Great arts make a great community. That’s a belief that both Bruce and Carla Masselink share. They’ve seen firsthand that strong local arts programs allow a community and its members to grow and thrive, so they chose to start the Bruce and Carla Masselink Fund, an endowed field of interest fund at the Community Foundation that supports the local arts.
Bruce and Carla’s connection to one another actually stems from the arts. They both grew up in Holland and met at a high school summer band program for Holland Christian and Holland High School students. Carla played the flute, and Bruce played the saxophone. They both attended Hope College, and then moved out of the area while Bruce attended the University of Michigan Medical School and completed his residency in surgery at the University of Kentucky Medical Center. While they were away, they found that they really missed West Michigan. They missed the lake, their family and friends, and being close to Hope College.
Bruce and Carla made their way back to Holland and they’ve been supporting the arts ever since. “We’ve been very fortunate. We feel very blessed, and we love it here. We raised our three children here. Giving back has been part of our lives since the beginning.”
Even as time has passed, Bruce and Carla still have their passion for music. They both played in the American Legion band and Carla plays in the Christ Memorial Orchestra, the Hope College concert band, and participates in a woodwind quintet.
One of their sons lives in Paris and is an artist, and Carla’s father was an artist. “The arts have provided opportunities for our family, and one way to show appreciation for that is by giving back,” said Carla.
“Holland is something special. There’s always so much going on, whether it’s the summer theatre, various music programs, or exhibits at the Arts Council or Historical Museum. We missed all of those things.”
– Bruce and Carla Masselink
While the arts will always be their primary love, Carla and Bruce give back in other ways as well. Bruce has volunteEred at the health clinic and goes on medical mission trips twice a year. Carla has been a close friend of the Community Foundation for a long time and served on the board from 2001 to 2006.
Bruce and Carla want the arts to thrive in Holland/Zeeland even after their lifetimes, and a field of interest fund at the Community Foundation is the perfect way to ensure that.
“We are supportive of many good causes right now, but an endowment gift goes beyond that because it will last forever.”
Bruce and Carla also appreciate CFHZ’s local expertise. “The Foundation knows what’s needed in the community. They’re the ones receiving the grant funding requests and deciding which initiatives to support with the proceeds from this fund.”
Great arts make a great community and our community will continue to be great for generations to come because of BruCe and Carla’s generosity.
With a Field of Interest Fund, donors choose a special interest area that is meaningful to them, and the Foundation uses community expertise to make annual distributions to nonprofit organizations working in the area the donor has identified. With Field of Interest Funds, donors can take advantage of the Foundation’s knowledge of the community to help support their personal passion.
