Planning for the Future: Jane Earl

Jane Earl wants to ensure her favorite causes in her favorite community are supported forever.

Jane Earl’s career has taken her across the country, but when the northern Wisconsin native moved to Madison in 2006, she knew in an instant she would never change zip codes again.

“They’re all lovely places,” Jane says of the places she’s lived, “but you could not pry me away from Madison as my hometown now.”

Jane’s professional and volunteer work with area nonprofits, including Center for Families (now RISE Wisconsin), A Fund for Women (a giving partner of Madison Community Foundation) and the nonprofit SAIL (Sharing Active Independent Lives), strengthened her ties to the Madison area—so much so that she made the decision to leave the majority of her estate to Madison Community Foundation to support these and other causes in perpetuity.

“I look at what are the things that are near and dear to my heart,” says Jane of her charitable giving, in particular the decision to leave any retirement assets as well as her downtown condominium to support the SAIL Endowment Fund, the Community Impact Fund, and A Fund for Women.

Jane and her husband, Tony, attend the SAIL (Sharing Active Independent Lives) annual meeting and luncheon. Jane credits SAIL for creating a better quality of life for her and other area seniors.

Jane chose to support SAIL’s agency endowment fund to ensure the success and longevity of its mission to strengthen the quality of life for area seniors. As a person with a disability, she sees firsthand how important it is for communities to have support systems in place for people who need them.

“I have a broad perspective on all the phases we go through as we accept life’s challenges,” says Jane. “SAIL helps people move through those challenges in the most positive way possible.”

The Community Impact Fund and A Fund for Women, says Jane, are unique ways for her to support a variety of area causes, including children and seniors, women and girls, learning and youth, community development, arts, environment, and nonprofit capacity building.

“I don’t know what is going to be the greatest need in Madison in the future, so I wanted to ensure that it goes to a worthy cause,” she says. “MCF is tuned in to both the needs and where we can have impact.”