How a Leap of Faith Became a Legacy Bequest

When Don Head and Caron Zand moved to Maine in the early 1980s, they each looked for ways to support the arts and cultural growth of their new community, a commitment that hasn't diminished over more than three decades.

Don, who passed away in August 2021, first established his financial investment business in Portland's Old Port and quickly recognized the central role USM plays in the greater Portland community. It didn't take him long to get involved. Don's love of music led him to Opera Maine and then to the USM School of Music, where he still serves on the Advisory Board. Several years later, he became founding chair of the USM College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences Advisory Board, deepening his ties to the University.

For Caron, the route to USM was through the Boys & Girls Clubs of Southern Maine, where she served on the Board for more than 23 years. "I did just about everything there was to do," she said, "because I believed in their mission."

In 2017, the Boys & Girls Clubs began to partner with USM's new Promise Scholars Program, which was designed to help motivated young people find a pathway to college and graduate with little or no debt, prepared to make a contribution to their communities. Caron was invited to join the Promise fundraising leadership team. Despite her resolution to back off her many fundraising efforts, "It was an easy 'yes!'"

Caron saw the potential of the fledgling Promise Program to change lives. "At the beginning, we didn't know how it would turn out. But I felt this program was unique, it was compelling—so I took a leap."

For Caron, what set USM's Promise Scholarship apart was its distinctive program structure, designed to dramatically increase the likelihood of success. The program partners with youth-serving organizations like the Boys & Girls Clubs to identify young people with leadership potential who otherwise could not afford to attend college. A dedicated Promise Coordinator is in place to ensure that the scholarship recipients, often the first in their families to attend college, won't fall through the cracks.

All of these factors convinced Caron that USM's Promise Scholarship was a program she could believe in and support, both through her fundraising efforts and her philanthropic giving.

Faith in the Promise Program Guided Their Bequest

Don and Caron have always prioritized education in their personal philanthropy: "For us, education is core to the success of young people." Therefore, because they both believe so strongly in USM and the Promise Scholarship program, it became a focus of their planned giving decision.

Don found it easy and straightforward to make both a cash donation to the Promise Scholarship Campaign as well as a legacy planned gift. He worked with their estate planning attorney to establish a bequest to USM, specifically designated for the Promise Scholarship.

In their words, "Our legacy gift is for the express purpose of continuing our support for the University of Southern Maine Foundation and the Promise Scholarship Program beyond our lifetime."

Caron's early leap of faith in the Promise Scholarship Program will ensure that it will be here to benefit future generations of Maine young people who have the potential but not the means to succeed in college. For two generous philanthropists who are so deeply dedicated to the Greater Portland community, this bequest is the perfect lasting legacy.

There are many ways you can join Don and Caron in creating a legacy that will impact USM students for generations to come. Contact Erin Macey at erin.macey@maine.edu or (207) 780-4408 to get started.