Michigan Business Beat | Raquel Izzo, Laurie Baumer, All About the Izzo Legacy's New Partnership!

Chris Holman welcomes, Raquel Izzo McDonald , Executive Director, The Izzo Legacy, East Lansing & Laurie Baumer, President & CEO, Capital Region Community Foundation, Lansing, MI Welcome, please tell us about the recently announced endowment Fund, Raquel? Laurie, what will this mean for the Community Foundation? Raquel, does this change any of the efforts that have been underway through the Izzo Legacy over the past 5 years? While you're giving back to the community, how can the business community synergize and support this? Will the Community Foundation be operating it, bringing more staff on board to manage the efforts? what's next? Below is more information to bring you up to speed. The Izzo Legacy is proud to announce the establishment of its endowment fund at the Capital Region Community Foundation. In 2019, Lupe and Raquel Izzo created the Izzo 5K Run/Walk/Roll event to unify the community and to establish a sustainable annual event that would give back to the Greater Lansing and Michigan State communities. The Izzo 5K Run/Walk/Roll has become the largest 5K event in mid-Michigan, with almost 5,000 participants in 2023! In 2020, the Izzo Legacy non-profit corporation was established to ensure that the Izzo family’s commitment to charitable giving would grow and continue throughout the greater Lansing community. “Tom and I feel it’s important to give back to our community that has given us so much over the years,” said Lupe Izzo, founder of the Izzo Legacy. “Starting the Izzo Legacy with my family has been a dream come true. Since 2019, with the support of our sponsors, donors, and valued volunteers, we’ve raised over $450,000 for our charity partners.” “We are proud to establish the Izzo Legacy Endowment Fund at the Capital Region Community Foundation,” said Raquel Izzo McDonald, Executive Director of the Izzo Legacy. “The Izzo Legacy Endowment will ensure that my parents’ commitment to charitable giving will last forever. Partnering with the Community Foundation was an easy choice because of