Planned Giving

How can you continue to support United Way into perpetuity? Gordon Beecher, former United Way Board Chair, tells how you can improve lives, even after you are gone.

Kathy and I have had the good fortune to participate in United Way organizations all over the country. We have lived in Pennsylvania, Minnesota, South Carolina and finally here in Washington State. The one consistent element in all of the United Ways in each of these areas is that we have always felt that we were getting the most "bang for our buck" as far as our contributions were concerned. We never worried about the money getting to the program recipients. We never worried about those programs doing their very best with our donations. And, most importantly, we never worried that by donating to United Way we were throwing good money after bad, as the say. As we progressed in both our careers and our biological age, we realized that as we got closer to the next phase of our lives we wanted to keep supporting the cause, so to speak. Yet, we probably wouldn't have the same type of income stream that we had when we were both working.

What to do?

A couple of years ago, United Way of Benton and Franklin Counties created the Legacy Society (planned giving).We hadn't thought of planned giving as an option through United Way to continue supporting the myriad of human service agencies and programs that we currently support. How would we make this work while transitioning from working folks to pensioners? How could we make a significant impact with a much reduced cash flow each month? It was easy. United Way Legacy Society offers many options. The first step was to meet with two people: our financial planner and our estate lawyer. Both were supportive of the idea and assisted us in beginning to modify our Trust in such a way as to provide some long-term funding for various charitable causes. It didn't impact our income stream immediately and made a lot of sense.

If you would like to continue to support United Way programs and services in perpetuity, check with your trusted financial planner, attorney, or tax advisor first. They can recommend the best approach for you based upon your family situation and long-term needs.

Live United. Forever. Gordon and Kathy Beecher

For more information about the Legacy Society, contact Marilyn Davis at mdavis@unitedway-bfco.com or 509-783-4102.

United Way Funded Program Highlights.   

United Way of Benton and Franklin Counties focuses on four major areas: education, health, safety, and self-sufficiency. Each month we share a success story about one of those areas.

EDUCATION

Hands-On-Science - Girl Scouts of Eastern Washington and Northern Idaho

The program's goal is to ensure that girls will increase their awareness and interest in science-related subjects and expects to have more than 150 girls participate this year.

One participant showed a strong fascination with science and insects in particular. The program coordinator helped the girl find books in the library to encourage her interests. The next day, after an outdoor session of insect biology, the girl announced that she aspired to be a biologist when she's older.

For a complete list of United Way funded services and how your donation is making an impact, visit
www.unitedway-bfco.com/investment

www.preparedby20.org

Happy Holidays!

More than 100 community leaders and youth service organizations from across the community gathered at United Way of Benton and Franklin Counties for a Prepared by 20 Initiative Systems Summit on December 8, 2011. The event brought organizations together to work through challenges facing our community, and to bring about life-long improvements for young people.

"Summit attendees had the opportunity to collaborate across multiple domains to further our collective vision of healthy and thriving youth," said Mike Schwenk, Director of Technology Deployment for Battelle/PNNL, Chair of the Three Rivers Community Round Table, and a speaker at the Summit. "We had the chance to build healthy processes and structures among organizations that will result in more young people and families developing the skills and accessing the services they need. It was truly a win-win for all involved."

Prepared by 20 is helping youth service organizations connect with the community at-large and with one another. Interested organizations or individuals should visit the Prepared by 20 website at www.preparedby20.org, or contact Becky Gauthier at bgauthier@unitedway-bfco.com  

or 783-4102.

Prepared by 20 is a Community Solutions Initiative.

The Young Leaders Society held their annual membership event on December 6^th, 2011 at Market Vineyards. This event brought members and guests together to educate and inspire young professionals to get involved in their community. The evening included networking, a keynote presentation by Sandra Sawyer, recognition of YLS board members, and an overview of upcoming events in 2012.

Each year, the Young Leaders Society gives an award to one of its members who best represents the mission of volunteerism and philanthropy. At the annual membership event, the award was given to Tawni Gama. Tawni has been an outstanding member of the Young Leaders Society during this past year. This year, Tawni was the United Way Company Coordinator for her company, Conover Insurance. With Tawni at the helm, Conover ran a very successful campaign, thanks in-part to her special event ideas which included a baby picture match, chili feed, and the very popular, date auction. Tawni was also a volunteer-lead for the Mid-Columbia Make a Difference Day. During this project she helped manage a group of volunteers who were clearing trails in Claybell Park to make them safe and accessible.

The Young Leaders Society would like to thank Tawni for her dedication to our group and to our community. 

For more information on the Young Leaders Society, events, and volunteer opportunities, visit our website at www.youngleaderssociety.com.

Coming in January:  

Watch for information on the United Way Community Solutions Investment and Funding Application process.  

The application will be available on our website at www.unitedway-bfco.com.

Full List of Events Here