Fired up about their community, and legacy

Debra and Corey Fulton’s foray into firefighting happened the way much of their volunteer work does—they saw a need and filled it.

The same could actually also be said about their estate planning (but more on that later).

No one was more surprised than the couple when they attended an open house at the Rapids City Fire Protection District/Port Byron Volunteer Fire Department five years ago and were asked to join the team. “They said we were perfect,” Corey recalled with a laugh. They were both nearing 60, retired and able to get to calls quickly. The couple trained, took an emergency medical responder course, and have served the station by driving the truck and assisting at the scene. 

It was that same spirit of generosity that led the couple to the Quad Cities Community Foundation this year, where they set up the Debra and Corey Fulton Endowment Fund. This is not their first foray into philanthropy. The couple has invested in the Rock Island community for years, taking the lead from their parents. “Both of our parents led by example,” Corey said.

His mother was a visiting nurse, and Debra’s mother worked for Iowa Human Services. Both of their fathers were veterans and worked as janitors. “We grew up poor of money, but were rich with hard-working role models for parents,” Debra said. “My family comes from a farming background and there’s a lot of community in farming. There were seven of us growing up and we always had shovels and were out there clearing peoples’ sidewalks.”

Debra has volunteered at Humility Homes and Services alongside two of her sisters, and Corey spent his career working in community service jobs, including time as a police officer, an elder abuse investigator at Alternatives for the Older Adult, and a FEMA Reservist. “For FEMA, I was on deployments for floods and hurricanes and I saw how people came together,” he said. “It reinforced what I grew up with.”  

This year, following the loss of a couple of friends, the Fultons decided to update their will and realized they wanted to do more with their estate. The couple has no children and planned to leave some money to charity. They considered setting up a private foundation, but decided against it when they learned about the cost and management. Their attorney suggested they work with Quad Cities Community Foundation to fulfill their charitable estate giving, which turned out to be the right fit for many reasons, Corey said. “I had no idea how many things the Community Foundation does,” he said. “From disaster funds to the arts to the private ways that you can give, it is just so easy.”

Their plans now include an endowed fund that will support the fire department, local beautification projects, and a rottweiler nonprofit, a nod to their favorite pets. “We love the breed and have rescued so many over the past 30 years that we knew we wanted to support them,” Debra said.

Corey added that he likes that the Community Foundation will ensure that their areas of interest continue to benefit from their legacy, even if the particular nonprofit they planned to give to each year someday doesn’t exist. “The Community Foundation’s staff have fulfilled everything we could have ever wanted,” he said.

Debra said they hope to educate more people in the community about the Community Foundation. She remembers seeing donation checks to Humility that were sent through the Community Foundation. “I always saw those checks and I thought they were from rich people,” she said. “Come to find out, it doesn’t have to take a lot of money to give through the Community Foundation. If you love your community and you want to help in the future, this is such an easy thing to do.”