According to the 2023 Giving USA Report released in June 2024, charitable bequests, totaling nearly $43 billion, are up 4.8% over the previous year, keeping pace with inflation. This extraordinary generosity signals the possibility of tremendous impact in our community and in communities across the country. 

We are grateful to so many of you who have chosen to leave an estate gift to the Fond du Lac Area Foundation. Whether your will or trust includes a bequest to your fund at the community foundation, or whether you’ve named the community foundation as the beneficiary of your IRA, your gift will help improve the quality of life for people in our region for years to come. 

At the Fond du Lac Area Foundation, we’re honored to work with donors who are not only interested in leaving a legacy, but also want to maximize giving during their lifetimes. Indeed, many donors are interested in establishing a donor-advised or other type of fund at the community foundation for a variety of reasons:

• They want to experience the joy of seeing the results of their gifts. 
• Parallel to providing financial support through their community foundation fund, many donors enjoy the opportunity to get involved, whether as a volunteer, board member, or simply an observer at site visits to charities they support. 
• They want to involve their children and grandchildren in supporting favorite charities, especially by working with the community foundation through a family donor-advised fund.
• They like the added perk that they may be eligible for an income tax deduction for lifetime charitable gifts and that the gifted assets are no longer subject to potential future estate taxes.

Please reach out to our donor services team at 920.921.2215. The Fond du Lac Area Foundation would be honored to work with you as you incorporate lifetime giving into your charitable giving plan that already includes a generous and much-appreciated estate gift to the community foundation. Thank you for being part of the community foundation!