Leave a Legacy
With a Gift in Your Will or IRA
A guide to making a difference with a future gift.
For generations, gifts to the Community Foundation have strengthened the communities of Northeast Michigan. A legacy gift ensures that your love for this place continues to make a difference beyond your lifetime.
Our Mission
To fulfill the charitable goals of our donors and address the current and future needs of our communities.
We serve Alcona, Alpena, Cheboygan (and Mackinaw City), Crawford, Iosco, Montmorency, Ogemaw, Oscoda, and Presque Isle Counties.
Adding a charitable gift to your will or retirement plan is simple. The results are remarkable.
A Future Gift is meaningful philanthropy almost anyone can do.
A gift through your will or IRA allows you to support causes that are important to you in the future without impacting your current finances.
For Good. For Ever.
Because of endowment, your impact on the community will never end.
The Community Foundation is a permanent charitable organization established to make a difference across nine counties in Northeast Michigan. Endowed funds managed by the Community Foundation grow over time while generating ever-increasing contributions to causes and organizations you care about most.
Leaving a legacy through the Community Foundation is so meaningful.
It’s easy to include the Community Foundation for Northeast Michigan in your will or as a beneficiary of your retirement plan. We recommend a gift directed to the Community Foundation without restrictions.
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Meet with Community Foundation for Northeast Michigan staff to share the issues that are important to you and how you hope to make a difference with your future gift.
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Complete a simple form that outlines how your gift will be applied to meet your charitable goals. These instructions can be revised, if desired, without the need for updating your will.
Consider whether you would like to be named in the Legacy Society, which recognizes and thanks individuals and couples who have included the Community Foundation as a recipient of a future gift.
“I give to the Community Foundation for Northeast Michigan, Alpena, Michigan (Tax ID #23-7384822), [here you’d insert a specific dollar amount, a percentage, or the rest or residue of your estate] to be held, administered and used by its Board of Trustees for support of its grantmaking and programming in the areas of greatest need and opportunity.”
Find more Legacy language examples at cfnem.org.
One act of generosity can grow and give forever.
Commonly asked questions about giving and legacy planning with the Community Foundation for Northeast Michigan or one of our Affiliate Foundations.
Why would I leave a future gift to the Community Foundation?
Your future gift lets you support multiple causes or organizations over time with one rewarding act of generosity. The power of endowment extends your gift to grow and grant forever.
If I choose to leave a future gift, do I have to reveal the amount of my gift?
Absolutely not. We appreciate the opportunity to meet with you to learn about your charitable goals so we can help shape your future gift, but the choice to share the amount of your gift is up to you.
Do I have to leave a specific dollar amount?
While you can name a specific dollar amount for the Community Foundation in your will, you can also arrange to leave a percentage of your estate’s value or what is left of your estate after other gifts are made. We welcome gifts of any size.
Does my future gift have to be cash?
No. You have several options in addition to cash:
• Financial investments like stocks, bonds, mutual funds, or certificates of deposit.
• A life insurance policy or retirement plan. You can arrange for this type of gift by making the Community Foundation for Northeast Michigan a beneficiary.
• Physical assets like a house, condominium, or property.
What if I leave a gift to support a specific charity and then that charity goes away?
If an organization you name is no longer working to meet its mission, we will honor your intent by granting to a similar organization doing great work in the field you preferred. Because the Community Foundation is permanent, your good intentions will continue forever.
Experience
a personal
approach to giving with the Community Foundation.
Your Future Gift Can Enrich an Existing Fund
The Community Foundation manages hundreds of funds set up by individuals like you who have chosen to give back to this place they love. Gifts to community grantmaking funds will be used to meet needs and advance opportunities in Northeast Michigan, even as those needs and opportunities change over time.
Marion Lamy believed strongly in giving back to her community. Her planned gift to the Community Foundation established the Marion E. Lamy Fund, which supports the grantmaking of the Northeast Michigan Women’s Giving Circle, of which she was a proud member and supporter. Her remarkable act of generosity will benefit generations of women and girls in the community she loved.
“We’re about eight generations into this community and I wanted to keep that legacy going. If we can help young people get ahead, or help people who are disadvantaged, or support a nonprofit, then that’s really special. And the best way to do that is through the Community Foundation.”
Steve and Kelley Wilson
The Community Foundation can help you customize your future gift to support the causes and organizations that are important to you.
Your Future Gift Can Establish a New Fund
The Community Foundation offers several ways for donors to make a lasting impact. Donors can create funds that address changing community needs, support specific causes or organizations, or provide scholarships for local students. Donor advised and combination gifts offer flexible options for both immediate and long-term giving.
When Cheryl and John finalized their will, it was a perfect match for them - a gift that supports the place they have called “home” for many years.
“We decided to keep our legacy in Alcona County to pay it forward to a place that has given us so much. We have seen how the Community Foundation supports so many worthwhile organizations, and we trust the Foundation to make decisions about how our gift will be used to support our Alcona County communities. They’ll know what to do.”
Cheryl Peterson and John Boufford’s gifts will create a new fund to support unrestricted grantmaking in Alcona County.
