Professional Advisors
Legacy Foundation considers attorneys, accountants, financial planners, insurance agents and other professionals who have relationships with members of our community to be our valued partners in charitable giving. We want to be a resource for you as well as a philanthropic partner for your clients, providing a full understanding of the many possibilities of supporting our community by giving through Legacy Foundation, Lake County's community foundation.
Your clients have several options to consider as they explore charitable giving opportunities. These include determining:- If they would like to give now or give later through their estate plan
- The types of funds that best meet their charitable giving goals
- The types of assets they would like to give
- How they will remain involved after their gift is made
By working with Legacy Foundation, you can effectively and efficiently help your clients consider these options and meet their charitable goals.
For gift planning purposes, the Legacy Foundation's legal name is Legacy Foundation, Inc. and our Employee Identification Number (EIN) is 35-1872803. We recommend including both the organization's name and EIN in your gift planning documents.
To privately discuss your charitable intentions with a Legacy Society representative, please call 219.736.1880 or email ceo@legacyfdn.org.
Additional Resources
Comparing Charitable Options
About Legacy Foundation
Establish a Fund
Frequently Asked Questions
How can my client provide support for a favorite charity through Legacy Foundation?
Your client has two great options for supporting their favorite charity–a Donor Advised fund or a Designated fund. A Donor Advised fund gives individuals, families or businesses the opportunity to participate in grantmaking by recommending nonprofits and programs to receive grants. As with a supporting organization, a Legacy Foundation Donor Advisor can take advantage of information about local needs and opportunities--and even include his/her family or business in recommending grants. It is a simple, personal and highly effective way to give.
A Designated fund provides endowment funding for a specific nonprofit organization and can be set up to allow the organization to build the fund over time. Each year, the earnings from the fund can be distributed to the nonprofit or retained for future use.
In both instances, the Foundation handles all of the administration, record keeping, and financial statements for the funds.
How much control and freedom would my client have in recommending gift recipients, including faith based organizations such as their church or synagogue, through their donor advised fund?
Your client can recommend a grant to any organization that falls within the broad philanthropic mission of Legacy Foundation and is qualified as a public charity under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code which includes most faith based programs. The United States has over 650,000 IRS-approved charities. Legacy Foundation will ensure that groups recommended for a grant meet this requirement.
In complying with federal tax laws, and for the protection of your client, the Foundation must reject grant recommendations that would benefit an individual, fulfill a personal obligation, support a political campaign, or a private foundation.
What is the minimum gift required to start a fund?
The minimum for establishing a fund with the Legacy Foundation is $5,000.
Legacy Foundation has the ability to accept a range of assets including:
- Cash
- Stocks and bonds
- Real estate
- Personal Property, such as jewelry and artwork
- Life insurance policies
- IRA assets
Can my client name a successor to the fund?
Yes, your client can name a successor or successors to the fund. If they do not name a successor, or after the successor's death, the Foundation's Board of Directors will continue to use the funds in accordance with your client's wishes.
How do Legacy Foundation's costs compare with those of commercial gift funds and private foundations?
Legacy Foundation's fees are highly competitive with commercial gift funds, but even more importantly, the Foundation offers your clients unique value that can come from our staff's knowledge of the community and expertise in the philanthropic field.
Opening a fund at Legacy Foundation is considerably less expensive than starting a private foundation, since we handle all administrative details, including filing annual tax returns, performing due diligence on grants, and all details associated with processing and tracking grants. There are also no setup fees.
Can charitable funds established at Legacy Foundation benefit areas other than Lake County?
Our role is to help donors create funds that carry out their charitable goals, be that in Lake County or elsewhere. Legacy Foundation donors have the ability to recommend grants to organizations around the world.
I would like to learn more about planned giving. Are there ideal resources from which I can benefit?
Legacy Foundation annually hosts a professional advisor seminar to update the professional community regarding charitable and planned giving. We also host other opportunities for nonprofit organizations. Please contact the Foundation for these additional resources or to discover more about nonprofits and community data.
