“You don’t have to be rich to leave a legacy,” said Gerry Cerny, volunteer coordinator of the Leave A Legacy program in Stark County, Ohio. “Most people want to make a difference during their lifetime, but not many think about making a difference after they’re gone.”
Leave A Legacy is a public awareness campaign conducted by the National Committee on Planned Giving. “We are not trying to start an organization,” Cerny said. “All we are suggesting is that when the time comes to look at their estate, people remember their favorite charity.”
About 80 percent of Americans contribute to the nonprofit groups of their choice throughout their lifetimes. Only about six percent continue this support through a gift in their will or estate plan. By making planned gifts, individuals can continue to help organizations that are making an important difference in the community.
“It is a collaborative effort among the nonprofits all over the county,” said Howard Rubin Jr., vice president for development for the Stark Community Foundation.
“Our real goal is to encourage people from all walks of life to include a gift to their favorite charity in their will,” Rubin said. “It would be a huge increase for agencies if we could go from 6 percent to 8 percent in planned giving. We just want people to really think about this as part of their estate planning.”
Thinking about leaving a legacy to a charitable organization after you’re gone?
It is an easy task, Cerny said. “It is a matter of stating your intentions in your will or estate plan.”
There are five steps to leaving a legacy, he said.
• Begin by thinking about the organizations you currently support and those that have meant the most to you and your family.
• Seek advice from a professional financial adviser about making a planned gift while still providing for your loved ones. He or she can show you how your gift can be both generous and tax-effective.
• Ask your adviser to check with the charity to ensure you have designated your gift correctly. This is especially important for local gifts to national organizations.
• Put plans in place. Review your gifts and personal documents, including your will, estate plan, beneficiary designations and asset titles, to ensure that your wishes have been documented properly.
• Make sure your will and personal papers are in a safe location known to family members.
Over the next 50 years, the wealth accumulated by today’s older generation will pass to their children and grandchildren. By making provisions in estate planning for a favorite charity, many organizations in your community will benefit. But does it benefit the donor or his or her family?
Greg McNulty, a tax accountant, said: “A lot of my clients have charitable motives. What we see more often than not, rather than a bequest in somebody’s will, is a lifetime gift of some sort, whether it is an outright gift or a charitable trust.
“There is more tax advantage to giving during a lifetime because you not only get the estate-tax relief but also an income-tax deduction,” said McNulty. “Typically, my clients are good people who enjoy not only giving something, but being alive to watch it being put to work. There are a lot of motives that go into estate planning and there is certainly a tax advantage to gifting.”
Kay Feagles, a certified financial planner, said that most of her clients are Depression-era individuals in their 60s, 70s and 80s who have had success in the stock market and “have been disciplined and have invested over time.” In a few cases, her clients have inherited their wealth.
“They recognize the fact it has taken them a lifetime to accumulate their nest egg and they want to be prudent in distribution,” explained Feagles. “A lot of times they don’t want to give it outright to their children, but to sprinkle it out over a period of years. Or, if they don’t have children, they want to give something back to the community.
“Planned giving is not as unusual as it was 20 years ago,” she said. Vehicles such as the Leave A Legacy program “do marvelous things for the community. It is a win-win situation all the way through.”