Jones Family Farms Fund
Est. 2009 as a donor advised fund by Jean Crum Jones and Terry H. Jones
Say the name "Jones" in the Valley, and there is an immediate, positive reaction. The Jones Family has been a special part of local history for more than 160 years, when Terry Jones' Great-Great-Grandfather immigrated to Shelton. His motto be good to the land, and the land will be good to you, has remained strong for seven generations of his family. And the New England tradition to leave the woodpile a little higher than we found it is what led Terry and Jean Jones to create The Jones Family Farms Fund, a donor advised fund, with VCF.
"Our family giving occurs across several generations, and we wanted to put it under one umbrella," said Terry Jones. "We each support charities and causes that we are passionate about. Having this come together and be managed in the Valley really helped us decide to coalesce and focus our giving efforts."
"We love the Valley," said Terry. "There is such a sense of community here - the power and ethic of volunteering, of philanthropy, of the rich experiences of our schools, ethnic groups, and way of life. There is such a diverse population, many of whom lived through the '55 flood, the BF Goodrich fire, and who have not only recovered, but have bounced back even stronger than ever before."
There are four generations of the Jones Family (all born in Griffin Hospital) currently living on the Shelton family homestead.
"We've had enormous joy in having our family stay on the land," said Terry. "There are many of us in different stages of life living together - which is an increasingly rare and wonderful experience for us all."
From early on, Terry Jones learned how important it was to give back to his community. "My grandmother single-handedly established a night school in the White Hills Civic Center, and helped tutor immigrant families to improve their English. She saw the need, stepped in, and served." Terry's father Philip was also actively involved in Shelton, especially as a member of the Plumb Library Board. Each generation of the Jones Family has brought the tradition of community involvement down to the next.
For the Jones Family, VCF embodies the rich sense of community and diversity which has ties reaching far beyond the Valley. "When we heard that VCF had been created, we first thought that our giving might be limited to local organizations. What truly sold us was that creating a Donor Advised Fund would allow us to direct our giving wherever it was needed. We felt this was a splendid opportunity, based upon the wonderful VCF leadership and Board members, both past and present. After talking this over, we believed it was the right fit at the right time for us. My father, who has a great sense of history, was excited because he had known the Gates brothers, whose Gates Fund has been a large part of the success of both VCF and the Community Foundation for Greater New Haven. For my father, having us join VCF was like coming full circle."
"As farmers, we live by the philosophy that money is like cow manure - it must be spread around to do the most good. For us, that means working with VCF to create a multi-generational funding mechanism to focus on the wide range of groups, organizations, and causes that we are most passionate about."
To make a tax-deductible contribution to this fund, please complete the secure, online credit card form below:
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