What Is a Legacy Gift?
Leaving a legacy gift means planning today to leave money to an organization or cause you care about in the future. This plan can be simple and can be changed at any time.
Planned gifts or legacy gifts are an opportunity for people from all income levels to leave a lasting impact on their community without changing their current lifestyle. These gifts can be of any value.
Why Give Through the Community Foundation?
By taking a little time today, you can contribute meaningfully for tomorrow. Including the Community Foundation in your will allows you to support a variety of causes and organizations. We can draft a plan for your gift to be distributed in the manner you wish. That distribution process can be immediate, take place over time, or we can invest your gift and support organizations of your choosing in perpetuity.
The Community Foundation can accept complex assets such as appreciated stock and real estate to create a fund that benefits organizations you care about. The Community Foundation can also be named the beneficiary on life insurance or retirement accounts. If you are interested in leaving a gift that more broadly benefits Johnson County, a legacy gift can also go directly to the Community Foundation for general or specific use.
Can I Name the Community Foundation in My Will?
This is one of the most popular and flexible ways to leave a gift for the community through the Foundation. When you name the Community Foundation of Johnson County in your will, you will always have flexibility to make changes to the fund’s future granting plan. Changes can be easily made through the Community Foundation without the need for you to update your will or financial documents.
You may arrange for the Community Foundation to receive:
- Specific dollar amounts
- Specified assets, such as stocks or securities, real estate, or tangible personal property
- All, or a percentage of, the remainder of your estate after all obligations are met
- All, or a portion of, a life insurance policy or retirement account
Please speak with your trusted professional advisors as you consider the best way to give.
Ready to Plan Your Gift Now?
You can share these text samples with your attorney when adding a planned gift for your will. We highly encourage you to discuss your planned gift with our team so that we can ensure it is structured in a way that best supports the causes you care about.
“I give to the Community Foundation of Johnson County, Iowa, a nonprofit corporation located in Iowa City, IA, an amount equal to ______ percent of the total value of the assets in my estate (or the residue of my estate), whatever the amount shall be at the time of my death. This gift is for discretionary purposes to meet the highest priority needs of the community as those arise/is to be added to the [name the existing endowment of the Foundation here].”
Or
“I give to the Community Foundation of Johnson County, a nonprofit corporation located in Iowa City, IA, all my right title and interest in the following described property: [list property here]. This gift is for discretionary purposes to meet the highest priority needs of the community as those arise/is to be added to the [name the existing endowment of the Community Foundation here].
Supporting a Specific Fund at the CFJC
You may establish an endowment for a specific purpose through your estate by stating, “This gift is to be added to the _____________________________ Fund and used in accordance with the written agreement entered into by me and the Community Foundation of Johnson County during my lifetime.” In this case, we work with you to establish the fund particulars in a separate document that may be amended at any time before the bequest is received. This avoids the necessity of amending estate documents if a donor wishes to change the purpose of the fund over time.
