A former resident of a senior living community in Greensboro made a $24 million bequest that will support benevolence care for its residents. Florence H. Phillips, who died in August at age 100, was one of the first residents of Well-Spring.
Her bequest is the largest gift to Well-Spring in its history, according to the parent organization, Kintura. It is also believed to be one of the biggest bequests nationally to a retirement community.
“Florence was a beloved member of our community starting within six months of our opening in 1993,” says K. Alan Tutterow, co-chief financial officer of Kintura, in a release. “She cared deeply about those who live here, appreciating the challenges that older adults face, and wanted to leave something significant to help ensure their lives here are secure in a meaningful way. We are deeply grateful for her incredible generosity.”
The gift stipulated that proceeds were to go solely to the Well-Spring life plan community; no other entity within the broader Kintura organization may benefit from the gift. Cost to stay at Well-Spring ranges between $3,644 to $9,647 per month.
Proceeds will endow Well-Spring’s Residents Benevolence Assistance Fund, which supports Well-Spring residents who have outlived their assets by providing for uninterrupted care until the end of life. By endowing the fund with Phillips’ gift, the annual payout from the endowment should cover benevolence care at the current and foreseeable level of need, says Tutterow, who knew Phillips for more than three decades.
“Being fortunate enough to live at Well-Spring does not make any of us immune to the unexpected twists and turns life can offer,” said resident Jean Davison, president of the community’s Residents Association. “Any one of us could find ourselves in a situation in which this gift would make a tremendous difference in our final years.”
Older adults can outlive their resources for a number of reasons, says Tutterow, including that people are living longer. Odds of living to 100 are improving, according to the National Institute on Aging. Worldwide, the number of centenarians will increase by a factor of 10 from 2010 to 2050.
In a 2023 series titled “Dying Broke,” The New York Times reported on the inadequacy of the private insurance market — specifically, the offerings of long-term care insurance — writing, “the industry severely underestimated how many policyholders would use their coverage, how long they would live and how much their care would cost.” The article also pointed out that federal estimates found that “70% of people 65 and older will need critical care services before they die.”
Well-Spring is home to 487 residents. Of these, roughly 75% continue to live independently, while the balance of residents have transitioned to the assisted living, skilled nursing care and memory support areas of the community.
A longtime North Carolina resident, Phillips worked briefly as an attorney in her younger years, according to a release. She had a passion for dancing and once underwrote ballroom dance lessons for Well-Spring residents. She was an active member of Holy Trinity Episcopal Church in Greensboro and had celebrated her 100th birthday in May 2024.
Well-Spring opened following the efforts of nine Greensboro-area faith organizations to create a continuing care retirement community. Kintura was formed on Oct. 1, 2024, upon the closing of an agreement between the former Brightspire and former Well-Spring Group organizations to come together as Kintura. Well-Spring had assets of $42.1 million the year before the merger, according to IRS records related to nonprofit organizations.
Kintura serves nearly 3,000 residents of continuing care retirement communities and employs more than 2,100 people in North Carolina. Its portfolio includes five continuing care communities: Glenaire in Cary; River Landing at Sandy Ridge in High Point; Scotia Village in Laurinburg; The Village at Brookwood in Burlington; and Well-Spring in Greensboro. It also has home- and community-based services for older adults, a partnership in two affordable housing communities in Raleigh, A one-fifth ownership stake in Trinity Rehab, based in Dunn, and the majority partnership in PACE of the Triad, a Program for All-inclusive Care for the Elderly serving Forsyth, Guilford, Rockingham, Stokes and Surry counties.
Kintura also continues its long-time management of the retirement community Friends Homes in Greensboro.