Community Foundation of Grundy County
As some have heard, Jim and Carol Baum are fully retiring and moving to New Hampshire in late March.
As a “thank you,” the organizations where Jim and Carol have served on the board of trustees have joined together to host a Farewell Open House for them from 1 to 4 p.m. March 16 at the Morris Country Club. The entire community is invited to attend, shake Jim and Carol’s hands, thank them for their service, and join all of us for fellowship, cake and coffee. No tickets needed to attend and no gifts, please.
However, just because they are moving doesn’t mean that their charitable impact won’t still be felt in Grundy County. I’m sure they have plans for philanthropy during their lifetimes, but they also have spelled out their charitable intent in their will – part of which I’ve been given permission to share.
Many people feel that times are too tight to do a lot of gifting from their income, but they are making plans in their wills and estates for charitable gifts to the organizations that they care about – church, alma mater, local and national not-for-profits. In addition to gifts straight to charities, you can also use the community foundation to set up funds, especially endowments, with the balance of your estate.
For example, a portion of Jim and Carol’s estate will establish five new funds and contribute to two existing ones. The new ones are Morris Community High School Fund (10 percent), Morris Area Public Library (5 percent), Downtown Morris Fund (20 percent), Morris Hospital Foundation Fund (15 percent), and a fund to help the agencies who serve “those in need” (10 percent). The existing funds are the Community Foundation of Grundy County Legacy Endowment (20 percent) and the Baum Endowed Fund (20 percent). As you can see, they didn’t use dollars amounts – they used a percentage because they are not sure how much will be in the estate when the time comes.
The funds named in the will have intended purposes spelled out to give the Foundation direction for granting from the funds, and they are flexible enough to continue making an impact in Grundy County for decades, even if the agencies and organizations change over time.
For more information, visit https://cfgrundycounty.com, stop by the office at 102 Liberty St. in Morris or call 815-941-0852.
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