In a bold move to serve all Village donors and nonprofits in a cooperative venture, the Yellow Springs Community Foundation has launched a pioneer Planned Giving initiative. “Our basic idea,” says Foundation president Bruce Bradtmiller, “is to educate our donors about their charitable options, especially their legacy gifts. By enlisting the cooperation of all our nonprofit organizations, we hope to save donors from multiple calls from multiple groups. To the best of our knowledge, such a volunteer-staffed, community-wide program is a first.”

“The success of this ground-breaking program is dependent, really, on the courage of our nonprofits,” says Development Committee Chair, Staffan Erickson, “and whether they can embrace the revolutionary notion that legacy gifts will not be based on who gets to the donor first with the best pitch. We hope to inform prospective donors, encourage them to leave a legacy, and facilitate their wishes through the resources of the Foundation.” Specifically, the Foundation offers written material as well as the no-strings-attached consultation services of the trust department of US Bank.

In November of 2005, the Development Committee of the Foundation invited all community nonprofit organizations to an information meeting. Out of this meeting came the idea of a Planned Giving Council, a consortium of those groups who were prepared to work with each other and the Foundation. To date, they include Friends Care Community, Leadership Institute of Yellow Springs, Riding Centre Association, Tecumseh Land Trust, Yellow Springs Arts Council, Community Children’s Center, Dharma Center, Home, Inc., YS Library Association, YS Senior Center, and YS Kids Playhouse. This group continues to meet, and make decisions about how the program should proceed.

The central model of the program is a planned gift that culminates in an endowed fund at the Foundation whose income would pass to one or more Village nonprofits. “But we’re here to serve our donors,” says Erickson, “and we will offer an overview of options, and try to facilitate whatever a donor wishes to accomplish.”

“If it can’t be done in Yellow Springs, it can’t be done,” says trustee and program architect, Dorothy O. Scott. “We know that most Village donors who might be interested in a legacy gift are on many of the same lists. And we know that most of our organizations can’t afford to staff for Planned Giving. It makes sense for the Foundation to give this our best shot.”

For more information, and a brochure about the program, contact Virgil Hervey, Foundation Administrator, at 767-2655, send him an , or at P.O. Box 55, Yellow Springs, OH 45387.