A Westborough man who was unknown to the Greater Worcester Community Foundation left the nonprofit one of the largest gifts it has ever received.
Vaughn Kaprelian, who died on April 8, 2021, left GWCF more than $4 million, GWCF announced in a press release Tuesday.
The donation is unrestricted, meaning the foundation can use the funds in any way it deems fit.
“One thing we’ll definitely do to honor him is creating a discretionary fund that will go into competitive grant making,” Kelly Stimson, vice president of donor services and relations, told MassLive.
Since Kaprelian gave his money unrestrictedly, Stimson said her organization wants to grant unrestrictedly as well.
She said she anticipated $1 million of Kaprelian’s donation will go toward the discretionary fund, but said that amount is not set in stone.
The nonprofit is still discussing what it will do with the remainder of the funds.
Kaprelian, who was born in Worcester and raised in Westborough, was self-employed as a blasting engineer after serving in the U.S. Army in the late 1950s and reaching the rank of Private First Class, according to his obituary.
“When I heard about his donation, my heart swelled,” Kaprelian’s niece, Alison Lindsay, said in GWCF’s release “In our family, through many generations, it’s been modeled to us that you should always give what you can — whether it be money, time, donations, etc. It’s never been told to us that that’s what you do, but that’s what was shown. And that’s exactly what my uncle did. Now instead of helping just one person, he’ll help many.”
In addition to Lindsay, Kaprelian was survived by nieces Susan Lindsay and Leah Fatini.
“It was wonderful,” Stimson said of receiving the gift from Kaprelian. “Most of the gifts that come into the foundation are for a specific purpose to benefit certain organizations. To have this gift unrestricted, so the foundation can use it in any way, is just amazing. For an individual to have that kind of confidence in the work that the foundation is doing is awe-inspiring.”
“I believe it’s the purest form of philanthropy,” J. Christopher Collins, chairman of the board, said. “This gift will have an enormous impact on countless lives in the years ahead. Vaughn made the gift without the expectation of recognition — it’s amazing to witness. We are inspired by such generosity and are truly grateful.”
The GWCF recently named an interim president and Chief Executive Officer, Tim Johnstone.
Johnstone previously worked as president and CEO of Johnstone Advantage Consulting Group and as COO of Ascentria Care Alliance from 2016 to 2020, according to a release from GWCF.
The search for its next CEO is being conducted by Kittlemen, an executive search firm.
The previous CEO, Jim Ayres, resigned in June after only 5 months on the job.
The foundation has awarded more than $110 million to cultural educational, human service and civic organizations since it was founded in 1975, according to its website.
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