Re “The $19 million gift that should have united us” (Sept. 1): Ted Callam’s thoughtful commentary identifies an important failure of leadership surrounding the extraordinary $19 million Thimot-Rawnsley gift. But there may be another consequence: legacy gifts the San Diego LGBT Community Center may now never receive.
Maurice Thimot and Rust Rawnsley provided a remarkable example for older LGBTQ+ San Diegans. They chose to leave substantial resources to an organization they trusted to improve the lives of LGBTQ+ older adults.
The controversy over how the gift has been administered risks sending the wrong message to prospective legacy donors. For older LGBTQ+ adults considering where to leave their estates, trust is everything. They need confidence their intentions will be honored after they are gone.
The Center can rebuild that confidence through transparency, clear accounting and renewed commitment to the older LGBTQ+ community the donors intended to benefit. A $19 million legacy gift should have inspired the next generation of legacy donors. Perhaps it still can.
— Sam Blackstock, Mission Hills