Services has had a life changing impact, literally, on thousands of people in our community,” said the anonymous donor. “It has saved people from losing their homes, their children, their jobs, and their health, and has given so many the opportunity to make a better future for themselves. Dick Woltmann has been the driving force behind this effort for decades.”
A standout moment in the campaign came when Carlton Fields shareholders Jason Quintero, Kathleen McLeroy, Gary Sasso, and former Florida Bar President Gwynne Young rallied its attorneys to raise $25,000 from individual donations in honor of Woltmann, which the firm then matched with an additional $25,000.
In January, Quintero presented the $25,000 matching check on behalf of the firm to Bay Area Legal Services, bringing the funds raised to $51,800, surpassing the goal.
“At Carlton Fields, we believe that access to justice is a fundamental right, not a privilege,” Quintero said. “Our commitment to pro bono service and philanthropy is at the heart of our firm’s culture, which is why supporting the Woltmann fundraiser was a natural choice. We are proud to stand with Bay Area Legal Services in ensuring that those who need legal help the most have an advocate by their side.”
Longtime supporters Bob and Karen Buesing also played a role in the campaign’s success. The couple accelerated their planned giving by making a $50,000 IRA Qualified Charitable Distribution gift to the endowment and pledged an additional $100,000 over the next two years to Bay Area Legal Services.
“As Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., said, ‘Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere,'” the Buesings said in a statement. “That is why we must ensure that everyone — regardless of financial ability — has access to legal services when they need them. Supporting Bay Area Legal Services helps our whole community thrive.”
These gifts, according to the organization, along with the collective generosity of Bay Area Legal Services’ dedicated donors, “have solidified the endowment’s foundation, ensuring continued support for vital legal services such as housing stability, disaster relief, veterans resources, as well as critical advocacy for at-risk individuals such as domestic violence survivors, children in foster care, seniors and more.”
“I am so proud to be able to assist in continuing this good work going forward, in Dick’s name and honor,” said the anonymous donor. “The Richard C. Woltmann Endowment will continue to expand access to justice, ensuring that individuals and families facing legal challenges receive the critical support they deserve.”
For more information on the Woltmann Endowment and its donors, visit bals.org/woltmann.
