Create a Philanthropic Legacy in Your Estate Plans

A Donor Story: Corrine Stiehl

Corrine Stiehl was in born 1933 in Sturgeon Bay. Corrine, affectionately known as Corky, graduated from Sturgeon Bay High School and attended Carroll and Lake Forest College. She was employed as a stewardess for a major airline before accepting a position at the Milwaukee Journal promotional department. Corrine moved home to Sturgeon Bay to care for her ailing mother and loved it so much she remained even after her mother passed away. Corrine passed away in 2017.

Corrine loved Door County and wanted a way to both honor her parents and help the community. Corrine incorporated her fund at the Community Foundation into her estate plans.  Because of her generosity, the Mr. and Mrs. Lloyd H. Londo Scholarship Fund will support a young lady each year perpetually. When you make a gift to an Endowment Fund at the Community Foundation or create one to support a cause important to you, you can rest assured that the principal of your gift will never be spent and can grow over time – providing a source of lasting support for the causes you care about.

Including the Door County Community Foundation in your estate plans is an easy way to transfer assets to charity. Through a gift in your estate plans, you can give back to specific charities, support general causes or, as Corrine did, create a scholarship in your family’s name. In doing so you leave a legacy for Door County, while enjoying the assets you need to maintain your current lifestyle. Plus, you are able to distribute some or all of your assets, tax free. Your gift – and all future earnings from your gift – can become a permanent source of community capital, giving back literally forever. A fund at the Community Foundation is an exceptional tool for giving to charity through your estate plan.

“The one regret that I have in life is never completing college. I worked with the Community Foundation to create an Endowed Scholarship Fund in honor of my parents to encourage young ladies to follow their dreams and complete their education,” said Corrine Stiehl. “I know the Mr. and Mrs. Lloyd H. Londo Scholarship Fund will positively impact Door County forevermore.”

Including the Door County Community Foundation in your estate plans is an easy way to transfer assets to charity.

In doing so you leave a legacy for Door County, while enjoying the assets you need to maintain your current lifestyle. Plus, you are able to distribute some or all of your assets, tax free.

You can give cash, appreciated stocks, or other assets. Some of the most tax-efficient asset types to give through your will come from retirement plan accounts, since heirs would be taxed on the income in respect of the decedent (IRD). You can choose to give a stated dollar amount, a specific property, a percentage of your estate, the remainder after distributions to other beneficiaries, or you can make your gift contingent on certain events.

Using the Community Foundation as an estate planning tool is easy.

• You determine the type of Fund you would like to establish with your gift – be it a Donor Advised Fund (to be advised by your client’s heirs), a Scholarship Fund, a Non-Profit Endowment, or a Community Impact Fund. Your gift can also be split between several different kinds of Fund.
• You include your Fund at the Door County Community Foundation in your will as a bequest. Or you can name your Fund as a beneficiary of your trust, retirement account, or other investment.
• Upon your death, we set up a special fund in your name, in the name of your family, or in honor of any person or organization you choose.
• Your charitable gift is excluded from your assets for estate tax purposes.
• We handle all the administrative details and distribute the assets to charity per your instructions – or by working with your heirs.
• Your gift can be placed into an endowment that is invested over time. Earnings from your Fund are used to make grants addressing community needs. Your gift – and all future earnings from your gift – can become a permanent source of community capital, giving back literally forever.

And while we may be the Door County Community Foundation, but our family of donors have favorite charities across the nation. As a result, we make distributions to charities in virtually every state in the union.

Talk with your estate planning attorney or contact the Door County Community Foundation. The Community Foundation is regularly asked to attend joint meetings with attorneys, accountants and investment professionals all of whom are serving the same client. We’d be honored to serve you as your philanthropic advisor.