 Helpful Articles
from David Vollrath,
Union County Foundation Executive Director
The Foundation encourages you to work closely with your professional advisor(s)
as you develop your estate plan and consider your present and future charitable goals. |
Charitable Visions Fulfilled
By David Vollrath, Executive Director Union County Foundation
One of the first things I had to learn when I became involved with the Union County Foundation was that when it
comes to charitable estate planning, patience is more than just a virtue, it is a requirement. Long term charitable
estate planning is just that, long term. Decisions aren’t made impulsively and generally occur only after appropriate
deliberation. This is the way it should be, and must be to preserve the integrity of the decisions being made.
The wonderful result of being a part of some of these long term charitable estate plans is getting to see the plans
play out according to the wishes of the benefactors. In many cases the final steps of the plans don’t occur until
the passing of the benefactors. Unfortunately that means that there is not a beginning until there is an end. But
the comfort is knowing, that in that passing of life, a charitable legacy is created. It’s very rewarding to have
helped a benefactor shape a charitable estate plan and then see it come to life just as they had intended. It is
rewarding to know that the charitable vision they dreamed of has now become reality.
The most recent example of a charitable estate plan phasing into reality involved two charitable instruments; a
charitable remainder unitrust and a charitable gift annuity. Both of these charitable instruments were quite easily
established by the couple through the assistance of the Foundation. Both instruments paid substantial lifetime
income through the lives of both spouses. Both instruments yielded significant charitable tax deductions when they
were originally funded and also yielded deductions on the lifetime quarterly distributions. And both instruments
ultimately resulted in considerable financial support for five of the couple’s favorite charitable Union County
causes. Amongst these causes was the formation of a named memorial scholarship fund that will underwrite much needed
academic scholarships for local graduating high school students.
In a day and age when there is so much bad news this is a real world example of things going right. This is an
example of people being full of “goodness,” and of their pure intentions motivated by nothing more than seeking
to leave the world a little better place than they found it. People like this are inspiring and they help me realize
that patience is indeed a virtue….. and it is surely worth waiting for.
The Union County Foundation encourages you to work with your professional advisors as you consider your present
and future charitable goals. The Foundation is equipped to help you achieve these goals by providing: planned giving
and estate planning resource information, charitable gift annuities/life income plans, and a broad array of charitable
choices. Please call us at 937-642-9618, email info@unioncountyfoundation.org, or stop by our Marysville office at 126 N. Main St. We are committed to helping you…. “preserve
your footprint in time.” |
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