She Fights to Keep ‘Pointes of Light’ Aglow

An Orange County woman who has devoted more than a decade to helping the needy said she’s being treated less than charitably by the Points of Light Foundation, the nonprofit giant that honors exemplary volunteer work nationwide.

The organization’s director sent a letter to Nancy Fontaine of Tustin in May demanding that she drop the name of her local charity--”Pointes of Light.”

“I thought it was a very cold letter, almost threatening,” Fontaine said. “I was a little surprised.”

Surprised because the Pointes of Light in Tustin was up and running at least a year before the Points of Light in Washington was founded in 1990, both Fontaine and her attorney insist.

Fontaine was also taken aback because her work has been praised near and far.

She even received a glowing letter from Barbara Bush, whose husband, former President Bush, serves as the honorary chairman of the national Points of Light Foundation. The nonpartisan organization was spawned by Bush’s “1,000 Points of Light” campaign to combat hunger, homelessness and poverty.

“Needless to say, we are concerned about the fact that somebody has a name that is very similar to ours,” said Marcia C. Stein, spokeswoman for Points of Light. “We’re looking into the matter to make sure that our name is protected.”

Foundation President Robert K. Goodwin, in a May 6 letter, accused Fontaine of using an “unauthorized adaptation” of the Points of Light name, and demanded that she stop. The foundation also has been granted rights to the name by the U.S. Trademark Office.

Fontaine refuses to bend, saying she has first dibs--and every legal right--to the name.

Fontaine’s organization evolved out of the “Pointes of Light Student Cultural Program,” a children’s ballet she helped organize in the late 1980s at Southern California elementary schools. The unusual spelling “Pointes” refers to the tippy-toed ballet position.

Fontaine later expanded the scope of her organization, helping to feed the homeless, provide health care for impoverished children--both in the U.S. and abroad--and do other charity work.

Her attorney, Franklin Ubell of Irvine, said that because Fontaine’s organization existed before the Washington foundation was formed, she has superior rights to the name--whether the national nonprofit has a trademark or not.

The war of words between the two groups actually began in 1996, when an attorney for the Points of Light sent Fontaine a letter demanding that she drop the name of her Tustin charity or face possible legal action.

Fontaine wrote back, disputing the charge and defending her right to the moniker, and never heard another word. She assumed the matter was resolved.

Then in April, Fontaine wrote a letter to the Points of Light Foundation asking for their assistance in a local charity endeavor--and reignited the controversy.

“I don’t understand all this,” Fontaine said. “I’m not a vindictive person. It’s not in my heart to hurt. I only want to serve.”

She’s been doing so for more than a decade. Fontaine helped a 12-year-old Santa Ana boy with an inoperable brain tumor get a new bike--donated by the Tustin Police Department. In 1991, she worked with the Make A Wish Foundation to bring a 7-year-old Filipino girl to the U.S. for surgery to repair a hole in her heart.

“She’s helped us on a couple of events throughout the years, providing gifts for needy kids on the holidays, providing food for the needy,” said Cliff Polston, executive director of the Boys and Girls Club of Tustin. “She’s very intense and very motivated.”