At a celebration of life for Dr. Fritz Klein at Diversionary Theatre on Aug. 21, the theater’s board of trustees announced three gifts Dr. Klein left to Diversionary in his will.

Through notification by Dr. Klein’s estate, Diversionary is the recipient of a gift of $250,000, restricted to starting an endowment fund, a gift of the building, which houses the theater at 4545 Park Blvd., and a gift from Dr. Klein’s Charitable Remainder Trust, which is estimated between $50,000 and $60,000.

“We are incredibly honored that Fritz would care for Diversionary so deeply that he felt the need to have his gifts continue our mission for years to come,” said Ruth Howell, vice president of the board of trustees. “His gifts are overwhelming, and the board is putting appropriate policies into place to ensure the gifts provide for the theater for many years into the future.”

According to Dan Kirsch, executive and artistic director of Diversionary, the gifts will come in at different times once the estate is settled. “Fritz had been a major donor of Diversionary for a number of years, with an annual operating gift of $15,000 each year since 1998,” Kirsch said. “Upon arrival of the gift from Dr. Klein’s Charitable Remainder Trust, … sometime this fall, $15,000 of the monies will be designated as Fritz’s annual operating gift for the current fiscal year, and the balance of the monies will be invested and used for annual operating gifts for an additional three years.”

While the Charitable Remainder Trust monies will help with current general operations, the new endowment fund will provide monies for future programs and operations.

“The $250,000 gift is restricted to seeding a new endowment fund,” said John Grah, treasurer of the board of trustees. “Once a donor gives a restricted gift, we are required to use it only for that purpose. We will invest the gift, and each year take some of the earnings and move it into board-restricted funds for programs and operations.”

The final gift, the building at 4545 Park Blvd., includes a mortgage of more than $400,000. “The board is assessing the best use of this gift,” Grah said. “The building includes several private offices that produce rental income, and it is likely we will assume the mortgage and that the rental income will cover the mortgage. However, with ownership of the building comes the responsibility of upkeep, and we are creating a plan for a maintenance fund to take care of the facility.”

Diversionary chose to announce the gifts now even though they will come in at separate times during the next year.

“As you might expect with gifts of this magnitude, we are in the discovery process, and we’ve enlisted the help of many professionals to help get advice on best practices,” Grah said. “We wanted to share the news with the community early in the process because so many people cared both about Fritz and Diversionary, and as Fritz was both our landlord and a major donor, people were wondering if Diversionary was going to be OK.”

At the celebration of life, Diversionary Theatre board member Mary Stockton talked about Dr. Klein’s gift as it relates to the future. “In the short time I knew Fritz, I learned that he planned his giving and wanted to use his gifts as an incentive for others to give,” Stockton said. “He knew that an endowment would do just that. He knew that whenever money was needed, instead of a one-time gift, a challenge in the form of a matching gift would encourage others to give, to think about the future. He updated his will. He had legal documents in place to ensure that his gifts would go where he wanted them to go. We thank him for his inspiration and hope the community will rise to his challenge.”

The closing of the celebration of life included the announcement of the Diversionary Theatre Fritz Klein Award. According to board president Carlos Legaspy: “We wanted to find a way to emulate the spirit of Fritz and those gifts by honoring others who give to the theater through extraordinary gifts of financial support, or contribute or volunteer important services. The award will be given in the future at the board’s discretion and will honor those who give of their riches in the ways that Fritz gave to us.”

Klein, a leader and pioneer of the bisexual movement, died on May 24 at the age of 73. Dr. Klein is best known for his groundbreaking sex research and as an activist for bisexual issues and the bisexual community.

Diversionary Theatre was founded in 1986. The mission of the theater is to produce plays with gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender themes that portray characters in their complexity and diversity both historically and contemporarily.

- Press release