By: Rebecca Rothey, Vice President, Development and Senior Philanthropic Advisor
I will admit that, initially, I wasn’t completely comfortable writing an article about planning one’s philanthropic legacy during the coronavirus pandemic. I began to feel differently, though, after speaking with some of our generous donors who are planning their legacies. They have reminded me that legacy planning isn’t about your life ending—it’s about living life well and continuing what is most important to us, even after we are gone.
We are helping many of our donors find creative ways to plan for their philanthropic legacy. Three recent examples that come to mind include:
Providing flexibility now and for the future. A long-time donor who has co-funded many Community Foundation initiatives is leaving money to The Community Foundation’s discretion to give where most needed in the region.
The Importance of Giving Back. A couple is creating a fund for their two children to have discretion over where the charitable distributions will go and over what time frame. Their goal is to share their belief in the importance of “giving back” with the next generation of their family and to introduce them to the importance of stewarding wealth wisely.
A Gift of Service to Others. One donor spent her entire career in public service augmented by travel, animal rescue and service to seniors. She came to value the importance of attracting and training talented and passionate people to the fields of public administration, veterinary assistance, senior care, environmental education and the arts. She is establishing an endowed fund to encourage future generations to pursue careers in these fields by providing tuition assistance and research funding.
Having gone through this process many times, I can share with certainty that, even though legacy planning can initially feel daunting, in the end everyone is happy once it has been completed.
It is not about the end of one’s life—it is about exploring what is most important in our lives and then building a legacy that is rooted in those values.
All of us have benefited from important people and organizations in our lives—whether it is our families, our communities, our schools, our faith, and our cultural institutions. There is no better way to live life to the fullest than to continue to foster and support these most important aspects of our lives into the future. And, as these times have so powerfully reminded us, to demonstrate that we’re all in this together.
Learn more about The Community Foundation’s planned giving options at https://thecommunityfoundation.giftlegacy.com/