What’s your true Legacy?
Make it stand out
David Russo is Senior Director of Planned Giving & Corporate Relations and is the co-chair of the American Institute’s Certified Advisor In Philanthropy National Study Group Two.
For more than 14 years, I’ve had the privilege of guiding families in implementing their legacies. The early part of my career focused on the efficient use of assets to meet philanthropic goals while reducing tax and maximizing inheritance. This was—and remains—the “how” of the legacy conversation. Now in the middle of my second decade of working with families, I’ve come to understand that the “why” is far more important. Identifying your “why” is a deeply personal and lofty question. What would you like the world to remember about you? Which of your values and priorities should live on after you? Big questions indeed. In exploring these questions, I have found the following helpful to contemplate and discuss with your spouse and family:
• What are our family assets? Beyond financial, do we have human, intellectual and social capital?
• What are our family stories? Do our children know them?
• What was the most influential moment, person, or decision of my life?
• What are my values and my family’s values? How are they alike and different?
These self-exploratory questions help to identify your values and what’s truly important in your life. Next, ask yourself if assets should be used to perpetuate these values in the form of legacy. While most people see their legacy perpetuated through their family and children, I challenge you to think of the following:
• What am I accountable for? As I have been blessed with a level of comfort and perhaps fortune, do I feel an obligation to give back to my community?
• How much of my success and comfort are attributable to my actions and decisions as compared to what I was blessed with?
• What does my faith call me to do?
• What would a successful legacy look like? My name on a building? Helping just one person in a significant way?
Once we have the ”whys,” the “hows’’ become simpler and clearer.
If you would like to explore the “whys” of your life, family and legacy, I encourage you to contact me at drusso@catholiccharitiesscc.org or 408-325-5248. Together, we can explore how a legacy gift to Catholic Charities can be a means to perpetuate your values, strengthen your faith, and be a part of your “why.”
Voices of Hope is the Official Newsletter/blog of Catholic Charities of Santa Clara County