Lifelong Learner’s Legacy Means Opportunities for Business Students

When Melvin R. Green endowed a scholarship fund at the community foundation, he wanted to give future students opportunities he never had.

Green grew up on an Ohio farm, served in the Navy during World War II, then married and settled in Norfolk. He used the G.I. Bill to finish a year of business college and correspondence courses before his money ran out.

He built a successful accounting career without earning a college degree. "I did things the hard way," he recalled in an interview.

After starting his career as a junior accountant in 1947, Green studied while working and passed the exam to become a Certified Public Accountant in 1950. A lifelong learner, he took continuing education courses during retirement to keep his skills sharp.

In 2014, Green created a permanent scholarship fund to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the day he and partner Cliff Craver formed their accounting firm in Norfolk. The Melvin R. Green Scholarship is designed to help students earn a four-year degree in business.

Green, a good friend of the Foundation’s professional advisor community, died in 2018 at 96. He was an Accredited Estate Planner and a founder and past president of the Hampton Roads Estate Planning Council.

Green, who was a member of the community foundation’s legacy society, chose the Foundation to administer his scholarship fund forever.

Learn more about how the community foundation can help advisors or their clients find ways to leave a legacy to forever help others.