President’s Blog – Legacy Giving

President’s Blog – Legacy Giving

Legacy Giving

The CFMC held its annual Legacy Society Luncheon on March 2. The Legacy Society is comprised of folks who have let us know they’ve included the CFMC in their estate plans, have established a charitable remainder trust or charitable gift annuity with the CFMC, have started an endowed fund, or made life gifts of $25,000 to any of our endowed funds.

As one might imagine, a tremendous amount of time and energy, and a modicum of stress, are expended to make sure it is a good experience for our guests. We work for months on selecting a location, sort out logistics and plan a program.

The day starts with an edge.

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Legacy Society Members greet one another

Friends in Philanthropy

Then an interesting thing happens. As our guests begin to arrive, you realize how enjoyable it is to see everyone.  We’re all Friends in Philanthropy.  The stress melts away.  Remember when you and your siblings would stage a holiday pageant for the family?  While I didn’t wear my dad’s hat or a fake beard at the Legacy Luncheon, I felt a strong kinship, talking to people who share a strong interest in utilizing philanthropy to make remarkable investments in our community.

Giving Together

The theme was Giving Together.  We shared three profiles of individuals who trusted the CFMC to carry out their charitable wishes through their estates.  Richard LaSalle.  John and Mary Dawson. Rudy Futer.  All three had very different visions, so the CFMC was called on to execute different plans.

  • Richard, a prominent composer for movies and television, had not contacted the CFMC. When he passed away in 2015, his estate gift rolled into an existing fund overseen by the Carmel-by-the-Sea Rotary Club, where it will generate more than $200,000 a year in grants.
  • The late John Dawson was a professor at NPS and Mary was the editor of a journal for the National Education Association. Mary Dawson’s estate gift formed the John and Mary Dawson Learning Fund. Mary, who died in 2014, met once with the CFMC in 2005, got the information she needed, and knew her wishes would be implemented. Their fund will grant more than $60,000 a year to support learning at all levels.
  • Rudy Futer was a long-time donor advisor whose estate came to the CFMC upon his death in 2009.  At Rudy’s request, the Rudy E. Futer Fund for Human and Humane Needs will be spent out by 2020. It has already made a significant difference to many nonprofits offering direct services to at-risk populations.

One we worked closely with for years, one we worked through the details of her gift, and one we never knew. Three lives, three visions, one partner. – Dan Baldwin, CFMC President/CEO

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Dale Meyer and Dan Baldwin

Our guest speaker was Dale Meyer, who spoke about her mother, Lenore.  Lenore started a donor advised fund in her lifetime. She and Dale were busy donor advisors together, an activity that brought them great joy. Lenore died in late 2012.  Her estate created The Lenore and Dale Meyer Fund, an endowed donor advised fund that Dale oversees, and gets the benefit of working with our philanthropic services team.

All are wonderful examples of the power of philanthropy, and the added power of Giving Together.

To learn more about the Legacy Society, please give us a call at (831)375.9712 or visit www.cfmco.org/legacy.