Steve and Corrine Freeman Family Fund & Kevin Patrick Freeman Memorial Fund
At the Otsego Community Foundation, donor advised funds offer community-minded individuals and families a meaningful way to stay actively engaged in their philanthropy. These funds are designed for donors who want their giving to be thoughtful, personal, and responsive—enabling them to support the causes that matter most while benefiting from the Foundation’s deep knowledge of local needs and opportunities. A donor advised fund becomes a flexible, impactful tool for making a difference close to home.
For many fundholders, partnering with OCF provides something especially valuable: connection. Our team helps match donor passions with community projects, organizations, and emerging needs, creating a bridge between intention and real-world impact. It’s philanthropy that evolves as families grow, interests shift, and the community changes—ensuring each act of giving is both heartfelt and effective.
This spirit of engaged, community-rooted generosity is beautifully reflected in the Freeman Family.
We are pleased to feature the Freeman Family in Foundation Matters as we celebrate the first anniversary of their establishing two charitable funds at OCF. Last year, they created both the Steve and Corrine Freeman Family Fund and the Kevin Patrick Freeman Memorial Fund. The latter honors their son, Kevin, who passed away in 2020 after courageously battling brain cancer for 14 years. These two funds reflect both the family’s philanthropic values and their desire to make meaningful contributions in the community they now call home.
Steve and Corrine both grew up in southeastern Michigan. Soon after they married, they moved to California where they enjoyed careers and raised their three children. Whether they were in Michigan or California, they visited Gaylord annually, vacationing at the lake where Steve’s parents (and Steve and his brothers) have been seasonal residents since 1961. In 1999, Steve and Corrine invested in a place of their own and continued annual vacations at the lake with their family. Eventually, in early 2020, after their son Kevin passed, they found themselves spending “two weeks to slow the spread” at the lake, and decided to take the leap, leave California, and become primary residents of Gaylord.
“While our vacations in Gaylord allowed us to become acquainted with local traditions, when we moved here we became committed to supporting and becoming more involved with the community. When we discovered the OCF, we found people with the knowledge and tools that allow us to combine our efforts with other like-minded residents and really make an impact.” said Steve.
“We will be learning as we go and are excited to see how we can help make a difference. The efficiency of being able to offer real help quickly when disaster strikes our neighbors is a bonus.” added Corrine.
They plan to use their Family Fund to support a wide variety of interests including music, education, youth sports, and environmental concerns. Steve’s commitment to his local rock-n-roll cover band (Timberline North) leads them to be interested in supporting local music. The importance of education and youth sports in their own children’s well-being, development, and ability to acquire important life skills leads them to support those interests. Corrine’s prior involvement in decades of volunteer work in their prior community leads them to be involved in a variety of local endeavors including environmental concerns.
They also plan to use the resources of their Family Fund to enhance what they hope to accomplish with the KPF Memorial Fund.
The KPF Memorial Fund was established in memory of Steve and Corrine’s son, Kevin. In 2006, when he was 9, Kevin was diagnosed with medulloblastoma – a malignant brain tumor. It is the second most common pediatric cancer (behind leukemia) and accounts for a majority of cancer-related deaths in children. Kevin was severely impacted by his various treatments, but he soldiered on – continuing to play sports and music, learning to drive, and going to college, while remaining a steadfast fan of Star Wars and Harry Potter. Kevin’s cancer relapsed in 2009, 2012, 2015, and 2018. Finally, the cancer spread beyond his brain and led to his unfortunate passing on February 21, 2020, just a few weeks shy of his 23rd birthday.
Steve and Corrine plan to use the KPF Memorial Fund to support causes that further cancer research, help those affected by cancer, and are otherwise aligned with Kevin’s interests such as youth sports, ceramic arts, reading, and music.
The Freemans’ journey—from longtime visitors to deeply invested community members—reflects the very best of what donor advised funds can inspire. Their desire to give back, connect with others, and honor their son’s memory exemplifies the power of philanthropy grounded in love and community. As they begin their second year as OCF fundholders, we are honored to support Steve and Corrine as they continue investing in the community they now call home.
To explore how a donor advised fund can help you support the causes you care about most, we invite you to connect with Amanda Sosa at amanda@otsegofoundation.org or 989-731-0597.