Planned Giving
A planned gift can have a ripple effect on our community's shared future and extend your charitable giving legacy into the future. By supporting the causes closest to your heart, you help strengthen local nonprofits and emerging community opportunities—making more possible for a vibrant South Puget Sound for generations to come.
Why do people like making planned gifts?
Planned gifts—most often made through a will or trust—cost nothing today and allow you to make a meaningful impact in your community for generations to come. That’s why so many people choose planned giving (sometimes also referred to as legacy giving) as a simple, thoughtful way to support the places and people they care about.
Benefits of planned giving include:
- Flexibility: Support broad causes or specific nonprofits. If anything changes, you can update your fund agreement without the need for an attorney.
- Stewardship: You can’t predict our community’s future needs, but you can rest assured knowing that the Community Foundation will continue to work with local nonprofits and community partners to carry out your charitable intent and determine where your charitable dollars can create the greatest impact.
- Sustainability: Legacy gifts can sustain nonprofits by providing consistent, annual support that can grow over time and always be counted on.
- Permanence: Your personal values and unique purpose are some of the most significant pieces of your life. A legacy gift can extend these into perpetuity.
You don't have to navigate planned giving on your own.
The Community Foundation's team is here to answer questions, connect with you and your advisors, and help ensure your charitable intentions are honored in the future. Whether you're just beginning to explore your options or have already included a gift in your plans, we're happy to be a resource.
If you are considering a bequest and would like your gift to support a specific purpose, we’re happy to work with you and your legal advisor to craft language that reflects your charitable goals.
To start a conversation, please contact our Philanthropy Team, by email at giving@thecommunityfoundation.com or give us a call at 360.705.3340.
Getting Started on Your Will or Trust
Research shows that 46% of Americans don't have a will. As part of our commitment to making planned giving accessible, we've partnered with FreeWill, a secure, online tool that helps you create your will in about 20 minutes at no cost.
Join the Legacy Circle.
One Legacy. Everlasting Impact.
The Foundation's Legacy Circle honors community members who have chosen to make more possible through a gift in their will or estate plan to the Community Foundation of South Puget Sound. Legacy gifts are flexible and can be updated at any time to reflect your changing circumstances.
By joining the Legacy Circle, you create a lasting expression of what you value—strengthening our community over time. Your generosity reflects a deep belief in the power of local giving and in a future where everyone across the South Puget Sound has the opportunity to thrive.
Membership Benefits
Legacy Circle members are part of a community committed to making more possible for generations to come. And it’s something everyone can do—no matter the size of your estate.
Individuals and families who let us know they've included the Community Foundation of South Puget Sound in their estate plans are invited to join the Legacy Circle, where we celebrate and recognize their generosity through:
- Connection to staff who can help ensure charitable intentions are honored over time
- Invitations to Community Foundation events and public programs
- Recognition as a Legacy Circle member (unless anonymity is preferred)
- Opportunities to share your story and philanthropic values through our website and other Foundation communications
Ready to Join?
If you have already included the Community Foundation in your estate plans, we would love to hear from you and welcome you into this special community. Joining is simple—just let us know about your plans using our online form.
Sample Will Language
I give, devise, and bequeath to the Community Foundation of South Puget Sound, a Washington State nonprofit corporation, located at 212 Union Avenue SE, Suite 102, Olympia, WA 98501, EIN 94-3121390 ( fill in the blank with one of the following):
1. The sum of $ from my estate…
2. % of the rest and remainder of my estate…
3. All of the rest, residue, and the remainder of my estate…
to be used for the organization’s general use and purpose.
Questions?
Contact our Philanthropy Team if you are interested in starting a charitable fund or have questions about donor services.
Legacy Circle Recognition
Lifetime Members
Anonymous (12 donors)
- Barbara & Loren "Skip" Steffen
- Barbara McPherson*
- Beth Ann Wilder
- Charles L. Trowbridge*
- Charley* & Kimberly Ellwanger
- Cheryl & Thomas Oliver
- Dr. Harry Griffith, III
- Don Rhodes
- Fambles Batalon Family
- Harold* & Inge Marcus
- Ina Fennell*
- Irving A. Lassen*
- Jack & Neddie Rose Farrington*
- Jane Larsen*
- Janet McLane
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- Jesse R. Roberts*
- John & Opal McGimpsey*
- John McKinnon
- Katherine Hayes*
- Kathryn Boling
- Kris Tucker
- Maggie Bell-McKinnon
- Marguerite Lynch Bishop*
- Mary E. Williams
- Norma & Charles Shelan
- Shelly Johnson
- Todd Monohon
- Walter A. Bratton*
- William A. Lovett*
