A donor-advised fund, frequently referred to as a DAF, is often described as a charitable investment account. When you contribute to a DAF at a public charity, you are typically eligible for an immediate tax deduction. Those funds are then invested within the account for tax-free growth until you recommend grants to any qualified public charity. There are many great options for setting up a DAF. In fact, your current bank or retirement account trustee may have a public charity set up for this very purpose.
Purdue Research Foundation also has the ability to set up DAFs and may be the perfect option for you if at least half of your regular donations are made to Purdue. The Purdue Donor-Advised Fund allows you to make a gift and establish your fund when it makes the most financial sense for you, and then make grants to Purdue and other qualified charities when the timing is right. The Purdue Donor-Advised Fund currently requires that half of each distribution be made to support the mission of Purdue University, but the remaining half can be directed to any qualified charity.
Patsy earned a bachelor’s degree in food and nutrition in business from Purdue in 1969, in addition to an MBA in food marketing from Michigan State University in 1970. She retired from Kraft Foods in 2006 after 36 years in corporate food marketing and marketing communications management.
A community volunteer, Patsy serves on the Women’s Fund of Central Indiana Advisory Board and the Purdue College of Health and Human Sciences Dean’s Leadership Council, in addition to the President’s Council Advisory Board. She is a former member of the Health and Human Sciences Alumni Board. Patsy held several offices from 2006 through 2013, including president and treasurer. She serves her community’s Discover Indianapolis Club in Fishers, holding several leadership roles for over 10 years.
Patsy has received several honors, including the Purdue University Nutrition Science Department Hall of Fame recipient in 2009 and the Purdue University College of Health and Human Sciences Distinguished Alumni Award in 2016. She also received the college’s Gold and Black Award in 2016, an honor reserved for donors who have moved the college forward by committing exceptional financial resources.
In addition to endowing two scholarships, the Patsy J. Mellott Scholarship and Patsy J. Mellott HHS Scholarship, she established the Patsy J. Mellott Teaching Innovation Award in the College of Health and Human Sciences in 2013. In 2015, she endowed the Patsy J. Mellott Women’s Tennis Coach Performance Award. She is a lead donor in the Christine M. Ladisch Faculty Leadership Award and the Purdue Women’s Network Virginia C. Meredith Scholarship for the College of Health and Human Sciences.