What Type of Planned Gift is Right for You?

Have you considered what your legacy will be years from now?

It’s not an easy question, but it’s one worth discussing with family and friends as you develop or update your estate plan.

Many San Diegans choose to dedicate a portion of their estate plan to the community through a planned gift. A planned gift, or a legacy fund at The San Diego Foundation, is a charitable contribution that is arranged in the present and realized at a later date.

Not surprisingly, San Diego is one of the most generous regions in the U.S.

According to the State of Nonprofits in San Diego Report, 48 percent of residents give back annually. At The San Diego Foundation, we help hundreds of donors who want to give now, and also leave a legacy of community support for future generations.

Did you know our Science & Technology Program was established through a transformational planned gift from San Diego aeronautical engineer Samuel Blasker? Thanks to his generosity and vision, hundreds of aspiring and career scientists are making a significant impact in San Diego’s innovation economy.

Blasker is just one of the many San Diegans who have a planned gift to create an enduring legacy in San Diego. Whether it’s to support a specific interest like education, the environment or youth development, or a broad set of organizations, a legacy fund ensures your estate is used to provide equity, opportunity and prosperity for the impact areas you care about most.

4 Types of Legacy Funds

To help get you started with the estate planning process, below are some of the most popular types of legacy funds that you can establish through The San Diego Foundation to meet your long-term charitable goals:

1. Advised
   Advised funds allow you to designate an advisor who recommends grants on your behalf. Quite often, the fund advisor is a child or another one of your close relatives. This option provides you with a great opportunity to leave an impact in the community while also passing on charitable values to your family members and loved ones.
    
2. Broad Purpose
   Broad purpose funds allow you to support your preferred focus area(s), such as education, arts & culture, or the environment. You decide how specific or general you want the fund purpose to be. The San Diego Foundation stewards the fund and its investment, and administers the grants based on your wishes to ensure the fund purpose remains intact. This fund type is ideal if you do not want to select specific organizations but you still want to make lasting change in one or more social impact areas. This also guarantees that your grantmaking will remain impactful in perpetuity, regardless of any changes to specific organizations.
    
3. Scholarship
   Scholarship funds support students’ academic pursuits and are tailored to match your interests. You provide scholarship award criteria, such as desired GPA or extracurricular activities, and The San Diego Foundation reviews applications on your behalf. Your friends and family can also be included in the application review and award process.
4. Designated
   Designated funds support specific organizations that you choose during your lifetime. If you already know which organizations you want to support, this is right for you.

No matter your preference, your charitable giving goals are our priority.

For more than four decades, The San Diego Foundation and its expert staff have worked with estate planning attorneys, financial planners, wealth advisors, accountants and other professional advisors to establish, invest and administer planned gifts on behalf of generous San Diegans like you.

Start Building Your Legacy

What do you want your legacy to be in the San Diego community? Share with us in the comments below!