I finally did it. I had been putting it off, but it was easy, and I feel good about it. Before I tell you what it was, let me ask you to think about something you’ve been putting off. Here’s an example:
Foundation President Josie Heath told us at a recent Board of Trustees meeting about a woman who had told Josie for several years that she was planning to make a significant gift to the Community Foundation as part of her estate planning. She would say it with conviction, a smile, and a twinkle in her eye, obviously pleased that she was doing a good thing and confident that her gift would make an impact. Josie felt pretty good about it too, knowing how important leaving a legacy gift to the community she so loved was to the woman.
Well, we all go sometime and, sadly, the woman’s day came and she died unexpectedly, as is so often the case. It’s a delicate question to ask a family later on, “… about that gift …”, but the question was finally asked, and the answer was that the woman had never gotten around to documenting her wishes. So, unfortunately, her gift was not made to the Foundation, and the legacy she intended for her community did not happen. That is indeed unfortunate.
I took this story to heart and finally asked my investment advisor for a beneficiary designation form for an Individual Retirement Account, and sat down and filled it out making the Community Foundation a beneficiary. It took about 15 minutes and didn’t involve an attorney or much formality, and it was done.
If you’ve been putting off documenting your wishes for a gift to the Foundation, I invite you to get around to it now and just do it. Afterward, I think you’ll find that it was easy, and you feel pretty good about it.
Thank you for supporting all that the Foundation and its wonderful Staff do for Boulder County!
p.s., If you want to learn more about how easy making a planned gift can be, visit our website or listen to this informative podcast which aired July 28 on KGNU.
