Our values can continue to have an impact long after we’re gone
Neb. Community Foundation
One of the most exciting things we can do for the places we love is make a planned gift.
Exciting might not be the first word we associate with making a will, which is the simplest and most common way to make a charitable planned gift, but bear with me for a moment.
Planning your estate offers a poignant opportunity to examine your passions and values.
When we sit down to decide what causes are important enough to be included in our legacy, the stakes become a bit higher. We catalog our lives, the milestone moments, the people and places that shaped us, and the organizations that enhance our lives. Through this process, we come to understand what gives us purpose.
My parents found purpose and support in Red Cloud. They had six children, and learned quickly they had an entire village to help raise us.
They did the same for other families; my mother was a teacher, and my father farmed and owned a small business. Both were committed community members who gave freely of their time and talents in their lifetimes. They are now both deceased, but their legacy in Red Cloud continues through their estate gifts.
Many Nebraskans feel the same way, in fact we know of hundreds of generous Nebraskans who have made charitable planned gifts to benefit their hometowns, too. Tim and Judy Lichti of Shickley crafted their estate plans to reflect their gratitude to the community. Around the time the town was established in the late 1800s, Tim’s great-grandfather migrated to the area from Colorado and started a family. The Lichti name became regionally known in the 1950s, when Tim’s father and uncle started a retail oil and gas company, Lichti Bros Oil. Tim and Judy feel endlessly thankful for everything Shickley has given to them, from business success to outstanding education to deep friendships, which is why they decided on a planned gift as one avenue of saying thank you. Their gift will go to Shickley Community Foundation Fund’s unrestricted endowment, empowering future generations to continue the work of volunteers who came before.
Don and Judy Brockmeier in Eustis feel the same way. The couple have deep roots in the area and helped establish their affiliated fund, the Eustis Area Community Foundation Fund (EACFF). The Brockmeiers’ commitment to their community and future generations will continue into the foreseeable future. That enduring impact won’t just come from the many gifts they’ve made over the years, but also from their planned gifts to benefit the EACFF unrestricted endowment. The couple have designated both EACFF and Nebraska Community Foundation as beneficiaries on multiple financial accounts. For them, it’s a matter of paying it forward.
August is Make-a-Will Month and a perfect opportunity to evaluate what matters most and how we want those values to influence our communities. It’s an opportunity more of us need to take advantage of, as only 32% of Americans have a will.