Cooke William A Inc

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William A. Cooke's life and legacy are synonymous with real estate and philanthropy by Tammy Purcell Louisa Life Correspondent When Mary Kranz needed money to expand the literacy programs offered by Adult Community Education, the local non-profit under her direction, she turned to the William A. Cooke Foundation for help. In late 2008, Kranz applied for a grant to aid her organization in meeting the rising demand for basic literacy education in Louisa County. Soon after, she received a $5,000 check, earmarked for her cause. ACE is one of many non-profits in Louisa and Orange counties that have benefited from the Cooke Foundation.s generosity. In early July, the foundation awarded nearly $75,000 in grants to nine local organizations and institutions including gifts to the Montpelier Foundation to fund field trips for Louisa and Orange county youth, Louisa County Public Schools to underwrite the 'Teacher of the Year' awards and the Goshen Baptist Foundation to repair the homes of local families in need. In addition, the foundation doled out nearly $150,000 in college scholarships to Louisa and Orange students. Since 2002, the charity has awarded over $2.3 million in gifts, providing $450,000 for the construction of the Louisa Arts Center's Cooke-Haley Theater, awarding $125,000 to Shriners Children's hospitals, giving about $70,000 to help with the restoration Montpelier and pouring over $1.3 million into its scholarship fund, to name just a few endeavors. The foundation's namesake, William A. Cooke, a local businessman who died at 97 in 2001, amassed a real estate empire matched by few in Central Virginia. The company he built, William A. Cooke, Inc, continues to thrive today, funneling its profits from rentals and sales into the charity's coffers. During his life, Cooke quietly and consistently supported charitable causes and he envisioned his foundation, set up in 1972, as a way to give back long after his death. That he dedicated the bulk of his estate to charitable giving reflects Cooke's deep Christian values and commitment to his community, friends and associates say, and is an apt legacy for a savvy businessman with a generous heart.

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