Where There’s a Will, There’s a Way to Be Charitable

Unless you’re a particularly despicable character in an Agatha Christie novel, it isn’t easy asking someone to leave you money. Even if you’re representing a truly worthwhile organization, pressing someone for a place in their will can seem a bit, well, ghoulish.

And as the new century’s dawn goes into day, an unheard of amount of wealth--$10 trillion by some estimates--will be transferred from one generation to the next. Charitable organizations across the country, already forced by shifting demographics to rethink the manners and mores of solicitation, are breaking the code of subtlety and taking pro-active measures to ensure that they are not forgotten in the handoff.

At the Western Regional Planned Giving Conference held recently, a group of local round tables and community foundations joined together to launch “Leave a Legacy,” a public-education program at work in more than 50 cities. A series of public-service announcements and speaking gigs at local organizations--the Rotary, for example--will remind potential donors that anyone, not just the super rich, can include their favorite cause or organization in their will. A gentle reminder, pretty straightforward, nothing too canned.

But the second part of the campaign--aimed specifically at financial planners--is more pointed. These are the people one goes to--and pays for--advice. And proponents of Leave a Legacy would like that advice to include: Don’t forget to leave a little something for charity. Or a lot of something--depending on the something you have to leave.

“Most of us support many institutions, be it schools or church or museums,” says Mark Friedman, president of Planned Giving Roundtable of Southern California. “We give money during our lifetime, but we don’t think about after. We want to show people the wide variety of ways they can continue to give.”

The Roundtable, one of many such organizations across the country, is a 20-year-old group devoted to educating professionals, including attorneys and financial consultants, of the legislative and tax developments affecting planned giving, which includes bequests and trusts.

The least complicated way to leave a legacy is to simply name your charity as a beneficiary in your will or living trust. You can also leave your house or property in such a bequest.

Gifts may be given through charitable trusts, which provide that the donor receive income through interest, and then reverts in principal to the named charity after the donor’s death.

Trusts may also be arranged with a specific time limit--not to exceed 20 years--depending on the needs of the donor. For example, someone can make a gift in a trust stipulating that the income of the trust goes to, say, a granddaughter for the time she is in college and graduate school. After she graduates, the principal then reverts to the charitable organization.

Although the campaign serves as a reminder to those raised in the tradition of philanthropy, it is geared specifically to those with recently acquired wealth, people who are, essentially, still learning the ropes.

“There has been a tremendous increase in wealth,” says Linda Herman, senior planning officer at St. Jude’s Hospital for Children, “but not a growth in this type of giving.”

“We’ve been benefiting from a streak of prosperity, especially in the high-tech fields. People’s No. 1 concern is outliving their fortune,” Friedman adds. “We want to help the financial planners assure them that there is a way to make a sizable gift, which will help them tax wise, and have plenty left over to spend on goodies.”

Ensuring a legacy also bypasses the pesky problem of the next generation, sometimes not as charitable as its parents.

“The folks who are making these enormous funds of money are not necessarily inclined to leave it to the kids and grand kids, who may not have the same values,” Friedman says.

But, he adds, it is important to inform people “that there are other ways to give than just writing a check.”

A Web site for the campaign will be up and running by late June, as will a series of TV and radio spots. And seminars and speaking engagements are being planned to educate financial types, specifically those who handle other people’s money.

“It shows how much more sophisticated charities have become,” says Stacey Palmer, editor of the Chronicle of Philanthropy. “Traditionally, financial planners are uncomfortable talking about charitable bequests because it gets into an issue of values. And it isn’t up to them to suggest specific charities. In fact, that can be quite troublesome. So many planners simply don’t know a lot about the variety of gifts donors can make.”

But they are going to have to learn, she adds, as the competition for philanthropic dollars becomes more heated and more strategic.

“Already you see the smaller charities advertising for really good tax advisors,” she says. “They’re the people who can make this work, who can put together a planned gift in the smartest way, so that the donor benefits and the charity gets the biggest gift.”

For the charities, Leave a Legacy represents a long-term vision that has not always been a hallmark of philanthropic organizations. And that has benefits--and costs. Although it may keep the wolf of commercial ventures--gift shops, catalogs--at bay, it doesn’t fulfill immediate needs.

“Obviously this is not a replacement for immediate giving,” Friedman says. “But it’s a way to broadcast possibilities.”

Mary McNamara can be reached via e-mail at socalliving@latimes.com.