Herman and Dorothy’s Will Said a Lot About Them
Herman Miller grew up among the woods and lumbering culture in Lewiston and along the Pigeon River. He remained connected to his northern Michigan roots throughout his life, and in retirement, he and his wife, Dorothy, spent each summer at their Lewiston cottage. Herman loved researching, archiving, and recording the area’s local history. When Mr. Miller passed away in 2021 (Dorothy preceded him in 2018), he left a portion of their estate to the Community Foundation to create a new fund to support their favorite causes, and for grants to address changing community needs.
The Herman and Dorothy Miller Endowment Fund provides grants each year to five nonprofits they cared about most that are preserving local history.
The Millers’ legacy lives on through funds that support the community they loved during their lifetime.
What does your will say about you?
The Power of Endowment: The
Herman and Dorothy Miller Endowment Fund
Herman and Dorothy’s original gift in 2023
In the first three years, the Herman and Dorothy Miller Endowment Fund has grown by 28%
The power of endowment means funds increase in value to do good work forever.
Big Community Impact:
Each year, 5 significant grants are awarded to support education, preservation, and promotion of local history, as well as supporting the Foundation’s Community Impact Grants in Montmorency County.
Give a little. Help a lot.
In the next 30 years, Northeast Michigan residents across our nine-county service area are estimated to leave over $16.8 billion to the next generation.*
If those friends and neighbors give 5% of their estates, our region could benefit from $42 million each year in charitable resources to make a difference.
Giving a little could mean a lot.
Giving a little means helping to feed our neighbors.
Giving a little means sustaining lakes and forests for future generations.
Giving a little means caring for our youngest residents and providing for our eldest.
Giving a little means offering access to arts and culture to all.
Giving a little means bike trails, beaches, hiking paths, and playgrounds.
*Wealth Transfer in Michigan Report, Rural Policy Research Institute
The Legacy Society brings together people who are shaping the future through planned giving.
The Legacy Society is a group of people who have included the Community Foundation as a beneficiary of a future gift. They may be named and recognized by the Community Foundation or they may choose to be anonymous members. Most of those who have joined the Legacy Society haven’t done so for the recognition, but many have graciously allowed the Community Foundation to tell their stories to inspire others to make a future gift. The Community Foundation regularly celebrates Legacy Society members and the difference they will make for generations to come.
Lucas and Janet Pfeiffenberger cared deeply about the people of Northeast Michigan. During their lifetime, they established many funds supporting a broad range of causes they cared about most. Lucas served the Foundation as trustee and executive director. He and Janet saw firsthand how their gift could impact the communities they loved. Their planned gift is now providing annual support to the Foundation’s Community Impact and Women’s Giving Circle grantmaking, and several nonprofits close to their heart, enriching the place they called “home”.
Lucas and Janet Pfeiffenberger
What will your legacy be?
When Jennie Kerr was creating her will, she included a future gift to support several organizations close to her heart, as well as support for the needs of the Community Foundation for Northeast Michigan. When she passed away in 2013, Jennie’s estate enriched several endowments that support the Foundation’s work, as well as funds that supported local nonprofits. Because those funds are endowed, Jennie’s legacy gift continues to provide support each year in her memory.
Mary Jeanne established and continues to support the Henry L. and Bernice M. Klenow Fund, named in honor of her parents, using qualified charitable distributions from her IRA. The Fund is also named in her estate plan as a legacy gift.
“I wanted to support what I consider to be ‘home’, and my hope is that once a student leaves high school or college, they’ll be doing whatever work they’re passionate about –something they love doing. Knowing that we’ve planted these seeds, and that we’ll help these wonderful people grow and become what they’re meant to be - it’s a wonderful feeling.”
Mary Jeanne Klenow
The Community Foundation: Your Partner in Making a Difference
Who We Are
The Community Foundation for Northeast Michigan and our Affiliate Foundations are dedicated to inspiring generosity to drive positive change for the people and places in our area, now and forever. We are passionate about enhancing all aspects of life in our communities to ensure everyone can live, grow, and thrive here.
What We Do
As a trusted charitable resource, we carefully invest and steward donor gifts in order to make meaningful grants that support pathways to progress across all of Northeast Michigan. We encourage everyone to make a positive difference in their community by connecting with us for giving and granting opportunities in areas that matter most – environmental stewardship, arts and culture, health and wellness, youth initiatives, recreation, education, and more. Here, your giving has a purpose and your impact will be felt by those living nearby.
“My late wife, Kellie, and I always felt it’s important to give back. We are all responsible for doing what we can to make our communities a better place. Northeast Michigan needs its Community Foundation, and the community needs funds for grants. It’s a good use of our funds and it provides continuous support for what matters most to us.”
Beach Hall
You Are Invited
We invite you to join the Community Foundation for Northeast Michigan’s Legacy Society.
Be in touch to let us know you have made a future gift by calling us at (989) 354-6881 or sending an email to info@cfnem.org.
For more information, visit cfnem.org.
100 N. Ripley, Suite F Alpena, MI 49707
MAILING ADDRESS
P.O. Box 495 Alpena, MI 49707