Your charitable intentions: Plan to plan!
A message from the CICF Collaborative, including Central Indiana Community Foundation, Hamilton County Community Foundation, IMPACT Central Indiana, the Indianapolis Foundation, and Women’s Fund of Central Indiana
Robin Elmerick, Senior Director of Effective Philanthropy
Many individuals and families spend a great deal of time setting up a charitable plan. Then, as life (and the world) moves on, their carefully crafted plan sits quietly in place—sometimes for decades—with very little maintenance or adjustment.
The reality is that charitable plans can outgrow the paperwork. Over time, family structures change, attorneys and financial advisors retire, organizations merge or shift direction, and donors’ own priorities evolve. Even when your charitable intentions remain strong, the documents that express those intentions can become outdated without anyone noticing. This can create confusion later, especially for family members or advisors who are trying to carry out your wishes during a stressful time.
A simple way to avoid this is to schedule periodic reviews, the same as you would for any other aspect of your financial life.
For example, if you have a donor-advised fund with an entity in the CICF Collaborative, it is a great idea to meet with our team once a year to review where things stand. We’ll go over key information such as:
- Reviewing your impact to date. Are you accomplishing what you hoped to accomplish with your lifetime giving? Are there areas we can help you lean into more fully?
- Confirming that successor advisor designations are current and that the people you named still understand and are willing to carry out your wishes.
- Discussing ways to get successor advisors more involved with charitable giving during your lifetime, such as including children and grandchildren in decision-making with you.
- Reviewing (or creating) a mission statement for your fund that helps communicate the impact you hope to make, both for your sake and for future generations to understand your motivation and intentions.
- We can also partner with you to make sure that your professional advisors have the necessary information for your legacy giving
…Confirming that your attorney has included the correct fund name and language in your will or trust
…Confirming that the fund is correctly named and that your tax and financial advisors have copies for their records in the event that you have named your fund as a beneficiary of a retirement account or life insurance policy.
These check-ins with your philanthropic advisor can be a helpful guide to ensure that we are supporting your philanthropy, both now and in the future, as best as possible! These conversations can give you peace of mind and strengthen the long-term impact of your giving.
About the author
Senior Director of Effective Philanthropy Robin Elmerick has been with CICF since 2019. A certified Impact Philanthropy Advisor, she works closely with fundholders across all entities of the CICF Collaborative to help them define their philanthropic strategies and maximize their impact. With a background in nonprofit leadership and consulting, she is passionate about bridging the needs of the community with the missions of nonprofits and the passions of our fundholders, aligning all three to create meaningful change in Central Indiana and beyond.
About the CICF Collaborative
CICF Collaborative is a partnership of philanthropic organizations working together to strengthen communities across the region. Each entity within the CICF Collaborative (including the cornerstone entities, Central Indiana Community Foundation, Hamilton County Community Foundation, IMPACT Central Indiana, the Indianapolis Foundation, and Women’s Fund of Central Indiana) brings deep knowledge, strong relationships, and its own individual, focused mission. The CICF Collaborative unites the entities by providing shared services, allowing the entities to operate more efficiently and effectively. By leveraging what we each do best, we’re able to better serve our communities and create more lasting impact, together. Learn more »
