Greetings from the Community Foundation for Monterey County!

Fall is upon us, and philanthropy is on the minds of many. I’m sure that you, along with other attorneys, accountants and financial advisors have already started year-end planning for your clients.

The Community Foundation for Monterey County (CFMC) is here to assist you as you guide your clients in executing their philanthropy plans for the remainder of 2023. In that spirit, we’d love to draw your attention to two important topics:

• Planned Giving. Approaching an estate plan through the lens of charitable giving can help break the ice and motivate clients to establish wills, trusts, beneficiary designations and other estate planning vehicles. Learn more about the benefits of Gift Planning.

• Moving from a commercial fund to the community foundation. Learn about the benefits of holding a donor advised fund at the CFMC.

Reach out anytime! It’s our pleasure to work with you as you help your clients achieve their charitable giving goals for this year and many years to come.

Christine

Christine Dawson

Senior Vice President Philanthropic Services

(831) 375-9712 x126

Charitable giving is an important part of any estate planning conversation. Here’s a primer to help you simplify key principles as you speak to your clients about leaving a legacy gift.

Q: What are gift planning and legacy giving?

A: Gift planning is working with a client to determine the best assets, timing and structure to accomplish their philanthropic goals in their lifetime and/or through their estate. Donors can leave a charitable legacy through a post-life or legacy gift. Legacy gifts are often referred to as planned giving.

Q: What assets can be used to make a legacy gift?

A: Like the charitable gifts that your clients make during their lifetimes, assets that can be used for a legacy gift include:

• Cash, stock (especially highly-appreciated stock), bonds, mutual funds
• Real estate
• Life insurance
• Retirement assets such as an IRA beneficiary designation

A legacy gift can be expressed in a client’s estate planning documents as a dollar amount, percentage of the whole, or a legacy gift of the assets themselves. Your client will want to work with you to choose the best assets for their situation. The CFMC is happy to assist you in comparing different options for your clients.

Q: What are the benefits of a legacy gift? Your clients can:

• Support the causes they care about
• Name/Create a fund to honor their family or loved ones
• Build a legacy of family philanthropy
• Maximize the financial advantages available
• Defer or reduce estate taxes
• Make gifts that provide income for them or their loved one
• Gain peace of mind

Q: What tools does the Community Foundation for Monterey County offer?

A: Your client can establish a fund at the CFMC that spells out their wishes for charitable distributions to causes or specific organizations upon their death. The client’s estate planning documents can, in turn, simply name the fund as the beneficiary of charitable bequests. The client can update their wishes anytime by simply working with the CFMC team using our Memorandum of Charitable Intent (MOCI). There is no fee for this service. The CFMC also offers a complete Guide to Gift Planning.

Although a donor advised fund can be established through a national financial institution, the CFMC offers its donor advised fund holders much broader services, more personal attention and deeper connections to the nonprofits whose work is essential to effecting positive community change.  

The CFMC offers donor advised fund holders the same tax and administrative benefits as a commercial gift fund. Unlike commercial gift funds, the CFMC offers high-level, customized services to its fund holders, including:

• Concierge-level service by knowledgeable staff to structure estate gifts to charities and accept gifts of appreciated stock or complex assets such as real estate or closely-held stock
• In-house experts who have a finger on the pulse of community needs, the strengths of local nonprofits and how to structure grantmaking for the highest possible community benefit
• Family philanthropy and corporate giving services to foster a well-rounded, holistic approach to philanthropy
• Administrative fees that are reinvested into the community foundation, itself a nonprofit, to grow its impact as a community leader and help even more donors support the causes they care about
• Ability to research and identify causes and giving opportunities aligned with donors’ goals and priorities, both near and far
• Hands-on assistance from a local team, who live in the community they serve
• A dedicated staff that will ensure the donors wishes for their fund will be fulfilled

It's easy to transfer a fund from a commercial donor advised fund into a fund at the Community Foundation. Contact us to learn more at (831) 375 -9712.

The Monterey County Gives! Campaign is just around the corner. This is a great opportunity for your clients to support their favorite non-profits AND amplify their impact by receiving a pro-rated match.

The CFMC can facilitate gifts of IRA Qualified Charitable Distributions or stock gifts to benefit multiple nonprofits through just one gift.

This useful guide covers the many ways donors can give during their lifetime or through their estate. Topics include:

• Donor Advised Funds (DAFs)
• Gifts of Real Estate or Appreciated Stock
• Charitable Remainder Trusts & Charitable Gift Annuities
• IRA Qualified Charitable Distribution (QCD)

View or download a copy or contact Cecilia Romero for copies.

If you are not already engaging with your clients on topics of charitable giving, we encourage you to do so. We have many useful resources on our website including a planned giving center.

The team at CFMC is pleased to be a resource and sounding board as you serve your clients. We understand the charitable side of the equation and are happy to help you find the best solutions to meet your clients’ needs.



Please contact Cecilia Romero, Director of Gift Planning, at ceciliar@cfmco.org or (831) 754-5880 x124 if we can be of assistance.

This newsletter is provided for informational purposes only. It is not intended as legal, accounting or financial planning advice.

To inspire philanthropy and be a catalyst for strengthening communities

throughout Monterey County