Pieter and Lida Ouwehand have a passion for performing arts and classical music. And thanks to that passion, the Center for the Performing Arts at Penn State just got a financial boost.
The Ouwehands, residents of Ferguson Township who first moved to State College in 1994, have always found a way to stay involved in music and performance.
“Pieter and Lida are passionate about the performing arts and classical music in particular,” said George Trudeau, director of the Center for the Performing Arts. “Not only are they faithful audience members but, through their philanthropy, they are providing funds to ensure that the center will continue to flourish now and far into the future.”
The Ouwehands are using an IRA Qualified Charitable Distribution (or QCD) to immediately support an endowment that will be named the Pieter and Lida Ouwehands Endowment for the Center for the Performing Arts at Penn State.
The gift immediately adds funds to support classical music programs and activities at the center. As a result of the funding method chosen, the endowment will begin to pay out and see tangible results within the coming year.
“We hope to see some impact from that funding as soon as the coming year,’ Pieter said. ‘That will be very satisfying for us as donors, and I hope that other donors will be inspired to consider using the same method.”
Pieter was a chemical engineer with Merck & Co. based out of New Jersey before his retirement in 1993 and his move to State College shortly after. He’s a regular audience member at performances from the Center for the Performing Arts, Music at Penn’s Woods, and the Penn State School of Music.
The couple originally planned to assist the center through an estate gift in 2013, but this new funding gift through a QCD will benefit the center immediately.
