Featured Field-of-interest Fund: William A. and Jane M. Charters Fund

Jane Charters knew she wanted to build up people and not build buildings. That is why this retired federal administrative assistant from Norfolk left a $6 million bequest to create a field-of-interest fund for basic human needs in Hampton Roads. The William A. and Jane M. Charters Fund started in 2004 after Jane passed away. Her husband Bill was a businessman raised by a single mother.

He endured a fire as a child that destroyed all his family's possessions and never attended college since he had no funds to do that. Before his 1982 death he started several companies, including one that originated the idea of home mortgages in the region in the 1920s. Both Jane and Bill both loved their community and enjoyed helping others have better lives.

Since 2004 the Charters fund has provided millions of dollars in grants to help some of our region's most vulnerable citizens get back on their feet. Grant recipients include nonprofits like Judeo-Christian Outreach Center, Samaritan House, Chesapeake Care and HER Inc.