Retired high school teacher’s estate includes record $400,000 for Foundation
When Barbara Pharris of Green Bay passed away in August 2023 at age 84, she left an educational legacy that will live on forever through the lives of countless NWTC students.
In Pharris’s obituary were her own words, “Hopefully I left my small world a little better than I found it.”
That she did – and will continue to do so far into the future.
The retired high school teacher, who believed in giving people a “hand up,” gifted her large estate to several area organizations that mirrored her belief system, including NWTC. In her estate planning, she designated over $400,000 to the NWTC Foundation – the largest single gift from an individual donor in the Foundation’s history.
Pharris set up an endowment through the Foundation, establishing a perpetual fund to support economically disadvantaged NWTC students, primarily through scholarships. Students with financial need and a GPA between 2.5 and 3.5 will be eligible for the Barbara Pharris Endowment Scholarships.
“Students who may be going through a rough patch, they need that opportunity,” said Pharris’s friend Sue Sinclair. “Pars, as her lifelong friends called her, believed everyone has potential. And she was very much for the underdog.”
In addition to scholarships, the Barbara Pharris Endowment will support the NWTC Student Emergency Fund, which aims to decrease the number of students who leave college due to financial barriers. The SEF helps students with housing, transportation, childcare, and other basic needs.
“Barb is a shining example of how donors can positively impact student lives – and the community as a whole – through meaningful planned giving,” said Crystal Harrison, Foundation director. “All the money goes directly to students to make college possible. We hope Barb’s story inspires others to live and give as she did.”
Establishing a Powerful Planned Gift
The Barbara Pharris Endowment will create resources that move economically disadvantaged students forward in their academic journeys. The entire donation (i.e., the principal) will be kept in an investment portfolio to continuously earn money and enable the Foundation to award scholarships in Barbara’s name for future generations.
Interested in leaving your own lasting legacy? Connect with the Foundation.
