Estate-Plan Gift Establishes The Howard Cooper LGBTQ+ Endowment Fund

Dorchester native Howard Cooper grew up in a triple-decker with his large, extended family and visited the Central Library in Copley Square regularly as a teenager in the 1950s. According to family members, the Library was a quiet, safe space for him. Howard named the Boston Public Library Fund (BPLF) in his estate plan—and, in 2023, the Fund received the $1,000,000 bequest to expand the Library’s LGBTQ+ resources, collections, and programming.

Howard’s gift was not surprising to his loved ones. “Uncle Howie was very funny, an optimist, and irreverent,” says his niece, Carol Marks. “He was the ultimate charitable person in heart and deed and never lost sight of giving back.”

“Howard hoped his gift would help support and transform lives within the LGTBQ+ community,” says his nephew, Stu Tobin. “But as much foresight as Howard had, I don’t think he could have imagined how the BPL plans to utilize his gift. In short, he’d be over-the-moon thrilled!”

The bequest provides immediate-use funding and, most significant, establishes The Howard Cooper LGBTQ+ Endowment Fund to provide a long-term funding stream for initiatives and programs.