September is Wills Month
There’s something really reflective around planning for the end of life. There are the practical considerations of estate planning and there are personal considerations of the legacy you want to leave behind. Many people approach the end of their life reflective of their life experiences, their life choices and the difference they would like to make in the world.
The generous nature of Kiwis – who, according to the World Giving Index, are some of the most generous people on earth (consistently in the ‘top ten’) – often leads many to thinking how they can help ‘NZ Inc’.
Sometimes this takes the form of shaping a legacy, or a way to be remembered. Many Kiwis embrace the concept of charity and in New Zealand there are a raft of giving options, many of which will resonate with past life experiences, values and community needs.
One of the options for giving includes giving back in perpetuity – yes, you really can give forever.
There is an easy way to do this through your own invested fund, which community foundations around New Zealand (18 of them) manage and grow for the benefit of communities.
Community foundations are not-for-profits and are embedded in most regions of New Zealand – from Northland through to Southland. Their mission is to enable generous people to give back to communities in both a thoughtful and a strategic way, to cause areas that are important to them.
Research tells us that giving to local causes really resonates with Kiwis; we love where we live and we want to support causes which are close to home and the great work that is going on our local communities. Localism drives donors and, increasingly, Kiwis are discovering the difference that a gift in their will can make to their local
community for the long term.
An invested gift keeps on giving and can actually grow the original gift over time. To see how it works go to the Community Foundations of Aotearoa NZ website (Google ‘Fund Calculator Community Foundations NZ’); it’s pretty amazing to think how a legacy can gift and grow over time under a well-managed not-for-profit model.
While you are there, check out the work of your local community foundation, all are working to connect local people with community needs and aspirations in purposeful ways that will continue on for the long-term, incredibly giving back both today as well as to our great-great-great grandchildren’s generation.
● Eleanor Cater is a philanthropy advisor and works as Membership Director for Community Foundations of Aotearoa NZ.
If you have any questions regarding this article write to: admin@communityfoundations.org.nz
